Oh, What It Is To Be Cool

It was a good cycle into work but that was mainly because, for once, it didn’t rain.

Naturally it gets me on the way home. I take temporary refuge in a bus shelter. The word ‘shelter’ is a bit misleading because I find that unless I squash myself up against the back wall of it I still get wet. When the rain eases I continue to my destination which is the swimming pool, of course I still get wet, especially my socks, because the roads now have rivers running down them. So I’m the only person wringing water out of their kit before I get in the pool.

I did think about going straight home to dry out and skipping the swim but L had started a rumour that some building work was going on at the leisure centre and I felt duty bound to check it out. Perhaps it was a new squash court that they were building; I know this is ridiculous as Nottingham is phasing out squash. L reckoned it was too small anyway but it could be foundations for some more bike lockers due to the huge demand... demand though has been killed since I complained that they were all permanently locked but empty as staff reserved them for their own bikes. Since then, it appears the staff daren’t use them at all.

Turns out the ‘work’ has been completed by the time I arrive. False alarm, they’ve simply concreted over a patch of waste ground. Oh well.

As I park my bike in one of the existing lockers a lad sidles up and casually jumps up onto the bike lockers and slides off again. He nonchalantly tries again and slides off again. I stifle a smile. He's too short to get on it. He looks around to see if anyone has seen him but he doesn’t look at me, as I pretend to fiddle with my bike lock, then he hitches up his baggy tracksuit bottoms that he almost lost on his last attempt and has another go. Jump up, slide, cue cursing. He tries again, jump up, slide, cue cursing etc. Hilarious. Eventually he has to admit defeat. He turns around and scrabbles up on his hands and knees. Oh, what it is to be cool.

Bradley was probably a little disappointed to only finish sixth in today’s time trial. It did look at one stage as if a top three placing may have been on the cards but, hindered by a headwind, he faded towards the end. There was also a good performance from David Millar who was fifth. Contador won of course.



It still moves Wiggins up to fourth, eleven seconds behind Lance Armstrong. It’ll be interesting to see if he attempts to get those eleven seconds back on the stage up the Mont Ventoux on Saturday.