The Tank

I hit the tank (an indoor rowing boat) today after a great visit from the Fam that included seeing the sights (shopping) in Kingston, eating a delish lunch at Jamies Italian and visiting Kim/Greg/Boys. Getting home from Putney was a bit of a mission but an adventure in itself. Oh yeah, it was Halloween too.

Rower

Today I paid my full rowing membership having MADE THE TEAM. Yesss. Here was a cool tree illuminated by some sunshine that peeped out during a day of stormy rain. I spent the evening watching zombie films.

Hunterian

Another friday excursion into London this week which took me to the Hunterian Museum deep within the Royal College Of Surgeons. It was very interesting and I managed to get some good drawing done. If you ever need to draw skulls, get your butt over there. Or weird deceased animals and foetus' for that matter. After that I went home, not collecting any bike bits or meeting anyone for a drink...for once.

Partay

Out flat had a Halloween party this evening. We covered the walls and doors in cobwebs and banners, dimmed the lights to an eerie orange glow with Sainsbury's bags and had a good supply of Halloween themed sweet such as eyeballs and fangs. Good old pound shop. Somehow in a flat designed for four people we managed to fit about 30. Here is the Pumpkin we carved that really pissed off the security guy as he explained it was a 'massive health and safety hazard' while coming in to try and tell us we couldn't have a party.

Colour-Graph

I was doing a print project all this week. I chose to do the colour-graph method which actually turned out to be terrible. I had done etching and Lino before, the two other choices, but regret not choosing either. I was far more interested with the ink on the tables than the prints that were coming out.

Rainy Night

Im still not back at rowing and the sky is watering the ground.

Sleepy Saturday

Today was a sleepy Saturday. No rowing, no socialising, no need to actually do anything. A nice time to catch a breath and relax. I tried to take this bike into Surbiton today to do some chores but realised that it is far too short a frame for me (Almost a kids size) and that with 170mm Cranks you cant turn the wheel and pedal at the same time (?). So I need a frame.

Surbiton Flyer

I had the first day of my second 'London Drawing Rotation'. We met our guide Stephen Fowler, a impressively moustached and clothed man, who took us to the V&A and Science museum. It was a great day and I got much more drawing done than I expected. South Kensington is a very rich area I have noticed. After the science museum I hopped on the tube to Charing Cross and trained down to Lewisham to pickup my new Crankset. It currently has no home on a bike but hopefully that will soon change. After my two-ings and fro-ings I got back to London Bridge to meet Nick! We came back to Surbiton and sampled a pint of 'Fullers Discovery' at the Surbiton Flyer (Id recommended both). After that I cooked us, in my opinion, an Unbelievably good Tikka Masala with Green beans, Basmati rice and Beers. Really Great day actually!

Recovery

I spent today back in Clayton resting and recovering. Its so nice to be home and have tv and have playstation and have a stacked fridge and be near my bikes and have my mum and dad around and have badger here! (In no particular order). The sun was amazing so I took some pictures of Mums bike; the mini cooper chili red really screams in the bright light.

Crash

I had a crash on my bike this morning. It was not fun and most of the rest of the day was not fun either. I did however come home at the end which was bliss. Here is where my keys went into my leg last Saturday.

Close

I started putting bits from the Dawes onto the free frame I got last Friday. Here is a closeup of the rear wheels clearances. Art History was a little boring today and I had no rowing due to Saturday Nights Crash.

RIP Dawes

The result of last nights crash. This is my beloved Dawes that has graced the pages of this blog many a time. This is what happens when you are flying along at 30mph and hit a curb square on due to lack of proper bike lights and street lights.

Row Row Row

Today had to be one of the most physically demanding and exhausting days of my life ever.

Hackney & Back

Another Friday exploring and enjoying living 'a browse of the metro away' from Central London! Here are a lot of photos from another fun but cold day. At 8.00pm I collected a bike frame for free from Hackney. I walked pretty much all the way from Hoxton to Bethnal Green. It seemed like a buzzing place but also a but dodgy to be walking around with pricey electronic goods in my pockets. All ended well though. Also, I think I am finally getting used to shooting on manual with the D5000!

Ideas

Today was the final day of the 'Ideas' project with Tim Ellis. I really enjoyed it toward the end but struggled to meet the deadline. Thats something Im really going to have to work on this year. In the evening it was off to the boat club for Circuit Training! Joy. Oh, and did I mention the two mile run we had to do before.





Also, here is a new Handlebar/Stem combo I purchased for the Dawes. Its a Cinelli 1A stem with some BLB track drops. Chrome, of course! Also note, my room - messy!

Diet

My hearty dinner after a long session on the water! -Hoi Sin chicken on rice with pizza and beans (+ Ketchup!).

Boat Shed

A sneak into the boat shed after training. It look awesome when the lights are blazing but I couldn't find the switch. Also another dinner of mine. -Tasty Hoi Sin Chicken on rice!

Thames

Nice sunshine near the boat club!

10/10/10

Today was a cool 'date'. It was also an incredibly nice day with full on sunshine, a nice change from the drizzle and overcast rubbish that has been constant recently. I spent the day with Josh and Ed shopping and walking along the banks of the Kingston Thames. It was such a nice day! I bought some trousers from Uni-Qlo which was a cool first time experience (A less pretentious version of American Apparel with the same ideals - simplicity and quality).

The Mill

I went out with the crowd to the Mill Pub after Rowing today. It was a fun evening. We even fed the local Kingston Upon Thames Swans and Geese with bread donated to us by a crazy Polish baker.

Mertropolitan

Incredibly, today was busier than Wednesday. I made my way into London for my second self-initiated sketch day. I went literally all over town from Herne Hill to Temple, to Southbank to Southwark. Ok, so maybe not all over town but I must have walked a good 20 miles. To top things off, the weather was unreal. It was so hot it was uncomfortable but in a good way of course! I did some sketches of boats along the Thames I was very pleased with. Also one of the Millenium wheel which I was not so pleased with. I even ventured out to Herne Hill to pick up a bike wheel, which warranted a visit to the infamous Herne Hill Velodrome. It was different to how I expected it but still very impressive. I do love London! In the evening, as if I hadn't done enough already, I gobbled some amazing Hoi Sin Chicken dinner and headed out for some night time photography. Here is a well know major intersection thing that we have to get across to go into Kingston town centre from above on the top floor of a multi-story car park.