Le patio

I apologise for the ack of updates over the past few days. I have been laying a patio, or to be precise, I have paved the outside of the back of the house. Had I not run out of sand I would also have paved the front. No. Had Jewson's been able to deliver after I had run out of sand then I would have paved the front.

It looks amazing. I know that's blowing my own trumpet, but you should see it. Ground Force couldn't have done a better job. Have some of this Dimmock!

Of course as with all matters involving hard graft building type stuff, I couldn't have done it if it wasn't for my Dad. He helped me get the levels and started me off on the bricks. That was after we spent about three hours trying to remove a tree root that seemed to grow vertically down.

The picture I'm attaching is as it looked this morning, before I added the finishing touches, like the shingle. This is the side of the house. There's a massive area round the corner. Still got to decide where to put the palm trees. More pics to follow.

Rapha three-piece suit

I can see what Rapha is getting at collaborating with suitmaker Timothy Everest on a three-piece suit - harking back to the golden age of gentleman cycling.

The difference is that in those days, around the turn of the last century, there weren't many cars around and therefore cycling was borne more out of necessity than choice.

Today cycling has become a lifestyle choice, a leisure pursuit, and I can't help thinking that, much like Rapha's splendid but ultimately useless tweed racing jacket, this is high-end cycle wear gone mad.

If I cycled to work I wouldn't do so in a three piece suit with pink flashes, because I'd have to change into something that wasn't drenched in sweat when I got there. Nice suit, granted, with some nice weatherproofing for the English weather.

I will shake the hand of anyone who dares to adopt it as everyday cycle-wear.

Bad look Broderick

Here is Matthew Broderick on his bike in somewhere like Hollywood presumably, teaming the Rapha lightweight jersey with denim jeans.

Rapha is one of those brands that lends itself very well to the part-sportswear, part casual look. Jerseys go very well with jeans, and Rapha has capitalised on this with its Fixed line.

But Broderick is just a mess. It's sloppy, basically. If you can't wear a Rapha top and look good then you're beyond saving. And what is it with that helmet? It's like he stole it from his daughter or something. While we're at it, what exactly is that bike? Is it one of those abandoned things that people just pick up and ride off on?

And to think, this is the man responsible for style icon Sarah Jessica Parker's babies. She must be beside herself with embarrassment.

It's enough to make me want to find another cycling brand.

Victorinox 125th Anniversary Airstream trailer

I never thought I would get excited over a caravan - I'd rather spend the astronomical cost of one on about a dozen luxury holidays in a hot climate instead.

But if I were forced to buy a caravan, say for instance if I decided to move to a field for the rest of my life, my choice would have to be an Airstream. These things actually make caravanning seem marginally cool with their aluminium aircraft fuselage-esque appearance and retro styling.

To celebrate its 125th anniversary, Victorinox, the Swiss Army knife maker and manufacturer of practical-if-lacking style-wise accessories has been let loose on an Airstream trailer.

Expect every edge to be a can opener and miniature saws to be built into the wheel hubs.

Cycle log 17/05

Got an absolute hammering from the weather this morning. The rain was torrential, the gales must have been at least force 20, and still I carried on, This was mainly because it let up a bit just as I was about to turn back, and then after a few minutes of dryness, enough to lull me into a false sense of security, along came the next lot.

Hardcore riding in that weather - gives you an idea of the sort of hardships the pro racers endure biking up mountains. Except the seafront is flat as a pancake.

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Rapha clobber
Lightweight jersey
Arm warmers
Lightweight gillet
Grand tour gloves
Racing cap
Merino socks
Fixed shorts

Art on show

You can now see a couple of my pieces at the Bang & Olufsen showroom in Leigh-on-Sea, where they will remain on permanent loan until they are sold.

Actually they will be there for the next two weeks, before they are replaced by an exhibition by a photographer as part of the Leigh Art Trail, and then they go back up afterwards. Next time you're passing, check them out.

For more information about Bang & Olufsen of Leigh, click here

Cycle log 16/05

See that? The little black broken line on the horizon? No it isn't something on the camera lens. It's what I will be running out to on May 30. Me and a few thousand others.

It's called the Mulberry harbour and it is basically a floating concrete pier, built during the war. It should be in France, along with all the other Mulberry harbours floated over to Normandy for the D-Day landings. Trouble is, this one broke and it's been sitting a mile and a quarter out in the estuary ever since.

You can walk out to it at low tide, when all the blue sea you can see is brown mud. It would appear that one day someone who walked out there decided it would be a splendid idea to organise a run out to it and back. And so we shall.

It's been a bit windy to say the least over the past few days, and this being only the second or third time back on the bike made it seem all the more difficult. At least it wasn't in my face, but it gave me a good broadside on more than one occasion.

Still loving being back on the machine again though.

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Rapha clobber:

Lightweight jersey
Fixed shorts
Merino gloves
Grand tour gloves
Racing cap