1607.13 LEAKY TOILET

At the weekend I received a frantic phone call from Morticia telling me that water was dripping from the kitchen ceiling. I was just finishing work so I rushed home (as fast as my legs would pedal). The water was coming from the inlet pipe from the cistern of the upstairs toilet. I isolated the water supply to the toilet so I could repair the leak in my next day off.

My day off was Monday so I put my DIY skills to good use.* I purchase a new inlet pipe and some O rings. It took me a couple of hours but it's now fixed, it flushes and doesn't leak. I was pretty proud of myself and please we hadn't had to call anyone out.

Add this almost disasterous event to the fact that our vacuum cleaner (our trusty old Dyson) started to smell of burning and I could see sparks coming from the motor. They say things come in threes, what's next?

Today we got a new Prime Minister and rather than pay tribute to the outgoing Mr Cameron I thought I'd talk about my toilet.

*My DIY skills are pretty poor, although I have done a fair bit of home plumbing.

1311.08 WINTER WHEELS

The summer is over, one of the hottest for years (and I didn't even get a holiday to enjoy it) and my thoughts turn to thicker clothing, braving the elements and being generally cold. As I get older I enjoy winters less and less. One thing I have never hidden away from is cycling through the bad weather. I was looking forward to getting into some winter training on Sunday mornings (of course weather permitting), unfortunately this isn't happening. Not through lack of motivation or time constrains.

Earlier this year I shelled out over £100 to get my bike back up to spec, not much in the big cycling world but to me it's a lot of money. I then sold some bits and bobs to scrape together a bit of money to buy new tyres and other bits. Unfortunately, due to the current financial state, I needed to redirect that money to the family pot and I never managed to claw it back. Then the biggie! My right shifter stopped working (a little plastic thingamebob inside the main housing broke). Doesn't sound like much but to replace is going to cost me over £100! This effectively means that the bike is off the road pretty much indefinitely (unless I win the lottery or something).

I still have a bike for commuting, it's nearly 30 years old and is as heavy as a small Japanese car and not brilliant but it's still getting me from A to B, but it's no good for training or pleasure rides. 

So until I get some cash (which I can't see happening this year) my training is being held back. Hopefully I can sort something in time for next year's planned coast to coast ride.