In March last year I posted a blog about cycling over the South Dorset Ridgeway. From, the Weymouth side, it rises about 100m much of it in the form of a chalk escarpment. From the north it's a longer gentler pull, from the south, a much steeper prospect with nasty hairpin bend about a third of the way up.
I have just done a quick calculation and so far this story has had 26,152 hits over the thirteen episodes. I get the distinct impression that some of you like it.
The British Lion has roared at the track cycling in Beijing, a medal in every event so far plus a gold and silver in the Keirin and the same assured in the women's 3000m individual time trial. As a member of British Cycling; I am overjoyed. I presume I can stand down now, as they look as if they can cope without me. 8)
I am led to believe that being stabbed feels like being kicked. A wound that causes blood to enter the mouth means penetration of gut or lung. Either can be serious to the point of being fatal, loss of consciousness means a large to massive bleed.
The narrative of this story is first person - unconscious/dying/dead people don't tend to say very much.
I like to keep an eye on my stories to see which ones are more popular. At present, that seems to be Totally Insane which at the time of counting, a few minutes ago, had a combined hit score of 17,500 for ten episodes. Looks like I'll have to keep it going a bit longer (or the death threats from a soon to be teenager, will start again!).
I got my wheel back lunch time and have sorted it and the brakes this evening. The good news is, I won't now have to destroy the universe.
Just thought you'd like to know, so you can make forward plans again.
What a week - it began on saturday evening when my mountain bike, upon which I had carried about two tons of food shopping earlier, made funny noises on braking. A strange noise, sounded a bit like the spokes were being rubbed, but as it was only on using the rear brake, I decided it had to be that. Nowhere was open to sell me some more brake blocks,so it became a job for sunday.
According to the records, 'Bike' will be one year old on Wednesday, which all being well should be episode number 349. I'm sixteen or so parts missing- not bad I suppose, considering I do have a life outside writing poor fiction. Of those missing I suspect half a dozen were technical glitches, plus a couple of holidays and a hospital appointment.
The next part of Totally Insane should be up tomorrow, I have to finish the edit. However, I was a moment ago, looking at the hits list, in eight episodes it has registered 15,205 hits.
Maddy Bell(http://www.maddybell.com/page600.html )has posted updates on several stories including her latest Nena-sode, and some fanfics- some of which are not posted elsewhere! Erm, hint, hint, oh yes, that includes one of mine (blushes coyly)Whatever Next part 17, with Drew up to his neck in things again- this time the ironing. If you go to the fanfic page, there are two short stories I wrote for the 2008 Gabycon posted as well. Neither will tax your brain too hard and only one is about cycling - honest!
I have explained before that Totally Insane was intended as a one or two parter. It seems that some of you like it, one reader in particular likes it enough to send me begging letters, for more! There's no accounting for taste, I suppose.
I am extremely cross that I've lost tonight's episode after taking two hours to write it. I think I'm going to have to do them on my own puter and paste them. I won't be doing a rewrite tonight. So much for f*cking technology!
I'd already been out on my new bike, the carbon fibre job, which flies like a rocket when my legs have the energy to pedal fast enough. It had been spitting rain and I wondered if I was going to get caught in a deluge, like the one which prompted me to start writing 'Falling off a bike'. But the clouds passed over.
Sorry to all those who were hoping for another edition of this mayhem, I wrote one last night and thought I'd posted it. Obviously, something went wrong with the process and I went straight to bed, so I didn't check it out. I'll have to do another 318.
This is a purely personal account of my weekend. The drive up was good, I had to detour at Bristol to collect Saphira and her bike from the airport- well the Holiday Inn. This it turns out is nowhere near the airport, and might even be closer to Taunton. I did however find it within 48 hours (good job I packed an emergency Lion Bar).
I'm away from tomorrow and haven't had a chance to pack yet, so I'm afraid I don't have time to conceive and write 'Bike' tonight. I'm away for a week.
Sometimes ideas just come into your head and won't go away until they manifest as bits of typescript. This was the case with the start of Bike and Totally Bonkers. Both were intended as one offs. Okay so I did a second of both, and that should have ended the matter, especially of the latter story.
On Sunday I wrote and posted over 11,000 words on this site in three separate entries, Totally Insane;Totally Insane (Concluded) and Falling off a bike.
Quite how or why I did it, and that included help from one or two others with express proofing etc.,I don't know. Something seems to drive me, does that happen to other writers?
As I approach episode 300 of Falling Off A Bike, I think I'd like to take check on if readers still want me to continue posting them or to bring it to a conclusion.
I'm aware it's at best literature lite, but given its preparation is zero, I really do write them directly to the site, which sometimes shows.
'Falling off a bike' started as an experience of cycling through a thunderstorm. Today, I cycled through another one, this time on a mountain bike, with some wet weather gear and mudguards on the bike.
Here we are again, the end of another weekend with work lurking just over the horizon. Once more I feel that I haven't done very much at all, didn't do a bike ride or write another masterpiece, only fiddled about and achieved very little.
The following link is to an e-medical journal, which I hope works (the link I mean). It's pretty serious stuff but as a health professional, I make no apologies for it.
According to Sol Steinmetz, lexicographer and dictionary editor,(author of Semantic Antics), speaking on the BBC Radio 4 programme, Word of Mouth, 15.4.08, the original meaning of the word girl, was a young child of either sex.
I finally got around to joining British Cycling, which for those not in the know, is an organisation dedicated to sport and leisure cycling. I'm already a member of the Cyclist's Touring Club, which is the main lobbying group for cyclists.
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
