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The morning dawned and it was a bright and sunny morning, and ideal for tandeming over to Ivinghoe for a cream tea.  It also meant a chance to try out the new GPS data logger.

I thought it would be nice to ride the Longstaff tandem, as it's a bit more sprightly than the Dawes touring tandem.  We set off via the Brickhills and out to Stewkley.  I think this tandem is quicker because the gear ratios are a bit closer - the downside of course is that we don't have quite such a range of gears, so climbing can be a bit of a trial.  The ride out was pretty uneventful, and we saw quite a few cyclists out enjoying the spring sunshine.  There was another tandem at the cafe when we got there, with a Dawes Galaxy Twin.  From the rear window of the cafe, we could see a pin windmill in the distance. Apparently it is Britains oldest mill (it looks to be in a bit better nick than a similar one at Brill), though it hasn't worked since a storm in 1904!

After a completely fabulous cream tea, with real clotted cream, we set out to return via the Leighton Buzzard bypass and Hockliffe.  Unfortunately, while we were rolling along pretty well, a dull twang alerted us to a broken rear spoke, so it was with quite some added caution we pressed on with a wobbly wheel.

The attempt at rendering a trace from the GPS data logger was partially successful.  It was set not to report intervals at <1 mph. It seems to have rendered our route, but data points seems a little erratic to me.

White Cloud; Temp: 9°C; Wind: W 16mph; Hum: 83%; Press: 1011mB; Vis: Very good

 I have to confess to having had another poor week's training - I had intended to force evening turbo sessions, but frankly working 8am to 6.30pm, cycling home, then cooking and eating dinner means that by the time I've let dinner begin the digestive process it's rather late to blast myself on the turbo.  Still, since last week's event, I cycled every day (even if some of those days were merely the 12 mile commute to work), and I managed one level 2-3 session and a set of 1' intervals.  With the usual excuses now out of the way, on to the event, billed as a two-up team time trial.

On arriving at Astwood Village Hall, it was a pretty apparent that I was going to be Bobby No Mates.  So, resigning myself to a solo ride, I signed on as number 18.  Fortunately Lindz Barrall rolled up a few minutes later and signed on as #21.  He went off to find his regular 2-up partner, Stuart Tarry, only to find he'd been stood up as Stuart was riding with someone else.  Presumably fired with indignation at this infidelity, he agreed to ride with me.  I changed numbers for #22 and NBRC star rider Tim Carter arrived to take #18.

I'm always a bit worried about 2-ups with a new partner - it took Team Grumpy a surprisingly long time to be fully proficient.  However, Lindz and I seemed to ride pretty effectively together, despite an initial worry for me as he powered off at the start, leaving me to chase him down the A422 after getting slowed by a car.  Other than that, we rode well apart from falling apart ever so slightly on the inclines.  We finished in 24:19 I think. 

Hot on the heels of news that Psion seeks to enforce ownership of the word "netbook",  The Register(So, what's the f**king difference between a Netbook and an ultrathin?) presents a useful flowchart which will you whether you are the proud owner of a netbook...or a plain old laptop...or a handheld....or an ultraportable PC...or an ultrathin...

 Now, as a proud owner of a (rather venerable) Sony Vaio nini notebook, an OQO UMPC, a Pocket PC, and a rather large IBM ThinkPad, what I really need is a princely purple PC formerly known as a Netbook..

There is a meeting at the House of Lords this morning about

The Internet Threat: Who needs privacy when we can have relevant ads?
Online Privacy and the Interception of Internet Communications

You can read more on it at NoDPI (Press Release: House of Lords - A Round Table Event).  Participants will include:

* Sir Tim Berners Lee (about whome little need be said by way of intriduction)
* Mr Nicholas Bohm (General Counsel Foundation for Information Policy Research)
* Mr Caspar Bowden (Senior Security & Privacy Officer, Microsoft EMEA Region)
* Mr Jim Killock (Open Rights Group)
* Mr Robert M. Topolski (US Federal Communications Commission panel member)
 

Apparently British Telecom were invited but declined, while Phorm may or may not attend.  NoDPI's indefatigable Alexander Hanff will be there, and no doubt a detailed report will be posted shortly at NoDPI.