First Century - Stream of Consciousness

Out on the bike, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Did my first century cycle ride at the weekend in the 101 mile Wiggle New Forest cycle sportive. Here’s what went through my mind:

@0 miles... Wonder if I am wearing too much - do I really need 2 layers. Lots of people....
@2 miles... Group passing me, wonder if I can latch on... OK, on, but having to work hard...
@8 miles... Lucked out with this mob, Big peleton of about 20, going much faster than my normal pace, but they are doing all the work.... No sign of Steve or William, but Steen just ahead in the same group
@12 miles.... Cattle grid - Ouch!
@14miles... Damn, another hill, really struggling to hang on to peleton.... Push to catch them up again... Phew - made it.... Getting really tired, no way I will last 100 miles like this....
@15 miles... Cattle grid - Ouch!
@17miles.... Junction - chance to catch my breath while we wait for a gap in traffic
@19miles... Cattle grid coming up, OMG bike in mid air at front of peleton! slam on brakes.... at least no-one else has piled into him.... swerve around chap & see that his mates have stopped to help him. His face covered in blood.... Should I be stopping - feeling guilty about going on - nothing I can do anyway - keep going.... wow - flying bikes - just like the Tour on the telly
@20miles... Half the peleton gone & the rest breaking up - can’t keep up with the leaders - Steen seems to be still hanging on
@22miles.... Ooops half the people turning off - which way am I going??? - There’s Steen ahead & going left -  Think that's the sign for the Epic saying turn right - Just do it.... Did I mess up or did Steen.... Phew a sign saying I am on the Epic route.. Wonder if Steen will realise & turn back
@23miles... Pace more manageable now on my own, but not getting any free ride

@24miles... Previous peleton leaders coming past.... should I try & jump on... no the pace was killing me - I’d never finish... Just keep going at my pace

@25miles.... First food stop... draw in.... but I have enough water & have brought my own food... what did you stop for you idiot.... turn around & get going..

@30 miles... More f*** cattle grids - Ouch!

@35miles.... Great scenery

@40 miles... Horse on the road - slow down & avoid... dumb animal seem totally oblivious of all the even dumber animals on bikes flashing by

@42 miles... Moving bacon.... big pig chomping on acorns at side of road

@53miles.... OMG a cliff approaching.... this must be “the steepest hill in England” that William was waffling about.... thought he was talking bollocks... OMG it’s hard... OMG I can’t keep going.... How can I stop... If I even attempt to unclip I will lose all momentum & simply fall over... never live it down.... pain.... pain.... maybe falling over would be easier anyway.... pain... almost there.... phew... Wow - hardest 200 yards ever!

@60miles.... Ooops - Getting passed all the time now

@65 miles... Young lady going past but not too fast... latched on.... nice errr “bike”... keep going

@67miles... Another hill... Damn - she is dropping me

@75 miles...Food station... completely knackered - draw in and stand for a rest

@80 miles... Cattle grid - Ouch

@81miles... Mental arithmetic - just 20 miles to go... really struggling... pain

@82miles.... Wonder how accurate the GPS is, maybe I still have 20 miles to go... pain

@83 miles... Just under 20 miles to go... pain

@84 miles... Not sure I will get to 101 miles... pain

@85 miles... How on earth do triathletes do this & then run a full marathon straight after for an Ironman... nutters!

@86 miles... Pain

@87miles ... Pain... OK never again - the bike is going on eBay when I get home

@90 miles... Pain... Seems less painful at 95+ cadence

@91 miles... Pain... Even easier at zero cadence, shame I am slowing down

@92 miles... Pain... Keep at 95 cadence you idiot

@93 miles... Pain... Big hill (at least 1%) - Keep going you idiot

@94 miles... Pain... Keep going you idiot... 

@95 miles... Sign saying 10k to go - Relief that it is only about 6 miles to go... Look at watch & try & work out my approx time, then give up as too difficult

@96 miles... Passing lots of people now... Some of these folk are on mountain bikes - how on earth did they do 70 or 100 miles on that ?

@97 miles... Big bloke on mountain bike wearing t shirt & football shorts exposing the most gruesome builders bottom ever... Avoid & power to get past the frightening spectacle... Pain

@100 miles... Pain... should be almost there

@101 miles.... Pain.... Can see people turning off the road - Yippee must be almost there.... dirt track (Ouch)... finish line

Collect medal & goodie bag... see Steen grinning over the barrier with a beer in hand, smugly stating he did the Epic in 5:51.... He informs me I have completed it in 6:15 (turns out when I check the official times that it was actually 6:12... )  If I wasn’t in so much pain I would be elated. Takes me a couple of minutes to swing my leg off the bike & then I stumble off for beers. After beer I go for a 15 min massage to get some life back into my legs.

Sitting in the car half dozing I realise that I have done 100+ miles and that a few years before I had done several marathons.... Maybe the bike should not go on eBay & I should start thinking about an Ironman some day.... 

"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." - Frank A Clark

"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." - Frank A Clark, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Of course the reality is that the obstacles are my will power & ageing carcass…. Not a simple tree.

A couple of weeks ago there were two life changing events that got me into this painful & depressing situation.

1 - I was late walking down to catch the train & had to run about 1/2 mile in my overcoat & hat. Although I caught the train (just)…. I felt like death warmed up & declared I had to get fitter.

2 - A friend was muttering in the pub the next night about doing the local 10k race… and I had consumed a beer or two by that stage

Naturally the result was that I declared I was also going to do the 10k….. despite not having run for 8? years or more. I was convinced that having run marathons etc in the (dim & distant) past, a 10k would be no problem.

F*** - how wrong can you get !

Running at 50+ is way harder than I ever remember it being before. Shana has been joining me on my training runs. She clearly hates me now - but it is doing the old girl some good regardless (she is 11 1/2 years old - a veritable pensioner for a Ridgeback dog)

Shana decided to support Movember with me this year

Shana decided to support Movember with me this year, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Sadly we both have more grey in our moustache's than we would like.

At least it gives me the chance to create some ridiculous images for fun.....

Donate on my charity page at mobro.co/jimshieldsuk

Serious Mo, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

“In the land of the blind the one eyed man is King” ~ Desiderius Erasmus., originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Making ART

Making ART, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Started a 52 week project based on the book Soulpancake. More info here for a fun group if you want to tag along.

The wk 2 challenge: Art at Arms length - "Make some art out of whatever you find around you."

OK, so I took this literally and "made" ART

Letter A
- Through the Lens - National Geographic's Greatest Photographs
- Exposure - Jane Bown
- Firewire Cable

Letter R
- The Art Book - Phaidon
- Moleskine Notebook
- Dexter - DVD boxed set Series 4
- The Cathedral & the Bazaar - Eric S Raymond


Letter T
- Masterclass in Photography - Michael & Julian Busselle
- Visionmongers - Dechemin
- Balancing Agility & Discipline (A guide for the perplexed) - Boehm & Turner

"The Hound of the Baskervilles"

"The Hound of the Baskervilles", originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Celebrating the "birthdate" of Sherlock Holmes.

Sometimes it is fun to play with photoshop

If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people jumping up and down for joy?

If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people jumping up and down for joy?, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Photo session with both my sons late last night. My older son is doing a jumpology project for his Photography course at uni & persuaded his brother to do a few jumps for him.

He had me set up my big white studio paper backdrop up outside & we used a projector to project an image of the sky onto it, then Sebe did a few (hundred) jumps. I would never have conceived of this. Odd doing nothing in a shoot but taking direction.

A few extra in the comments section of this photo in my flickr stream (Just click on the photo to get there)

Flashing the Mo !

Flashing the Mo !, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Time for you folk to dig in your wallets. This is Movember..... the month where chaps start clean shaven & grow a moustache throughout November in support of Prostate Cancer. (Donate here)

Only a few days growth so far.... i.e. too embarassing to display. Not entirely sure I will make it through the month - still job searching & not sure a half grown moustache is the right impression to take into a job interview, but will see how it goes.

See my version of the picture on the front cover of this book below.

“In the land of the blind the one eyed man is King” ~ Desiderius Erasmus., originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Who's crying now !

Who's crying now !, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Never any point in crying over spilt milk.

Using flash photography can be fun at times.... but messy.

• Position the flash/strobe close to the subject - this makes sure the subject is well lit, but the background remains in darkness. 
• Use a high f-stop in order to get a deep depth of field so that the front and back of the milk splash both in focus
• Use the highest shutter speed available that syncs with your strobe, although no great issue if this is only 1/60th second
• The milk will appear frozen in place as the actual flash duration is typically about 1/1000th of a second.
• You will probably have to repeat multiple times to get the timing coordinated between the splash happening and operating your camera.

Enjoy

Under the nose of Cow #18

Under the nose of Cow #18, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Ever feel you are being watched? I guess that is the problem with doing face-down Tuesdays. (Take a picture lying face down on the ground.... why?..... Why not?)

Took my car into Reading to get it MOT'd, and this was on the wall of the meat market (auction yards) across the road from the garage.

Hopefully I livened up the day for the cows.

Angel shining bright

Angel shining bright, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Had some fun with my son Sebe a couple of days ago. Practised some "Light Painting" techniques.

Light Painting is where the photo is taken in darkness, and one uses a flashlight or equivalent to paint streams of light in the air. For me the most difficult part was remembering where I had painted - so important to have the whole act of painting clear in one's mind first

I also used strobes from each side to light up his body. Strobes were set off at the start of the 30 second exposure before I started "painting"

Sebe seemed to enoy it too..... Luckily quite happy to pose half-nekkid at night in October in the UK (the young are hardy & foolish).

Doodling in Photoshop

Doodling in Photoshop, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

This started off as a copycat of the fabulous Froukje, but then somehow wandered off into some bizarre photoshop doodle. No idea where the heart came from, but it just seemed right to add it.

I suppose that photoshop is a guilty pleasure, so it's OK to indulge in occasionally as long as it doesn't go to excess.

Any way I had fun with this, forcing my son to pose for me, then doodling away..... It isn't perfect, but I learnt a bit more about photoshop which was half the point of it.

Advanced Pilates

Advanced Pilates, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Fun time with my son playing with gravity & rotations today.
Yes - He really is doing that!

Essential skills for photographers - Part 1: Capturing Bokeh

Essential skills for photographers - Part 1: Capturing Bokeh, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

bokeh is the blur in out-of-focus areas of an image, or the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light.

Attack of the Blonde Beer Monkey

Attack of the Blonde Beer Monkey, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

The Beer Monkey
Attacked me last night
He emptied my pockets,
He stole my light
He ruffled my hair,
He jumped on my clothes
He banged on my head,
Left kebab on my nose
The Beer Monkey
Threw sand down my throat
Then Peed in my wardrobe
Before I awoke
The Beer Monkey
Was ever so quick
He fled my house
And in the garden was sick
The Beer Monkey
Left me fragile and white
The Beer Monkey
Attacked me last night

Written by Marcus Richardson (http://poetuk.com/)

That damn monkey gets around doesn't he!

Saw this poem on someone's T-shirt in a pub one night. Had to google it to find the author etc.

How to cope when babysitting boys.....

How to cope when babysitting boys....., originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Had a fun time at the weekend doing a photoshoot for Nick & Charlotte who had a host of family over to visit. We managed to get some fun shots in as well as traditional portraits.

Poultry in motion

Poultry in motion, originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

"Let me die a Youngman's death"

"Let me die a Youngman's death", originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

50 years old this week..... Yippee?

Normally I don't bother too much about age, feeling old, mortality etc etc, but the whole "celebration" of this milestone (we have a party & BBQ planned) seems to make me think about it now. The poem describes exactly the sort of feelings I would prefer to have about ageing & mortality.

The poem is by Roger McGough...... He has some other wonderful & droll poems as well. If you have not read any of his, then take the opportunity to do so if you can.

Lean.....

Lean....., originally uploaded by It's life Jim.....

Got my son to pose again. Nice to have a cheap, willing & photogenic model on call.