Tour de France 2013

Dear Blog,

         I see that my four days in God’s Own County last week has paid handsome dividends. Mid-week it was announced that the Tour de France next year will start in Yorkshire!!! Blog I kid you not. Once I had assured the organisers of the Tour that the Chairman of the Conservative Party, Eric Pickles, was no longer in charge of Bradford Council, they jumped at the chance of starting the race from the industrial West Riding of Yorkshire. And where better than Bradford, you ask Blog? Keighley? The route has not yet been finalised but a spin through the hills around Haworth followed by a few climbs in the Sheffield area on the first day and a time trial around York on the second, should set the field up nicely for their annual three weeks of slog, Blog, around rural France. A few Yorkshire puddings with a bit of tripe soaked in vinegar followed by a bowl of chips in tomato soup, and Yorkshire rhubarb and custard to round up their breakfast before the first days racing, should see them all going well.

Did you hear the said Eric Pickles on the radio last week Blog? Interesting. Very noncommittal about his past life in Keighley, Yorkshire, most unlike the quotes he is supposed to have said in the past about his schooling and upbringing. Well worth a delve into the archives to find what his comments were? I say no more.

So the Sportsman of the Year will be taking place as usual tomorrow. Interesting to see that the BBC has sanitised the personalities down to a dozen nominations rather than allowing an open house as in the years past. Perhaps part of their financial cuts is to save money on the number of envelopes used? It seems the trend now that the public can be told what their options are by all in authority. Any authority. Every authority. What we need is a Celtic Spring to cleanse the latter-day Aegean Stable. Now that is really clever Blog, a triple meaning for you to untangle while watching the Sports Personality programme on the BBC which I have to confess Blog, I will be missing. BORING. BORING.

And so to my knee ….. gradually built up the walking mileage with decreasing pain during this week. A little jog here and a little jog there, but to trudge or not to trudge, that is the question. Aim is to compete in the annual Christmas Day run on Christmas morning in Warwick. The race has an interesting history. Very briefly and lacking detail => Since 1909 there was a Bettmann handicap (see my previous letters to you Blog about Bettmann) race on Christmas Day until the mid-sixties when the attraction for club members began to fade and was finally abandoned. One of the club runners who lived in Warwick was a little upset at this outcome, and as a result, he organised a race between local athletes and drinkers at a local pub, all very informal. When he emigrated to South Africa a local and his son took over the reins and did quite a good job. This slowly expanded and then, with their retirement, in the last dozen years it became a more organised affaire by Leamington Cycling and Athletic Club but still not too serious, joggers and club athletes having a blow out around the pavements of Leamington and Warwick.

                                          Colin