Summer Cycle

2007-06-02T13:11:00.000Z

what i've learned this week

2007-01-22T00:41:00.000Z

Ok so, considering that I’m a student, am supposed to be receiving some sort of education, which I will eventually pay for, I thought I’d share a couple of interesting things I’ve learned this week. Ah, I hear the moving of the mouse to the ‘X’ in the corner already. STOP. Don’t worry the things I want to tell you I didn’t learn in school. I’m not about to go off on some academic rant about something you’ve either never heard off or could probably care less about. Relax its ok…I mean It will save me typing my fingers to their stumpy end, and of course I wouldn’t want any of you crying bloody tears of boredom!

Ok so, well there’s a bit of a theme that connects the two stories I wonder if you’ll be able to see. Let’s play spot the moral!

Well last week sometime I read that there was an army training exercise in Iraq. Not so strange. Ok. And that they were being trained in the early hours of the morning on a new type of machine gun. Well so far ok I can go along with this…why they want a ‘new’ type of machine gun is questionable, did the others not kill quick enough? Anyway beside the point. So there were these soldiers, a little sleepy I presume from being woken up to play with their new toys... er guns…sorry, and well one particular soldier had an unfortunate accident, because the gun jammed, and he shot himself.

This isn’t such a strange story you might think, but reading a little more about this it turns out the guy shot himself in the head…oooh that’s unfortunate I hear you think. Yea! Well, er…pretty unfortunate for him. But, upon learning this I couldn’t help but give out a loud deep rumbling belly laugh of despair. First I’ll tell you why the laugh…then the despair. I could just imagine this guy sleepy, just woken up, maybe a little hungry thinking about breakfast. I don’t really know what would be on offer for breakfast in armed forces in Iraq? But anyway, our soldier picks up the gun, kinda excited to be playing with something new, walks over to the firing range and makes himself comfy…getting ready to fire off a few rounds, start the day with a bang he thinks!

Well! …Click…click, ‘hmm’ the soldier thinks ‘gun’s gone and jammed’. At this point my imagination takes me to the person standing next to him firing off a few rounds, he looks over to see this guy turning the gun towards himself looking for the problem, and staring right down the barrel of the gun... BOOM!! No breakfast for our soldier, and I assume neither for our observer whose just been witness to perhaps the greatest act of stupidity he will ever see in his life! I guess tea, and toast isn’t really that appealing when you’re wiping someone’s face of your clothes!

‘ben…that’s not funny how could you laugh at such a thing’ well as far as I’m concerned anybody willing to turn a gun around so that it could blow your head off is either someone who is inconsolably depressed, or someone that never learned what end the bullets come out! I mean a three year old knows which end to hold a gun. I guess I just never realised cartoons were based on real life events!! This brings me laughter of despair. The despair to think that there are people like this in the world, and these people represent are the fingers on the arm of our foreign policy. Don’t want to get too political, but …what the fuck, come on!

Ok well to a little more light hearted story, well I say light hearted…what I actually mean is I won’t mention the war! ‘which war? There are too many’ shhhhh.

Well…picture this. Refresh your eyes. Reading on a computer can dry you out. That’s if you’ve got this far, if your still going and I haven’t scared you off with the other story then get this.

In America this week, and if you could please refrain from American prejudice until after the email! I mean they’ve got minds just like us, they’re just not allowed to use them…it’s the law…I’ve seen it…honest. It’s not their fault. Anyway so Nintendo releases a computer console that a lot of people want to buy for some reason. Maybe it helps you escape reality better than anything else on the market…better than drugs perhaps. I don’t know. But anyway it’s called a wii. I’m sure most of you have probably heard of it, and it pronounced ‘wee’ by the way. For the Spaniards out there it’s pronounced ‘wii’ …funny eh?

Ok so a radio station held a competition to win one of these coveted wii consoles, and the competition was called ‘hold your wee for a wii’. So clever. So ingenious. I wonder how long it took to think that up. But the premise is fairly simple…no seriously…no joke…despite the name its actually an easy concept!. So, the group of people continuously drink water without going to the toilet. The last remaining person to withstand the effects of er…NATURE will win him or herself a wii console. For those of you that don’t know the story then I can hear you thinking where the hell is this going? Is this going to be an urban myth where everybody is drinking; nobody wants to quit then at some point, well into the competition, someone makes a joke, the bladder releases; everybody else follows suit because they are, in the greatest sense of the phrase, just pissing them selves. Causing a giant wave and a flood that crashes and bounds through the building where the competition is being held; carrying old ladies and screaming children swimming in a torrent of urine.

Er…well unfortunately this story is a little more serious than that. One woman drank continuously for three hours. Didn’t win the console. Gave up. Went home. Next day she died. Water intoxication. Was I laughing?...Yes

Now I know that might seem horrible, and cruel. But, I think if you’re going to drink litres and litres of water without going to the toilet then you pretty much deserve what’s coming to ya! How desperate can a person be that they want to be the proud owner of a bunch of plastic and electronics made in a poor third world country that they will risk their life consuming the one resource that the third world country probably values more than the electronic junk! Oh the irony pains me. What does our three year old friend have to say on this one? ‘what happens if you drink lots of water and don’t go to the toilet?’ to which he might respond ‘burst’ pretty close, pretty close. How wise children are!!

I guess the moral is be it a gun or be it water…if you’re stupid, or just willing to be stupid; suspending your internal dialogue of intellect for one moment, you know that voice of reason, then world is a very dangerous place, and who said ignorance is bliss!!!

I hope I haven’t offended anyone, just wanted to share some thoughts. If you don’t like it delete it, or write back. And if you can see what I can see then I’m glad.

Enjoy your week

Ben

Against the Clock

2006-08-04T11:43:00.000Z

Helllooooooooooooo. Holaaaaaaaaaa!!!

ok well it seems as ever that the internet doesnt like me and i have 16 minutes to say as much as possible before the shop shuts and i get dragged out clutching the keyboard trying to sign off this post.

ok so. IM IN SPAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! woooohoooo

made it.

thankyou for those of you that made suggestions about how to get here. i ended up taking a train to the border of france then made a decision to do the trip backwards. so from santander to santiago then get the train back to santander. complicated i know. any way it took 3 days to get to santander but when i arrived i was greeted by the lovely Ana and a comfortable bed to sleep in. a double bed...all to myself.

however before arriving to to comforts of home living i had to spend a couple of soul destroying days on trains...i dont like trains....theyre pretty much the opposite mode of transport to being on a bike. fast...confined...borring. but anyway i made it to the border of france - spain cycled across the border then caught another train to half way between where i was and where i was going. problem is i missed the connecting train to santander by 15 minutes. thats a shame. so i spent the night on a comfy (well, as comfy goes) city bench. half way through the night im awoken by a man wanting to water the trees and my mind not yet caught up with my body said to him ´je ne parle francais´ its a problem when you cant remember which country your in or which language to speek. but he didnt water me so im happy. had to change benches though, i liked the other bench...much warmer.

7 minutes

ok so .., i arrive in santander...comfy bed...Ana´s friendly face...her mums cooking...oh my god the food is amazing, cant wait to go back.

my spanish is coming along well, can hold a badly broken spanish conversation...can speak more here than in france.

5 minutes...feeling rushed now, palms are sweating...

where am i? ok so ive been riding from santander to santiago and its going well, gone a lot faster than i expected. mountains arent so mountainous. am in ribadeo now, will arrive in santiago in 2 days. then a couple of days there ride to ferrol, then catch the wonderful FEVE train for 12 hours to santander! and spend a while there relaxing and slowing down

gotta say this cycling lark is taking it out of me. glad ive only got 3 more riding days...shit 1 minute

okokokoko

so bye speak sooon loads of love

Benjy xxx

Still Going

2006-07-20T14:18:00.000Z

Well, unless you thought weve dropped off the face of the planet yes we are still going. internet access isnt readily available in the woods or fields as weve discovered so our updates are going to be sparse at the best of times.

but anyway were in our third week now and everything is going fine. the first few days of cycling that i wrote about a while ago seem foreign and old. although weve only been away 2 weeks or so it does feel like a couple of months. other than our slimming bodies and bronzed skin not much has changed...oh well, erm...i did crash...ill get to that in a minute. if anything the whole operation has become rather streamlined. each member of the group slipping into formation fulfiling their role and position and before you know it the tent is up beds are made and there is a plate of food facing you. like ants moving colony...it just happens.

to start with the most memorable event that touched our journey after writing last was probably the crash. well for me at least. how stupid, one week in and i fall of my bike. dont worry only flesh wounds, but it was more of an anoying set back rather than anything else. but a few days later and everything is healing well and fine. riding not affected. good.

weve been riding up through the coastal route of the west of france and its treated us rather well. the last few days have been stupidly hot and have cooked us whilst riding. i guess you should come to expect that when its 41c! but weve changed the routiune now so to avoid the heat of the day and its going well.

HELP...i need to travel from the north west of france around the brest/rennes/roscoff area to santiago de compostela in spain...any suggestions or specific informaiton about how i could do this would be amazing. i dont think public transport is too kind to the cyclist. any way if you know of anything just get in touch.

im afraid this p[ost isnt the exciting recounting of adventurous tails as i intended because the above problem has eaten into my time however, they will arrive on this site at some point.

an under estemation of distance on toms part has left us cycling some long routes and as a result we have covered almost 700km already. but its good. as long as the weather is kind.

ok i need to go before my brain explodes with the stress of heat, sweat, and travelling logistics.

oh Hollie has given birth now by the way. its a girl. no name yet i dont think. well done hollie and happy birthday.

ok take care and ill be in touch soon,

B x

En Route

2006-07-09T13:38:00.000Z

Bonjour, çava (i cant find the question mark). ok so first i must appologise for any spelling or puntuation mistakes as i hava just noticed that the french keyboard has a very different layout to hte english...interesting.

so we made it to Bordeaux...the flight wasnt so bad... arrived and it was raining..thats a shame. we know that riding in the rain, and been told this a few times, will destroy your spirit. but hey ho we got on with it hung around the airport until the weather cleared...i say cleared i mean not raining as hard as 5 minutes ago!

the whole bordeaux part of the trip i think should be ignored...theres not much to say about it and if there were it wouldnt really be worth mentioning.

however. onwards from 'that place' and the REAL day one of the cycle was absolutely amazing...clear skies, rolling countryside with traditional french houses and vin yards accompanying our cycle through the region. what more could you want (question mark...where is it.....) ok so to cut this short because time isnt on my side right now...everything is good...weve stayed in a citadel, havent crashed...yet, indulged in some good...wait...REALLY GOOD French Cheese, wine, pastries, bread...just everything. ok so i go now but will update soon. take care.

Benjy, Tom & Josh xx

Goodbye England

2006-07-05T16:49:00.000Z

Hello, this is the last post from england ive got a spare couple of minutes so i thought id say aurevoir. Everything has been packed and sorted so all that is required is to step onto that plane and start riding. everybody is excited to start having a great experience in the summer. had to say good bye to some loved ones as you can see above...oh the pain!!! only joking, im sure ill make friends with a french chicken. anybody know the french for cluck cluck?

any way for those of you living near the coast enjoy the beautiful summery weather, and sea. Those living in a city...enjoy the hose pipe ban!

See you all in France...it would be strange if i did, but you know what i mean.

Benjy x

Off we go!

2006-06-29T22:57:00.000Z

Hello, so this will most probably be the last post before the trip starts on wednesday. a very busy few days ahead of us; moving out of the flat, going to stay with Tom in Bude then onto London and eventually to Gatwick where the fun and games begin.

so permitting everything goes well and according to plan the next post will be from sunny (i really hope its sunny) france. until then all the best, and like i said before the only way to get in touch will be either through this website or a text on the mobiles, but internet access and batteries hinder those two options. so dont get too upset if theres a lag in response times.

ok so its late im tired. got to get ready for the cycle. benjy x

PS - exam results are in we all passed the first year. woooo!

End of Exams!!

2006-06-19T14:17:00.000Z

Hello! Exams are finished and the celebrations began Thursday and finished Sunday. All i can say is that it was intense. Actually it was really nice to end the year partying with lots of good friends. the next few weeks are going to be very busy so if for any reason you're experiencing a communication black hole around me then that's why...it's nothing personal...honest.

We're moving all our gear into the new house on saturday for storage over the summer. actually looking forward to seeing our new house again. it will be a big change from the open cold brick wall that face us everywhere we turn now. that's lafrowda by the way. lafrowda is our block of flats in case you were wondering. we have an ant infestation at the moment. it's probably cleaner and more hygenic to live outside, but i don't want to whinge it's served me well for the last year, and have had many a good time.

ok so hopefully ill get to post before we go. i find my energy and willingness to type fading right now...again, nothing personal...really.

other anouncements:

Hollie - good luck with the baby im upset that im not going to get to see you and the baby before we go, but i look forward to september.

Happy Birthday Ana for Saturday.

Ben (me) now vice president of Hacky Soc. it's not that impressive.

Tom - Have fun in Greece

Everybody - Love you, don't want to leave you out!

ok im rambling...take care - B x

Josh felt left out!

2006-06-05T17:16:00.000Z

Poor Josh was feeling a little left out not being able to dress in a silly costume so he joined in with this little number. Dashing - B

Hitting the Books

2006-05-30T19:21:00.000Z

This week, and the next couple, our time will be consumed by the ever looming EXAMS. So the books are being dog-eared and highlighted as I type.

There is an air of stillness and quiet reflection as the average IQ of the student population takes a brief holiday a couple of points higher than its usual term time residence. Alas it is only a short break into this higher intelligibility. It reverts to being entertained by day time TV and Beer after blowing a couple of fuses trying to answer how transcendental unity of apperception relates to anything in the real world, or how important institutional iso-morphism is to the constructivist paradigm!!!

never mind...we've only got a few weeks left and then a big sigh and relax.

thank you everyone who has sent us messages, it's nice to hear from you. Any questions or comments, or anything you want to see on the website just ask...although it may take a little time getting it on here at the moment.

Next big news I guess is that I have left my job... .... ...sorry...just fell off my chair with excitement at that one. Can't wait. Last day is on Wednesday, that's tomorrow, I'm pretty damn happy to be getting out of there. It's not very nice having to go somewhere and get treated like a drone, an adolescent one at that, and then realise that it's your fault your there in the first place. Never mind its all over now...just think of the money I tell my self.

Ok...so I'm going back to the books. Take care for now - B

Training

2006-05-21T17:00:00.000Z

Have started some serious training now in preparation for the summer. up at the crack of dawn ready and waiting for the day to explode ahead of us as we get riding on our bikes...well, er, more of a chemically induced 'lets go riding at sunrise' from Tom. we did try to call Josh, but he didnt seem too pleased that cycling was the only thing he was woken up for at 4.30 in the morning. Oh well, it was an amazing ride anyway. by the way...yes those are ghostbuster outfits...1001 uses. - B

The Route

2006-05-21T16:49:00.000Z

Ok, so...this is a picture of the route that we'll (Myself, Tom and Josh) be taking through France. On the South Western corner of France you'll find Bordeaux and on the North Western tip is Roscoff. seems rather daunting doesnt it? never mind we have the luxury of time on our hands. - B

Bec's Birthday

2006-05-18T23:57:00.000Z

Becks you legend...its only your birthday as well. my my may is a popular month for the B'day celebrations...first Tracey then Savvy then Emma and Rob! now you...hope you have a blast. - B

Happy Birthday Emma!!

2006-05-18T10:02:00.000Z

Happy Birthday Emma. We love you?! - B & T

Open for Business

2006-05-17T12:52:00.000Z

Welcome to our home. This will be the main port of contact with all you funky people whilst we are doing our travelling through France, and possibly beyond...watch this space. Updates including routes, pictures, and a whole lot more will follow shortly. - Ben