Boy, you're gonna carry that weight

It dawned on me a while ago that Isaac Newton could not have been a cyclist. The effort of climbing a hill is in no way matched by the benefit of the descent. So in cycling, lightness is a virtue, be it in bike or rider.

Today the unnervingly precise Villelroy & Boch (Achtung Fattie!) scales pronounced 14.97 stone. That may sound gargantuan, but it's a significant improvement on the 16 stone of six months ago.

Or, in the words of Herren Villeroy & Boch "Von at a time on ze scales, plis!".

Ideally I'd like to be lugging 14 stone or less 1,050 miles on a bike, but the cruel irony is that after several hours in the saddle, what you really need is a couple of pints of Old Speckled Hen.


During my squash playing years my idea of an 'energy drink' was a pint of lager and line after a game. Indeed, it came as a shock recently to learn that some people drink lager for pleasure, not simply to replace fluid.

In other words, they actually prefer lager to beer.

Astonishing.