Bit quiet here, I know, mostly because nothing much of interest has been going on. I have been out riding, in spite of the weather, and highlights included a day being shown around Hebden Bridge (above), some enjoyably bleak jaunts on the Krampus with it’s eight shiny new internal hub gears making the hills a bit easier (below), and some entertaining Monday Night Pub Rides. I’ve done nothing particularly noteworthy apart from that though, hence the lack of updates. There are plans afoot for more interesting adventures in the coming months, however, and I need to get some serious miles in from around now if I’m not to suffer too much in the execution of said schemes.

I did also pop out to the French Alps to visit my unfortunate little brother, who is unlucky enough to have to live in some obscure backwater called Val-d’Isere, the poor chap. He has had to contend with two metres of snow just down in the village this year, but he’s gamely made the best of things by spending most of his time snowboarding on it, when he’s not enduring his job, getting paid actual real money for playing his favourite records in a trendy nightclub.  I’m sure he envies me my 9-to-5 life of trudging from school run to spreadsheet to conference call back in drizzly little England, but he was good enough not to go on about it, which was kind of him.

Once I’d stopped staring blankly into space, contemplating certain of the decisions I have made in my life, I quite enjoyed the skiing, and even managed to skitter my way down a proper classic black run a couple of times (below). Apparently the off-piste stuff hereabouts is amazing, but as I was out with the nine-year-old I didn’t get chance to sample any of it. Maybe next year.