Trick or treat? (TT column 04.11.13)

It creeps up on me too quickly every year, although not literally as we live in the middle of nowhere. I think any trick or treaters would be scared themselves before even reaching our house, but it does save on the treats. As a child I saw it as one disadvantage for living on Dartmoor, I never experienced a true Halloween. I've been told it's not the done thing at my age, so the clock is now ticking until my niece is old enough to accompany me, or is that the other way around? It did seem that the local council were getting into the spirit last week although I presume it wasn't intentional; the lights in the Tavistock to Yelverton cycle path tunnel were turned off during day, I could honestly not see a thing, I'm hoping now that Halloween has passed they have resumed normal service.

This time of year often gets confusing, or maybe that is just me? It seems that fancy dress and fireworks overlap for several weeks. One thing that is for certain, it is now dark. I know we lost an hour with the clock change but somehow it seems that we've lost several hours in the evenings. I had been in denial until heading out onto Dartmoor for a fun afternoon with my mountain bike; in the rain, mud and dark I was struggling to cling onto that "fun" element.

The Halloween and Guy Fawkes celebrations have passed, the evenings are now dark and the temperatures are dropping, what do we look forward to now? Don't worry I will not mention that 'C' word just yet.

Celebration of life (TT column 29.10.13)

Last week I lost my most avid column reader.

I have always been told that life should be celebrated, so I want to take this opportunity to reflect on my loving Grandmother who passed away last Tuesday. At the impressive age of ninety, Vera Constance Maria Hutchings had experienced a hardworking life, she lost all of her teeth at a young age and survived a total of seven hip replacements, yet you never heard her complain. Due to her disabilities I have only known Granny with crutches or her wheelchair, both of which provided hours of entertainment for my sister and I when growing up. Another vivid memory I have comes from my days as a young member of Tavistock Swimming Club and the coach trips to the Saturday afternoon Galas. I remember the challenge of helping Granny onto the bus with her trusty step (that I was always slightly embarrassed to bring with us), and how she accurately recorded all of my times and calculated the overall team points tally. I think Granny was sometimes better known than me on the sporting circuit, my friends, competitors and other supporters were always pleased to see her. I know that she got a lot of pleasure from following my sporting journey, her house was pretty much a trophy cabinet as she so proudly displayed my medals.
It was not just her role as a Grandmother to six of us that she filled so brilliantly. She had several Great Grandchildren from whom she gained immense amounts of pleasure, including the latest edition, my niece Eleanor, whose christening was celebrated on Sunday.

I am concluding this with tears in my eyes but happy memories in my heart, RIP Granny Hutch.

Blame the dog (TT column 20.10.13)

Last week I completely jinxed myself. I proudly announced the pleasant conclusion to a previous cycling incident only to open the doors to another one. As winter is apparently on its way I thought it might be time to dust the cobwebs from my sturdy mountain bike, okay this was mainly due to the allure of a potential race. With just two days to go until my first ever cyclocross event I thought I had better familiarise myself with the off road variety especially after my summer spent cycling with skinny tyres and cleated shoes. Ironically I was riding across Dartmoor thinking this must be similar to getting in a tractor after driving a Ferrari, it feels so safe and stable. There is also the added bonus of no traffic, but, yes there is a big but, there are animals. I made the error of riding a quick short stretch of downhill on the newly surfaced cycle path. The smooth Tarmac was so refreshing I couldn't resist a bit of freewheeling; I did not envisage a little 'jacket wearing' terrier to be sharing the path. Jumping out of the bushes and running straight towards me, I could have sworn it was suicidal. Luckily I just avoided a collision as it ran on completely oblivious to the fact it had caused me to land in a crumpled heap ten metres further down the path.

I call this time of year 'transition', as it is hard to know exactly what activities to do or what clothes to wear. A prime example of this was the horse racing over the weekend, with both jump and flat meeting fixtures. I accepted an invite to the conclusion of the flat season at Ascot. It's obviously ready to close as the ground was announced as soft which resulted in an open day of racing and some happy bookmakers, but thanks to the aptly named Olympic Glory I didn't contribute too greatly to their bank balances.

No fee and a win! (TT column 14.10.13)

As I get older it seems our legal system is gradually becoming more frustrating and unjust. I have now realised that this isn't due to the law changing but to the fact that I am becoming more aware of all it's pit falls. Compared with the USA we are reasonably laid back when it comes to pursuing claims against each other, although I'm not sure how long it's going to remain this way. A recent conversation with a friend highlighted this. After his claim had been settled for an incident with his parked vehicle his phone has not stopped ringing with the "no win, no fee" offers from personal injury lawyers - the fact that he was not in his vehicle at the time doesn't seem to be a mitigating factor.
The point that brought me to this topic was personal, I have just had a satisfying letter from my lawyer to inform me that justice has been done from a cycling incident I was involved in back in April. The case is now closed and what a relief that is. Sometimes you feel it is easier to forget and move on - I was apparently researched by the opposing legal team, and the fact that I had publicly written about previous self inflicted falls from my bicycle, implied that the accident was therefore my fault. Thankfully I have no lasting physical injuries from the incident so will not be answering any calls from dubious legal firms and will just continue to ride my bicycle with ever increased awareness.

Time to walk (TT column 06.10.13)

At last I am allowed to walk. Yes you heard me, although I wasn't quite sure I myself had heard the Doctor correctly. I'm now moving into the testing phase for my tibial stress fracture and have been instructed to go for three, yes just three, thirty minute walks in the first week. Being naturally active I'm sure I've been exceeding this quota on a daily basis, therefore I decided to move straight onto the next phase, adding in a little jog, and so far so good. I do feel that when heading out to do a jog/walk I should be carrying dumbbells in my hands, wearing a bumbag around my waist and sporting an eighties style headband - I've always been happy to go for a walk and love a decent run but somehow for me combining them together doesn't seem natural. I'm following the protocol as I'm desperate to recover from this injury, the frustrations now will hopefully be worth it in the long term.

I gather that summer was trying to hang on a little longer at home last weekend, I was lucky to have mine truly extended as I had a short trip to Cyprus. It was a last minute request to head out to the Mediterranean island for the Biathle World Championships, unsurprisingly not to compete. It was basically an invite to talk - so no hesitation in taking up that offer - actually the job description was to act as MC for the event. This was almost a near impossible challenge, just a few days prior I picked up the first cold I have had in about a year and disastrously my voice started to disappear. Much to the organisers horror I was pretty croaky when arriving the night before, thankfully it must have been the sunshine as I made it through two days of talking pretty much continuously.

Embracing autumn (TT column 29.09.13)

As an athlete I've always been a doer and not necessarily the most patient spectator. You might have noticed I enjoy dipping my toes in a little sailing, making the most of any spare Sunday to join the crew of a Plymouth based yacht. Having said that, for the majority of the race I might as well be a spectator as my role only lasts a minute or two per tack. This is quite the opposite to any sailor on board one of the Americas' Cup catamarans. Sailing still seems to receive too little media coverage (in my opinion) so I'm not sure whether you'll be aware of last weeks battle between the Kiwis and the Americans out in San Fransicso bay, but one thing is for certain this year most certainly made compelling viewing. It was apparently all down to our very own Sir Ben Ainslie's efforts that Team Oracle USA powered to the most incredible comeback in history. The challenge for Ainslie's future is now to secure a British team that can rival this years champions.

I've always been known to love the sun but there is still plenty to smile about as we enter the autumn. From my point of view this weekend has confirmed we are into the new season. The two affirmative factors being the change in sporting events and the return of some decent viewing to our small screens. Yes I know the rugby season has been up and running for a few weeks now, but I've just been to my first game since the summer. As for the other factor, I'm sure you have a strong idea as to what I'm referring to in particular. All I need to say is the sequin season has returned.

Embracing Autumn (TT column 29.09.13)

As an athlete I've always been a doer and not necessarily the most patient spectator. You might have noticed I enjoy dipping my toes in a little sailing, making the most of any spare Sunday to join the crew of a Plymouth based yacht. Having said that, for the majority of the race I might as well be a spectator as my role only lasts a minute or two per tack. This is quite the opposite to any sailor on board one of the Americas' Cup catamarans. Sailing still seems to receive too little media coverage (in my opinion) so I'm not sure whether you'll be aware of last weeks battle between the Kiwis and the Americans out in San Fransicso bay, but one thing is for certain this year most certainly made compelling viewing. It was apparently all down to our very own Sir Ben Ainslie's efforts that Team Oracle USA powered to the most incredible comeback in history. The challenge for Ainslie's future is now to secure a British team that can rival this years champions.

I've always been known to love the sun but there is still plenty to smile about as we enter the autumn. From my point of view this weekend has confirmed we are into the new season. The two affirmative factors being the change in sporting events and the return of some decent viewing to our small screens. Yes I know the rugby season has been up and running for a few weeks now, but I've just been to my first game since the summer. As for the other factor, I'm sure you have a strong idea as to what I'm referring to in particular. All I need to say is the sequin season has returned.