9/9/11- Patty

This is Patty. 

I went from having zero bikes, to two bikes in a month and I love them both! I've always wanted a road bike, so recently purchased this one. She is very different to ride compared to Betsy, and don't worry Betsy still hits the town even though Patty has arrived. 

There are some great roads in this area of the country to ride on, very picturesque and lovely to ride, as well as challenging and hilly. I've switched my cycle computer to Patty, as it makes more sense for the long rides to see the stats of speed and distance. 

7/10/11- You spin me

Last week when I was in Birmingham, I popped over to the Ikon Gallery to take a look at their current exhibition. 

It's been a while since I've been in a gallery, so it was nice to see what they had on. It was a two floor exhibition highlighting the work of Atsuko Tanaka, including paintings, drawings and and installation. 

I had never heard of this artist before visiting the gallery, but the exhibition was well curated and I left with some new found knowledge. The rounded painting shown in the image below was actually wired up to some motor, so after you pressed a button, the canvas spun around in a clockwise direction. I've seen a lot of art in my time, but never a spinning painting! 

6/10/11- Taste of Britain Tuesday- Lemon Tarts

Currently on tv there is this show called "The Great British Bake Off", which is exactly what you would think its about. A reality/challenge type show where bakers compete with each other. It was on last year as well, and a cookbook exists from the first season.

They usually create at least two different items and its interesting to watch how they put a spin on the challenges. It's also nice to see all the British dishes they are creating. Last week they all had to create lemon tarts... I love lemon so I decided to try a lemon tart this week.

Well needless to say, if I was on the Great British Bake Off last week, I would have failed. ha! 

The tarts taste great, but the buttery base did not work out as I would have hoped, and for some reason the top of the tart got a bit browned. This was not in the plan. 

Oh well, they still taste great!

5/10/11- Run!

The other day my cousin posted a blog entitled "Live a Little". In this post, she talked about the idea of setting goals, and the sense of achievement when you reach those goals. 

I found this to be an inspiring post to read only days before my half marathon which I ran yesterday. It wasn't my first one, but nonetheless it was exciting, challenging and painful.  I obtained my PB this race, which was also great. After an experience like that I look forward to the next race and know my time will be even better.

I will leave you with a quote from my cousins post I thought was fitting. "So my friends, throw caution to the wind, try something scary, make a list, you really can do whatever you want! And it feels fabulous". 

I agree. 

4/10/11- Cycle Sundays

Ah cycle sundays. However I didn't bike today, I did something else...Will fill you in tomorrow. 

For now, here is a pic from a ride this week.

1/10/11- Back to School

Well September is upon us! From what I've seen on facebook and twitter, many people are surprised how quick this month arrived. 

For many its a time to hit the books and head back to school. I love that back to school feeling...Though I admit I will miss the warm summer weather. Hoping for a warm September here as our August was pretty dull weather-wise. 

I went to Birmingham on September 1st, and saw these great murals painted on the side of the old Birmingham library.

How lovely do they look? Birmingham is building a new library, which looks quite large and modern compared to this one. I wonder how long these will stay on the building?

P.S. Thank you for all the recent comments, it's lovely to read your thoughts and comments. I do my best to reply to your comments as well, so make sure to check back :)

Home- 31/8/11

There are some streets in town here that I love. To me, they are so very "British"- though don't ask me to define what that means!

I seem to take many photos of streets, and couldn't help but snap this photo as I rode home yesterday. It's a tiny street in the town centre, very quiet, with a school at the top of the street, and the entrance to the park near the bottom.

I think these homes are so pretty...The colored doors, a bit of greenery, and at Christmas time  they always have these great festive wreaths on the doors. 

(I am still making small changes to this blog every now and then. Is there any format you liked/dislike? Anything you would like to see on here? Any suggestions?)