tonym

Geting Older!!! I was about 15 when my left eye began to go the same way as the rest of my mother's side of the family (not literally). I wore contacts on my bike for years but then on days when I didn't I would have difficulty recognising close friends; "that little lad" --- My best man's wife! "Who was that guy in the red jersey?" --- FRIEND: " What guy... that was a post box!" My last pair of specs: Like I said, my weakness is on the left eye.

I have the CD with this fault and it is the 1989 McMaster (CDP 7 84189 2, non RVG) copy. I'm no audiophile and certainly no expert on sound engineering but I would say it's the same sort of fault as in the Dolphy 5 Spot disc where the sound 'drops out'. Can the RVGs clear up this sort of distortion or fault?

As my dad would say when talking about ready cash: "You're better off looking at it, than looking for it".

I have the Stanko and love it as much as 'Soul of Things'. A perfect follow up and a good reproduction of what they achieve live, although more focused and direct. I wouldn't say that it's contemplative all the way through, even the 'quieter' tracks have a fire all of their own --- and that is the beauty of Stanko's trumpet sound; that crackle and 'edge'. As yet I haven't shelled out for the Abercrombie but I would get it on the basis that I love the previous one he did, Cat n Mouse. Stretchy rhythms and some boppish heads in there, but overall just really beautiful playing from an ace band.

So is Armstrong gonna get his sixth or will he be blitzed by Ullrich? Who will break a clavicle on today's cobbles? How many stages (if any?) will Pettachi win? A bit of opinion into the drama, controversy and spectacle that is the Tour de France would be great. I've watched many over the years and my enthusiasm for the event has waned, not because of the high profile doping debacles but I just enjow watching the one day events more. Plus, watching someone who obviously 'recovers' better than everyone else just hang in there day to day doesn't grab me anymore. I hope this year there will be some great 'exploit' or drama; like when Fignon attacked on a daily basis (in Yellow!) during the 1989 event. Delgado turning up late for his prologue start the same year. Riis riding '8 miles high'. Ullrich's enthusiasm in '97 which brought back memories of Fignon's (agin) first win. Here's hoping.

Darmstadt looks good. How is it for cycling? There looks like there could be a few nice roads down there. Plus I could come via the Vosges if I had time. My German is hopeless so I'd just be the one grinning and nodding (providing I've got a beer in my hand). If any UK boardmembers would like picking up en route I'll be coming down the country probably.

'Miles In The Sky' was the first album I bought from that period. I had heard Silent Way not long before and was familiar with the Evans stuff, so you can imagine what a shock this album was to me. In fact each one bought subsequently afterwards , all out of sequence, provided more shocks. The album pushed all my buttons like only a few albums ever had and I still feel the same about it now. One of the most played albums from the 60's in my collection and one of the few albums that I can get to the end of and hit 'Repeat All' and sit comfortably through again.

For a couple of years now I have had the luxury of not having to crawl out of bed early morn to set off on a journey to work. Therefore my morning wake up ritual didn't neccesitate an alarm clock. My wife has one. It either bleeps or you can program a radio station broadcast. I never hear it. I also never hear the first few attempts she makes at getting me up. Usually 20 minutes or so passes before she is heard to be saying things like "the car's out of the garage and running, I'm off". That's when I have to get up for my son and my work. This isn't making me out to be the best dad in the world is it? Anyhow, yesterday I thought it would be less stressful and more effective if she set the alarm for me. Problem is I don't like radio shows really, apart from the odd jazz one. Furthermore, little did I know that the station she had set it to was a commercial one based about 60 miles to the north of here, where you can hear ads about car dealerships 'supplying the whole of Esh Winning for the last 10 years'; that's about 6 Ford Sierras and one Subaru Impreza (there's always one) sold then. So 7:20am: I hear Outkast's 'Hey Ya'. Great start to a sunny morning. I am beginning to wake. The DJ chirps in about halfway through the song and he's got a DJ voice. Sorry to offend our resident DJs here but in the UK, our guys have become infamous for feigning a Mid-Atlantic, Estuary English, glottal stop- free accent. Add this to a Geordie dialect and it sounds very irritating indeed. Then a lady pipes up. They are a Breakfast team!!! Now we have answers flooding in from this morning's trivia quiz. Q. Which organ of the human body has the ability to heal itself? Ooooo!!! That's a bit freaky innit. They start reading some of the respondants answers. Not in a sarcastic way at all, genuine, in the manner of, Lee from Blackhall thinks it's the brain (Could be, we aren't that far ahead in medical advances to know for sure that it doesn't, are we? Are we?) Des, Mel, Britney, Chuck and Wayne all got it. Sarah from Durham thinks it's the neck . Pam says it's the hair Rachel from Belmont thinks it's the spine Then we have a list of bodily parts offered from more Britneys and Brooklyns which include toes and teeth. FUCK, I hear the nation's dentists shouting. Poor Frank from Tow Law thought, well actually he didn't think at all, he didn't know. He did have the courtesy to ring the show though just to tell them that. So, the moral of the story, it isn't what you might think, you can visit County Durham, it still has a lot to offer. But that, in the morning I'll just have the 'BLEEP' instead.

Obviously, this guy doesn't get out much! Furthermore, I wonder how many purchases have been made on the back of those 3,217 viewings. Truly scary.

Yesterday, £4.99 each, along with Fench Connection/ French Connection II dvd set..... Now I have something other than Big Brother to watch.

Wow. I am aware that we have some 'insiders' here on this board but here I am, browsing through the liner notes of the Miles Legacy remaster of 'Filles..' and whos name pops up? That's right. Of course you probably all know it's Jim Sangrey's. Is this a common occurence? Who else is name checked in the jazz print? C'mon blow your own trumpets.

I would be up for anywhere really. I have just 'tuned' back in after a week of modem problems, hence the silence. Later in the year sounds great, UK, mainland Europe, whatever. I like a nice drive.

I do think Armstrong is a classy rider Clem. The way in which he won the Worlds back in Norway against a who's-who of big hitters was fantastic; showing his aggression and strength in a way which that particular race can sometimes lack (last years victor had the same qualities IMO). Bugno was obviously a different rider, possibly no match for LA in the high mountains but the Tour is not the be all and end all. Re: Riis. Well, a good rider who started showing maybe 3 or 4 years before his Tour win. He had a gallop, he could struggle up climbs with the better climbers and he could always time trial and he was always aggresive: a friend of mine lived with him in Luxembourg when they were both amatuers in the mid-late Eighties and would confirm this. BUT I have never, ever seen anyone crack big time, on a big climb no less (was it Luz Ardiden), only to stick it in the 53 ring and start it going again!!! That was definately 'superhuman'.

Don't really know what constitutes the typical European pro. Some riders may resort to doping if they are finding life tough, some may need that extra edge for the contract that's been on the horizon for a few years. Others may use some tackle to keep that pro contact. There are lots of factors at play and I'm sure the American schedule is as hectic as the European one these days. If anything there may be a bit more going on in the more open events where the doping controls aren't present as often. It is common for riders to be aware beforehand whether there will be a control. Ultimately, doping will go on and if the sport wants to be clean then the onus is on the authorities not to hunt out the odd offender (that is the ones who get caught) but to spend time and money catching up with technological advances in the administering etc of the substances. As for Armstrong. The fact that he came from triathlon may give him an appearance somewhat different to most 'normal' cyclists, more robust perhaps but not necessarily more superior. I think as far as physical superiority is concerned then Indurain and Bugno were maybe the best recent candidates for that title, in terms of tour riders anyhow.

I rode the Tour Of Austria in my early twenties and the Circuit des Mines in France. I didn't win much but have had experience and placings in Belgium, France, Spain and Germany. I've had the pleasure(?) of hanging onto some quite impressive wheels and I've had the pleasure of having my name on an impressive trophy with some big names on (Robert Millar for one). My last race proper was in the company of Jens Heppner (and a small Telekom team), Stuart O'Grady, Brett Aitken, Bradley McGhee et al. I climbed OK when I was racing and have had none other than Lucien Van Impe shouting encouragement at me on a big mountain, that was rather special. I think I packed in too early as I seem to have gotten stronger over the last few years. Also I think I would appreciate travelling around a bit more now. One of my friends spends about a third of the year at home and he still live out of his suitcase then! Not sure that appeals though.

Interesting that it was Lemond who chose to say this, given that the same could have applied to himself after his 'mishaps' immediately after his '86 win. Among many cyclists Lemond was always 'suspect', as there is with any great sportsman I suppose, but the peaks and troughs he achieved during his career indicate, to some, that his high points weren't exactly au natural. A very close friend of mine rode up to him on one particular day during a short tour. He was getting back on after a puncture, Lemond was slipping off the back on a short climb. Apparently my friend looked upon Lemond as a bit of a hero but was mortified when he saw this overweight, panting mess struggling to stay in contact. He gave him a bit of a sling up to the back of the bunch and received a grateful "Thank You". It takes a lot of miles and preparation bfeore you look like the lean bodied machine that won the 1989 event. He managed that in a very short space of time. On hardly any racing. Who was it said though, might have been Anquetil, that you couldn't win the Tour on muesli and water. Anyone seen any pictures of Lemond lately by the way?

Neither did Richard Virenque and look what the press made of him. Cycling, like many sports, has it's share of doctors and scientists who are always a step ahead of the doping controls. If Armstrong has been doping, quell surprise, he won't be the last. When one can get hold of a course of EPO at 100 Euro, then things have obviously moved on to something more effective/less detectable. Actually what was quite interesting, the following year after the 1998 ('Festina-affair') Tour was the obvious unwillingness on the part of most of the on-form French riders to chase the seemingly superhuman Armstrong on the Cols when he took off. They were visibly looking around as though to say "Oh no, it's not worth the hassle". One of the after effects of the 98 race was the stringent testing of many French riders. Even teams lower down the ranks experienced the 4am wake up call by the authorities checking haematocrit levels. Hence, the practice of going for a ride around the car park at 3am. And FWIW David Walsh is quite respected in cycling circles (maybe not literary ones -- big mistake to confuse the two!) he was instrumental in Sean Kelly's biog from 17 or so years ago. A somewhat seminal piece for aspiring cyclists; predating the dross that cycling journos Paul Kimmage and Will Fotheringham mustererd up in the years that followed. Sadly in the UK this is exactly the sort of news which gets cycling onto the main terrestrial channels. No mention is ever made of who wins Tour of Flanders or Roger Hammond's third place in Paris-Roubaix. A doping scandal assures some decent press coverage and TV interest.

CHECK IT OUT SAXMAN will come around and 'do you in'.

An interesting point, but one I would have to respectfully disagree with, at least to some extent. A beginner may not appreciate or fully understand what is being played (inside, outside, harmonic or root movement etc., etc.) but they may just appreciate the sound. Going from relatively 'safe' music to something like this may seem wreckless and exciting and that alone would guarantee some element of enjoyment. My first jazz album was Ornette's 'Something Else'. My second was Dolphy's 'Out to Lunch'. In some respects quite obvious (they are both readily available and from well known artists) but on the other hand quite naive purchases; in that I thought all jazz would sound like this. Maybe that's why I posted in the first place. I haven't heard any pianist playing like Taylor before --- it was refreshing and exciting given that I'm a huge Bill Evans fan! In hindsight though maybe it would have been a wise choice for a first jazz purchase --- preparing oneself for that rollercoaster journey. It won't be my last Taylor purchase and Unit Structures may well be my next.

Well. It's 9:30 am-ish and I've just finished listening for the first time. In fact it's a Cecil Taylor initiation for me. I'm aware of Grimes's stuff and that of Cyrille's but I've often wondered what Lyons would sound like. I'm impressed; in that "I've just had a bucket of cold water thrown over me " way, or having an ex-girlfriend slap your face, even that feeling when you have a swig of fresh orange juice after a hangover. Is it just me or does anyone else hear a vibist in Taylor's playing. Not so much the technicalities and all that stuff, but just the sound? This will certainly get it's fair share of play time. Feel free to rubbish, agree or generally point the finger and ridicule.

My son who turned 3 last month. Any excuse to post his pic. Scottb --- what gorgeous children with beautiful names.

It's the other edge Bev. Normally the cold, windy side of the Moors! My wife is also a teacher so I can empathise with the way you are feeling. She is stooping over work just now.

All the very best of luck AB. We may have all gotten older and wiser next time you sign in!

Nearer home.

The warmest day of the year so far. I'm riding back from the café to home in order to collect my son from nursery. Pics taken about 7 and 1 miles from the village where I live. I don't normally have the camera with me on my bike but a friend had brought it out as I had left it at his house after a party last night. Again i had chatted over my coffees too long and left myself insufficient time to get back, therefore the picture was taken whilst moving.