Wednesday 23 July 2014

Of Decisions Good and Bad



Someone once said it will prove to be the worse decision I have ever made buying an MG. But he was wrong. It was one of the best.
I loved my MG. Granted too, I hated it sometimes as well, when I jumped in it and it refused to move or even make a sound until I got some serious mechanics to it (and there have been many of those).
There's something added to a journey in terms of the unknown and the excitement when you're not completely sure you're going to get to where you are going. This is a sensation you rarely get nowadays with modern, reliable cars.
Yes it did pass it last MOT on first asking and yes it did breakdown on the way back from the MOT centre. Yes it leaked. But in the summer with the hood down and the music up burning through the country lanes of Donegal it made you feel alive and so grateful for it too.

Yesterday, I said good bye to my fine friend and a whole lot of memories wondering whether it was the worst decision of my life to sell it. But I reckoned it's time for her to find a new master and someone perhaps, with a little more patience and time on his hands than me right now.

Sunday 20 July 2014

Of Glenarm Round II

I ran the Glenarm Triathlon last week. It's full of any awful lot of really fit athletes. And me. It was my second go and I committed a number of school boy errors and I really should have known better.
In transition from sea to bike I forgot to take a gulp of  water to rinse my mouth out which meant I had a throat rasping with sea salt all through the bike ride. And as for the bike ride the saddle for some reason was far too high which meant hopping off to make adjustments as everyone zipped by. I was more ready for the bike ride this year that much is true and the damn hill that seems to start not far from the sea and carries on and on and on. I threw everything I had at it. Blood, tears, toil and sweat and an awful lot of swear words but the hill just seemed to give it all back and some...
The run was better this year although I did go wrong twice as some volunteer officials seemed to prefer to clap and cheer me on rather than indicate which direction I should be running.

My finishing time was 1hour 45 minutes total for all three disciplines. As I said,an awful lot of fit athletes. And me!