Bikes, knees, cows and Katie

This blog should be renamed Conrad Walks Not.

The  pre-op examination for my knee replacement was as far back as 7th February. I reckon the relevance of that will be considerably devalued by the time I get to the op. I rang the waiting list people and was told it would be unlikely before May. In the meantime the other knee is becoming just as painful, and I have no doubt I will be booked in for that as soon as possible after the first one. It looks like this year is going to be a write-off.

Fortunately cycling is not a problem, and I have bought a new “hybrid” bike (Claud Butler Voyager) to replace the Giant Terrago mountain bike, and I hope to investigate the possibility of “cycle backpacking”, but not until I have had the op or ops, followed, I suppose, by weeks and weeks of rehabilitation. So I reckon I have now got a month ahead when I can go out for day rides and try to develop muscle build up and stamina required for cycling.

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Katie update:

KATIE MEETS THE COWS:

A more sparrow-hawky sparrow hawk

This one is for Afoot in the Hills http://afootinthehills.blogspot.co.uk/ in response to his post dated 14th March which included his pic of a sparrow hawk. I have played with the pic in Photoshop, and here is the result:

The eclectic mountaineer

This post is really for http://phreerunner.blogspot.co.uk/  (Postcard from Timperley), in response to his post (12th March 2012) which included a photo of an unidentified mountain. Identification was invited.

I can rarely remember the Scottish names, but when I learned the mountain was Stob na Broige it sounded familiar, and I predictably, but wrongly assumed it would be a Munro. After some research I found I had climbed Stob na Broige at Easter 2006 whilst gatecrashing a Yorkshire Mountaineering Club meet. The previous day I had climbed Buachaille Etive Beag and this photo of Stob na Broige was taken  during that ascent.

The next day I returned to Glen Etive with my old friend Malcolm (Sol) Lomas, and Jane Wainwright, long standing members of the YMC, and we made the ascent indicated on the photo.

We only carried ice axes (no crampons or rope) and there were a couple of tricky sections.  On the first one I borrowed Jane’s ice axe and used that as well as my own.

That was an enjoyable outing, especially as our route was direct to the summit.

Another pleasing factor is the dispelling of a myth directed at Munroists of being unimaginative list-tickers - I still had plenty of Munros to do at that time, but was just as willing to go off and climb other peaks.

Some much needed stimulus

I joined The Fell Runners Association some years ago. I was motivated by meeting a number of members, and being impressed by their individuality and decency. If I had my life over I would be tempted to take fell running as my prime leisure activity.

The quarterly magazine arrived three days ago. This is a quality production in presentation and content, and reminds me of Melvyn Bragg’s South Bank Show: you think the subject may seem outside your interest, but start watching, and within minutes your attention is grabbed by a friendly iron fist.

Much of the mag. contains race results, and race reports, which are understandably interesting to the majority of members who run competitively, but there are many, well written articles. The overriding benefit for me is massive inspiration.

In this issue there is a story by a guy who fell in a race “417 days ago” and broke his fibula in ten places. He writes a thoughtful, and instructive account of how he first of all returned to fell running by marshalling, and describes how this has shown him the sport from an angle he was hardly aware of before. He goes on to describe how he had to accept pragmatic advice and a realistically devised training programme to achieve his objective of running again. After the “417 days” he was able to take part in the The Tour of Pendle fell race ( 16.8 miles, 4830ft of ascent).

After reading this two days ago, I got off my backside, kicked cabin fever in the teeth and went swimming, and today I have done a sixteen mile cycle ride from Kendal to Bannisdale Head and back. Being out in the wilds again was like having gas and air. I think the bike is going to feature for a while.


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Katie update:

Emailed to me by Jill - caption: "Katie tried some porridge this morning"

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Was I sleep walking?

I am battling on writing my new opus which relates anecdotes under various headings, one of which  is  “Epics”. This will include happenings that were particularly arduous, or unexpectedly eventful.

Part of the process involves me trawling back through an outdoor activities diary I kept for several years. I was surprised by reading details of a walk I did in 1991 which, by my standards, was monumental - perhaps even “epic”, but the strange thing is I have no recollection of this undertaking. At the risk of boasting here is the detail verbatim from my diary:

I had Ann and Jill follow me to a point on the minor road North West of Dockray, up from Ullswater where I left my car, and was then transported back to Kentmere where I was dropped off and started my walk.

I think I must have got away early, perhaps about 7:00 a.m. Again I am writing this from memory five years or so later. I had a good day, and ticked off the following peaks over 2,500ft. The Knowe, Harter Fell (two summits?), High Street, The Knott, Kidsty Pike, High Raise, then back over High Street to Thornthwaite Beacon, Stony Cove Pike, and down to Kirkstone. Then Red Screes, Dove Crag (2603), Hart Crag, Greatrigg Man, Fairfield, Dollywagon Pike, Nethermost Pike, and Helvellyn. I missed out Catstycam, Lower Man and Brown Cove Crags, but went on to Kepple Cove, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Watson's Dodd, and Great Dodd to land me back at my car.

I plotted this route with Memory Map just straight lining and it measures 27 miles with 13,562 feet of ascent. Taking into account the twists and turns of the paths the mileage would be quite a bit more. The ascent figure is staggering, and makes me wonder about Memory Map's accuracy.

Cabin Fever

The pre-op assessment took place last Tuesday and I am now awaiting an appointment. In the meantime I have not been able to go out on the bike because of inclement weather, and I am envious of my fellow outdoor bloggers who are up to all sorts of interesting escapades.

I have been pressing on with the new book which is a collection of reminiscences under various headings.

The Headings so far are:

Youth

Fear

Getting  Lost

Trespassing

Encounters

Heroes

Epics

Memorable Happenings

So far: 15,000 words and 60 pages (with photos)

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Whilst watching television during the evening I have been making a list of frequently used clichés and the like which irritate me - if anybody wants to make suggestions I will consider them for addition to the list.

The word “amazing”

Well oiled machine

Feeding frenzy

Massive (heart attack) - it would seem that the media reckons nobody has an ordinary heart attack - it is always “massive”

Journey - Here I mean celbs who may be talking about a film they have made, or a spell in rehab, or the trauma of a recent divorce etc., where they relate to having been on a ”journey” preceded by the appropriate adjective -”wonderful, “lonely”, “amazing” etc.

Age old

Unique micro climate - wherever anybody lives they always say that they have one of these.


I hope the title of this post doesn't qualify for the list.

Katie update

I know, but I couldn't resist this one.