New Garmin Badges Update

I know that it isn’t quite the end of the month, but I wanted to give a quick update on the new Garmin badges that were released at the beginning of October.

Of the eleven new badges, I have completed four of them, or will have in a couple of days. I will admit that I did cheat to complete two of them.

The ones that I have completed are the Runner Graduate, as I have managed ten coached running sessions. The 30 day walk streak I can’t see me not completing. The other two badges, Pickleball and Disc Golf I technically completed. In other words, I cheated by uploading a short walk to the local Spar and changing the activity type.

Of the other seven badges, I would expect to complete New Heights as soon as our new puppy is old enough for a walk in the fells. The 30 day run streak will be difficult for me to complete unless I upload the odd walk as a run. Fins On is possible, although that would involve going for a swim. The 30 day swim streak I can’t ever see me completing, much the same for the Hydration badge. Mythical sleep I came as close as I’m ever likely to as I managed three consecutive days with a sleep score above 75. Rise and Grind is another possible, although at least one or two days a week it is nice not to be out running or walking before 7 am.

Anyway, have you completed any of the new badges and will Garmin create even more new badges for November?

Fifty Shades of the USA by Anna McNuff

One half of the UK’s adventure power couple, Anna McNuff sets out to cycle through all fifty states in the USA. Fed up with corporate life in London, and with no experience of long distance cycling, she sets out on an 11,000 mile adventure, dodging snowstorms, blizzards, floods and electrical storms. She pedals side by side with mustangs of the Wild West, through towering redwood forests, past the snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains and on to the volcanos of Hawaii.

Along the way, she meets record-breaking grandmas, sings with Al Green at a gospel service and does her best to avoid becoming a grizzly bear’s dinner. 50 Shades of the USA is a down-to-earth, heartfelt and hilarious account of an adventure through a country well-known, but far less well-understood. It is a stunning tale of self-discovery told through the eyes of a woman who couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to life, and more to America too.

Written with the same humour as her other books, this is another great read. Anna’s indomitable spirit and positive attitude allows her to make friends with almost anyone.

America is a funny old place. I found many of the large cities to be incredibly scary, daunting and unfriendly, while the small towns were the complete opposite. The best places I visited were the National Parks, and I can’t wait for the day when I can take my lovely wife to visit Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.

Anyway, I gave the book five stars, as have most other people. If you like well written adventure books with a cycling theme, this book is for you.

Run by Blake Crouch

Blake Crouch specialises in dark thrillers, often crossing over into the supernatural or horror genres. He should be right up my street then. The only other books that I’ve read by Blake Crouch was Summer Frost, a short Amazon only e-book and Draculas, a collaboration with Paul Wilson, Jeff Strand and Joe Konrath.

Run begins with a sudden and unexpected increase in violent crimes, specifically murders and mass shootings. The president pleads for calm but the killers begin to mobilise, before taking over the airwaves and announcing the names of people who are to be killed.

Jack Colclough has a wife, a daughter, and a young son. They live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. People are coming to his house to kill them all. He doesn’t know why, and he doesn’t have time to think about that any more. He only has time to…. R U N.

One review I read said that the concept wasn’t very believable, which I would agree with, as the reasons why large swaths of the country suddenly want to kill people is never explained. Despite that, the story moves along at a good pace with plenty of shocks and scares along the way.

I gave the book three stars, which might have been a little harsh. The average score on Goodreads is just under four. However, I doubt if I will be picking up any more Blake Crouch books in the future. One of those books that I would have felt annoyed about buying, as it was included in my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer

Buy one get one half price a our local Waterstones meant that I added two books to my “to be read” pile, which is dangerously tall and possibly has it’s own postcode. The two books I purchased were the above, and Fairy Tale by Stephen King. For those who don’t know, Bob Mortimer is a comedian who began his career working successfully alongside Vic Reeves, before filming a TV series about fishing with Paul Whitehouse. I’m not a fan of fishing, but the TV series is more about two middle aged men talking rubbish and setting the world aright.

Gary works as a legal assistant. A boring job for a boring man. One night he goes for a drink with a work associate, but he has to leave early. Gary then strikes up a conversation with Emily, who then also leaves suddenly, without telling Gary her name or how to contact her, although she does leave her copy of the must read book of the year, The Satsuma Complex.

Gary tries to track down Emily, and meets her violent, shouty, controlling boyfriend Tommy. Gary also meets some people pretending to be the police. With the help of his neighbour, Grace, Gary tried to find out what happened to his work associate, without getting killed.

This is Bob Mortimer’s first fiction book and have to say that it was a damn fine effort. It wasn’t spectacular, and the twists and turns were fairly obvious, but it was amusing and easy to read. Hopefully he will continue to write as I would expect his second novel will be even better.

One of the reviews on Goodreads started off saying – good, but not THAT good, funny, but not THAT funny, which I think is an almost perfect review. I gave the book four stars, while the average score is slightly less than that.

Grange-over-Sands

It was windy with the potential for rain. What could be better than a trip to Grange-over-Sands? Friday morning, me, my lovely wife, Helen and our six-month old puppy, Gordon, set off walking for the train station, where we would catch a train across to Grange. It was also Gordon’s first time on a train. As you can see, he wasn’t sure what was going on.

However, he liked to look out of the window.

The train journey is less than 30 minutes, which is quicker than driving as the train can cross the bay using the Arnside Viaduct. The viaduct should be widened to include a walkway for pedestrians and cyclists. One day it might happen.

Anyway, we jumped off the train and walked along the prom, stopping at a cafe for coffee and bacon/sausage baps. Gordon was a good boy and was given some bacon. The views across the bay, even on a windy day in October, were stunning.

I have only cycled through Grange, so it was a change to be on foot, especially as we could have a look at the famous lido, which is in the middle of being renovated. There has been a campaign for many years for this.

There was also a crazy golf course a little further along, although it was very closed. That might have been a good thing as I’m not sure if Gordon would be able to hold a golf club.

We came off the prom and walked through the town, although we didn’t stop to shop, not even at the expensive chocolate shop which tried to lure us in.

The duck pond, on the other hand, was incredibly exciting for a young puppy. We spotted a pair of Mandarin ducks and there was also a flock of Bar Headed Geese. Much to Gordon’s surprise, they weren’t in the slightest bit afraid of him.

It was then time to jump on a train home.

The station at Grange has to be one of the most picturesque stations in the country. However, the train back home was much busier and noisier, and Gordon wasn’t as keen.

After an exciting day, we’re all glad to be home. The heating is on and a night on the sofa with wine, beer and a pizza is calling.

You don’t need to travel for hours for an adventure.

Beyond Impossible by Mimi Anderson

Another great book about running, and another one where the author didn’t take up running until later in life, and finds that they are really quite good.

Mimi suffered from extreme anorexia and part of her rehabilitation was exercise. At age 36, unfit and a mother of three young children, she reluctantly jumped onto a treadmill for the first time. With a resolve to improve her relation with food and a new found love of running, she starts to train hard and enters the formidable Marathon De Stables, the famous multi-day event across the Sahara.

From there Mimi enters tougher and harder races, often winning them, including the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, USA, and the 6633 Arctic Ultra. This builds towards her biggest challenge as she attempts to gain the Guinness World Record time for a female running 840 miles from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

The book is incredibly inspiring, even if all you want to do is run a 10k race, or even your local parkrun. I like to read about heroic challenges, even if a half marathon is likely to knock me off my feet for the following week.

A couple of things in the book with I thought about was time and money. I gather from the book that Mimi’s husband earns enough that she doesn’t have to work, which inevitably gives her the time to train when their children are at school. He also comes across as very understanding, as there is always an element of selfishness with any of these huge events.

Anyway, another great book about running to add the shelf of running books we have at home. I gave it five stars, which might have been a little generous as the average on Goodreads is 4.10.

Hard Luck Hank by Steven Campbell

This was another obscure sci-fi book that was suggested in an online article. It is futuristic and ridiculous.

Hank is a thug on a space station lurking at the far reaches of the known galaxy. He’s also a level four mutant which renders him bulletproof and virtually indestructible. Quite handy when you’re thug.

Screw the Galaxy – Book #1

Hank was happy living on the space station, named Belvaille. The place was full of criminals, of which he was one. Being bulletproof, Hank had become a negotiator between different gangs, although everything changed when a mysterious brother and sister appeared on the station with a job for Hank. You can guess that it didn’t go well. Suddenly, being at the furthest reaches of the galaxy isn’t a good thing as the Federation sends their largest battlecruisers to sort out the space station.

Basketful of Crap – Book #2

Hank, our eponymous hero has aged and the space station is now full of corporations instead of gangs. Hank is out of touch and out of place. That is until he’s hired to find someone. The people hiring him turn out to be from a planet of assassins.

As Hank contemplates whether he can survive in this increasingly hostile environment, he realizes that things are quite a bit worse than they seem. The constant power plays among corporations might have further reach than just the alleys of a backwater space station at the edge of the galaxy.

Prince of Suck – Book #3

Hank is now old and feeling it. His mutation has continued to progress to the point where he now can hardly walk he is so heavy. He always used to be slow, but now he is downright sluggish. The civil war is over and Hank is now in charge of a sort of police force on the space station. His health is also suffering.

The owner of the space station decides that it needs a mayor. Someone is killing off respected people who want to become mayor. It is chaos, especially as the assassin can teleport in and out of anywhere in a split second. Hank has to decide if he can save Belvaille, or if it’s even worth saving.

My overall view of this series is that it is ridiculous. It is also great fun. It has elements of Red Dwarf and The Hitchhikers Guide. It definitely doesn’t take itself seriously and in now way does the series attempt to be literature or answer any tough questions. Leave your brain at the door.

I gave each book four stars, which seems to be about average. There is also eleven books in the series and two prequels. Plenty for me to get on with.

The Undead by RR Haywood

A couple of months ago I blogged about the author RR Haywood, and how when he self published his first book, no one bought it. He didn’t care and continued to write. Ultimately, he released an omnibus of the first seven days of his undead series, which is when people did start buying it.

Howie works as a ight manager at at local branch of Tesco. He’s well liked and tries to look out for the staff who work with him, including Dave, who very rarely speaks. One boring Friday night, all hell breaks loose, with a fast moving virus spreading across Europe and into the UK. Within hours there are reports of people coming back to life and attacking people, specifically, biting them. TV reporters struggle with stating the words “zombie apocalypse”.

The main character, Howie, isn’t a fighter or a natural survivor, ad he hides in his upstairs flat as the outbreak begins, only daring to leave his flat the next day to search for his parents. Thus begins the extensive series of books about the undead as he joins forces with Dave, who saves his life on numerous occasions. The pair of them make a plan to go to London to search for Howie’s sister as his parents couldn’t be found. From the south coast they make their way to Salisbury and the army barracks in an effort to obtain weapons.

Slowly, the books include more and more characters as more layers of intrigue become known. People join forces with Howie and Dave, while others head off on their own adventure. People die, others are saved. They encourage people to head to old forts on the south coast as they are defendable.

Each book is based on one day, with the first and second weeks available as omnibus editions. However, towards the 22nd and 23rd days, the books change to part 23 or part 24, as the later books cover more than one single day. Currently there are 25 books in the series and RR Haywood has promised that there will be more.

What is interesting is how the authors writing style changes over the course of the books, as he improves. As with all RR Haywood books there is a great deal of talking, often in the style of “banter”. Female characters are also very thin on the ground in the first week.

The books are definitely not to everyone’s taste, as the reviews range from five stars to one star, with some very bad reviews, but with more good reviews. I enjoyed the whole series, although a couple of the books didn’t work for me. Most of the books I gave four stars to, with a couple receiving lower scores and a couple higher ones.

If you’re intrigued, maybe start with the Extracted trilogy. If you like those books, there is a good chance you’ll like the Undead series.

Rhyming Life and Death by Amos Oz

This was another book delivered by the Bookshop in Wigtown as part of the random book club. Very definitely a random selection from an author who I had never heard of.

A celebrated but bored author is invited to a small town to give a poetry reading of his own work. Sitting in a cafe in the afternoon he invents lives and history for the other customers and the staff, blurring the lines between fact and fantasy.

He continues with this as he watches the small group of fans who have gathered to hear him read a selection of his most famous poems. One young woman catches his eye and he imagines leaving with her. In reality, he doesn’t, and instead he walks around the town into the early hours of the morning.

The best thing about this book was that it was short. I wasn’t pulled in, and felt no affinity with the main character, almost wanting something bad to happen to him in the hope that it would make the narrative a little more exciting.

Sorry Amos Oz, but this book wasn’t for me, and I can’t imagine ever reading something from you again. Two out of five stars from me, although the average score on Goodreads is only 3.37.

However, full marks from the random book club for encouraging me to read authors that I had never heard about, or genres that I would generally avoid. I suppose that that is one of the main points of the random book club.

New NENDYs Everywhere

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about a new parkrun that had started up in Muncaster Castle, which instantly became my new Nearest Event Not Done Yet. (Read about it here.)

Since then, another two parkruns have started up fairly close to Lancaster. First up was Clarence Park parkrun in Bury. This isn’t closer than Muncaster, but it is a lot easier to get to. It also uses the park where as a teenager I used to race cycle speedway. I was living in Hull at the time, and in the league we raced in, there was a team in Bury who had a race track in Clarence Park. The team still exists, but they have moved to Goshen playing fields. As an aside, one of Bury’s best riders at the time was a young Jim Varnish, father of Olympic track cyclist Jess Varnish.

Yesterday, another new NENDY parkrun popped up on the Running Challenges Chrome extension. This one is in Worden Park in Leyland, just south of Preston. Before the first lockdown, me and my lovely wife travelled to Cuerden Valley parkrun, which is sadly now defunct. The owners of the land decided for various reasons not to allow parkrun to continue once lockdown had ended. There was a junior parkrun in Worden Park, and they organisers of Cuerden Valley parkrun had hoped to be able to start up a Saturday parkrun as well. It now appears that this has been achieved. Worden Park is now my new NENDY, although I will probably wait a few weeks before making the journey there. New teams don’t want to be inundated with runners in their first few weeks.