I’ve spoken with New Writing South and we hope to reschedule the course in  Autumn this year. I will publish the details when I have the information.

The next writing course I am scheduled to lead is the Starting to Write: Drama module of Birkbeck College’s Creative Writing (Certificate of Higher Education) course starting on April 17th in Central London.

Paul Stephens - top guy - picks up his trophies.

We were in Herefordshire this weekend. We’d been invited as guests to Ross-on-Wye and District Cycling Club‘s annual awards prize dinner. We were treated royally and had a great time. I made the shortest of speeches (having written the longest of speeches) and got to shake hands with all the prize winners.

I rode for the Ross twice in my ‘career’, once in the eighties and again when I came back in 2004-5. They’re a great club – very eccentric. They currently have a crop of excellent riders.

Alan Cook picked up the lion's share of the trophies

They run a memorial 25 mile TT in my father’s name every year. He rode for them back in the 1950s and again in the 80s. He won a VTTA national championship, Welsh Vets BAR and broke a few tandem competition records while riding for the club.

The club run regular training rides, club events and social events. If you’re ever on holiday in the Wye Valley it’s worth getting in touch with them.

On the Sunday morning a few of us went for a short ride in the Forest of Dean. The Forest is superb training country… if you’re fit. I was dropped up every climb and even managed to lose myself at one point. I’m sure it was flatter 30 years ago. After thirty miles I was ready for my nap.

Will Bevan was another multi-trophy winner. Will's accounts of his training sessions made me feel weak.

I’ve kept the bike riding going for a month now – I’ve established the habit I think. It’s going to be trick next week, I have other commitments, but I think I can keep it going.

Photographs courtesy of Paul Stephens. There are more here.

Sam Phillips picks up his certificate. Sam was riding for the club when I started out in 1973.

It’s going to be quite a low key season. The work I have lined up precludes many weekend events and there are exciting things going on in the family this year that knock out a few more.

However, targets give focus so here are a couple to be going on with. They’re not very SMART because I’m a bit dubious about the value of SMARTness for what is effectively a recreational season.

1. Do a decent ride in the Ross-on-Wye and District CC 25 mile TT in July.

This event (my Dad’s memorial race) has been a regular on my schedule since I’ve come back to racing. It’s on a faster course this year as well.

2. Put together an improving sequence of rides in the In-Gear evening 10m TTs.

In-Gear Quickvit Trainsharp are running ten evening 10s from the end of May onwards. They’re all on the same course so it’ll be easy to compare performances.

I also hope to ride some Eastbourne Rovers CC and Lewes Wanderers CC evening events again. I may manage to finally get to some Rye and District Wheelers CC and Hastings and St Leonards CC club events as well.

In terms of other opens… There is a Southborough and District Wheelers 10 in March, a couple of ESCA events in April, a VTTA 10 and a Southborough 25 in June and perhaps a couple of late season events in September and October. This is nowhere near the number that I’d normally ride. I can’t say that I’ll miss all those early starts.

One event I’d like to ride is the Duo Normande 2 up TT in Normandy at the end of September. I’d need to be a great deal wealthier and fitter to make that happen.

The turbo bike

After a few months off I finally got back on the bike on December 31st. 18 miles (at 13mph!) later and I was sore, tired but pleased to have achieved ride #1.

Since then I’ve unpacked the turbo trainer, repaired the turbo bike and bridged the bad weather gap with a couple of easy static sessions.

I’d been worrying (!) that my heart rate was too high for the perceived effort I was making. On reflection I think it’s because this is the first time in years that I’ve been training while REALLY rested (as opposed to barely recovered).

On Sunday I went for a leisure ride with Pat along the new Coastal Connection path between Glyne Gap and St Leonards. The surface is a bit sketchy in places (deep, loose gravel) but I think it will be a popular alternative to the main road. Especially as it has a café on it. We stopped for a brew even though it was only a ten mile ride.

In the afternoon I did a 25 mile circuit through Cooden, Pevensey, Magham Down, Herstmonceux, Ninfield, High Woods and Little Common. I only averaged 14 mph after blowing up in some style with a few miles to go. The Ryvita for lunch was clearly not enough fuel.

And so to today’s session. It was a perfect, mild, windless day. I did the same 25 mile circuit and pushed along about one gear higher. I felt stronger. I did get a bit ragged towards the end, but always in control. It was still only a 15mph run, but that’s progress. I love it when a ride goes well.

If I’m cycling to maintain fitness (rather than to improve racing performance) I think three rides a week should be enough. I’d like to get some more distance work in, but I need to adjust to being back in the saddle before that becomes possible.

“Playwrighting” from New Writing South

led by Lance Woodman

This new ten session course offers a supportive atmosphere in which to explore elements of craft, including characterisation, plot, dialogue, and voice. Aimed at both those new to playwrighting and those with some experience wanting a refresher course the emphasis is on discovery, technique, and experimentation. Building on regular class exercises and individual work, and guided by constructive feedback and discussion, you will work on producing a short drama script. Some work created by the group will be presented by professional actors in a rehearsed reading at the end of the course which all participants can attend.

Lance Woodman is a playwright. He has an MA in Playwriting Studies from the University of Birmingham. He has taught Drama and Writing for Performance at Birkbeck College, University of London, Brunel University and Birmingham City University. His plays have been produced by Worcester Swan Theatre, BBC Radio 4, artworcs and New Theatre Works amongst others. He has been invited to workshops at the National Theatre Studio, was commissioned by Birmingham Repertory Theatre, was a member of the BBC’s Sparks Radio Writers’ group and was Writer in Residence at Worcester Swan Theatre after winning a Pearson bursary.

Full course dates:
Tuesday 7 February 2012 7-9pm
Monday 13 February 2012 7-9pm
Tuesday 21 February 2012 7-9pm
Wednesday 29 February 2012 7-9pm
Tuesday 6 March 2012 7-9pm
Tuesday 20 March 2012 7-9pm
Tuesday 27 March 2012 7-9pm
Tuesday 3 April 2012 7-9pm
Tuesday 10 April 2012 7-9pm
Plus
Saturday 14 April 2012 (10.30am-4.30pm) workshop with actors

Venue: The Writers’ Place, Jew Street, Brighton

The Christmas Penguin

Have a great Christmas, everyone.

Mark Rylance heads up a company that revels in the revels. The audience (even in our restricted view area) were rapt for the whole three hours. It gives you faith in theatre again.

We decided that Rooster Byron would fit in very well in Hastings. Every third bloke there is a pirate, a shaman, a storyteller and/or a dealer.

The play has set me of on a new line of research for next year’s character at Bodiam. I’ve ordered some books on English folk tales and folklore.

That London was a bit disappointing. There are very few Christmas decorations and the place felt a bit grim. Buck Palace is illuminated, but only up to the levels of an East European railway terminus. Perhaps it’s a theme.

This month has been extra special though. I’ve got to meet and work with one of my all time heroes. You might have thought it was impossible for Father Christmas to live up to all the hype, but no: he’s a generous, hard-working colleague with time for everyone and not a cynical bone in his body. Here’s a picture of me and the big guy (that’s him on the left. I’m the one on the right).

Father Christmas

Some minor damage to roofing

A bright, louring day

More bright louring

The view East

The prom is covered in shingle. The clean up begins.

The beach’s profile is transformed. Thousands of tons of shingle and sand have shifted.

This was a mild storm. I ‘look forward’ to a truly dramatic Winter effort. Reading the forecast, we might not have to wait for long.

I started a new job in May. It has weekend working and a variable schedule which made it difficult to keep to training plans and made weekend racing tricky to programme. So I slowed down then stopped the racing. And then slowed down and then stopped the cycling. I haven’t been on the bike since August.

But it’s not about the job of course. the job was just the excuse pushing at an open door. The racing was getting difficult because I was going slower. Motivation is a problem when there is no incentive. The house move in March meant that I had lost my support network.

Support network sounds grand doesn’t it. What I mean is those people who get after you if you start taking it easy: the Willesden CC, the Minet Ladies CC, the veterans at the Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, the Imperial Winter Series and so on. Living in a new place means you have to be a self-starter until you find the local networks. I did this for a while… and then stopped doing it.

Will I ride a bike again? I’ve got a hell of a lot invested in kit. That’s probably not enough of an incentive to tempt me out on a day like today (cold, wet and windy).

The one thing that might persuade me back onto the road again is that I’ve started putting on weight. The new job, with its outdoor work and requirement for nervous energy, has kept the pounds off during the season. Since November I’m working less and the pounds are creeping back on. I hate being fat.

If I do race next year I think I’ll stick to club races. There’s a really good calendar of evening events in East Sussex. I do like riding opens, but down here the weekend events always start early in the morning (in most areas the Saturday races are in the afternoon). Two early starts (3-5am say) in a row are no fun, especially if you’re riding like a slug.

I don’t think I can afford to set targets for next year. They get me down and, in the end, become counter productive.

Some statistics for the year:

Fastest 10 miles TT – 25:52 on 9th May on the G10/87 course (compared to a PB of 23:37)

Fastest 25 miles TT – 1:05:33 on 8th May on the Q25/8 course (compared to a PB of 59:07)

16 races ridden. This compares to 48 in 2010.

2,615 miles in training (so far). This compares to 6,786 miles in 2010. I’ve never exceeded 10,000 miles in a year.

633 miles in January was the most miles in a month this year. The disruption of the house move and then new job kicked in around March.