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Lotus League 2013: Round 3

7:00PM Youth A, B and C race. £5 fee. 7:30PM Regional C+ (E/1/2/3/4) handicap race for full licence holders. £10 fee.

Lotus League 2013: Round 2

2013 Race Results round 2: Simon Millard (Iceni Velo) won the Regional C+ scratch race, with Liam Gentry (Strada Sport) in 2nd place. David Bales (Iceni Velo) won the Go Race, and Nick Rivett (North

Buxtons Haulage, now shut down

Buxtons Haulage has been running an HGV depot for many years from the small Tungate Road on the south-west edge of North Walsham, but in May 2013 a number of large concrete blocks and barriers appeared

Boudicca Sportive 2013

The Boudicca Sportive once again ticked all the boxes: fantastic organisation, friendly faces, excellent route marking (and GPS for download of course), and superb weather! I rode the 70-mile route

Cheap ways to clear outside drains

Background WARNING: This is gross, I mean revolting disgusting horrible. Do not read if squeamish. John was a wee bit alarmed to notice one of the manhole covers in our back garden lifting above

Using a road bike for Time Trialling

Bikes customised for time trialling are great. They are designed from head to toe with a focus on aerodynamics and comfort, making sure that you stay in your 'tuck' position as much as possible. However

Lotus League 2013: Round 1

The first evening's racing got off to a smooth start, and efficient organisation meant that everyone got signed in promptly and were racing on time. The track was in tip-top condition, and a brisk westerly

Iceni Velo 2013 Road Race

There were 50 starters in this Regional B race on 10 laps of the Skeets Hill circuit in South Norfolk. The pace was high in warm and sunny conditions. Lap times (by the lead riders), recorded

Broadband Readings for my home

North Norfolk Wheelers 100-mile time trial

My ride was aborted due to intense pain and stiffness around the lower back, possibly related to the disc hernia that I've been diagnosed with.   Event HQ: Event HQ: Hempton Memorial Hall

Efficient, minimal MySQL backup

When someone asks you about what you do to backup your website's database, you'll probably have one of these responses: "I don't think that we do any..." Read on! You must get some sort of backup

Green Lanes and muddy paths in Wensum Valley

The excellent folks at Iceni Velo put on a perfect, fun ride around the Wensum Valley in Norfolk. There were three distances on offer, all starting at Lyng village hall, with mixtures of off-road riding

Bitcoins: currency of the future?

Bitcoins are all the rage these days. They are a virtual currency, with their value determined by cryptographic computer effort, but can be used to buy real things. Earning bitcoin: Mine it with BitcoinPlus

Extra McKay Family pictures

Thanks to Rachel Humphrey for supplying these pictures from her grandmother's photo album. Lauren McKay holding infant niece Elizabeth, 1920, probably in North Dakota. 2 pictures of Lauren

A rural sunset

This is the sort of sunset we see a lot of in North Walsham. The surrounding land is quite flat and without tall buildings to block the view.

How does £1 a litre suit you?

The video below is of a phone conversation between a heating oil customer and a national supplier. The supplier is quoting 97 pence per litre for an order of under 1000L, or 85p/L for 1000L or more

29 March 2013: Great Yarmouth CC 10-mile time trial

If you want to get non-blurry pictures of time triallists (and you're not a terribly good photographer), then being a helper on the start line is a pretty good option. I took these pictures at around

Don't let your child's iPhone or iPad store payment information!

Have you heard of in-app purchases? If you haven't now, you might have by the time your credit card bill or bank statement comes in. It's extremely easy to spend money inside iPhone and iPad apps,

17 March 2013: Great Yarmouth CC 25-mile time trial

Played out in chilly conditions, gritty and dampish roads, and a rising southerly breeze, this sporting course event tested the staying power of riders and marshals alike. The entry list was quite short

mysqli doesn't like old passwords

mysqli, the recommended PHP interface to mysql, will not authenticate with mysql servers using old (16-bit hash) passwords. This is the message you see: PHP Warning: mysqli::mysqli(): (HY000/2000

How the BC Rankings Work

BC (British Cycling, formerly the British Cycling Federation) operates a points-based system in competitive events. Each type of event that it is involved in (BMX, cyclo-cross, road & track, etc

02 March 2013: CC Breckland '10

Conditions were almost perfect for the region's opening 10-mile time trial, on the B10/19 course from Hingham to Watton and back again. The road was dry and clear, there was a mild westerly breeze,

Getting an opening: remove an internal wall!

Knocking down an internal wall can be a great way to make your living space seem a lot larger. Making that decision needs to be taken only after a lot of thought and planning, however, as it is expensive

Cycling in the snow

Snow is no excuse to stop cycling, that's the bottom line. You might have the wrong tyres or clothing, but with a little bit of preparation you can ride as usual. The only wintry conditions to stop

19 January 2013: West Suffolk Cross

Wintry conditions greeted the organisers, marshalls, helpers and riders at the final round of the Eastern Cyclocross League. Round 14 took place at King Edward VI School in Bury St. Edmunds, skirting

Bontrager lightweight full-length gloves

You know how it is when the weather is dry but a bit cool, so full weather-proofing isn't required for that cycle commute or Sunday ride. It's important to get thermal protection right for your hands

30 December 2012: Iceni Velo Chris Cross

The penultimate round (#13) of the Eastern Cross league was fabulously sunny - but very windy! The large amounts of tape used for the brand new cyclocross course at the Horse Welfare Centre in Snetterton

Giving up Caffeine

Day 76: 10 March 2013 Breaking news, I've resorted to buying decaf tea bags (Yorkshire). They don't taste right, somehow, but I'm strangely addicted anyway. And no caffeine withdrawal symptoms, yay

Cyclocross courses in Eastern England

All cyclocross course are the same, right? Wrong! They all have certain basic requirements - fast off-road riding, obstacles, technical sections - but will vary significantly in the delivered product

How to check chain stretch

Bike chains are the same all around the world, made of links half an inch long. During its lifetime it will gradually stretch, depending on how much load you put it under, and if it stretches too much