Rabbit Thought of the Day

I’ve still got stuff to iron, we to be accurate, I have 5 shirts, 2  T shirts and a pair of jeans, the question is. Is it really worth the hassle getting the ironing board out setting it all up just for that amount? After all I have enough shirts, and the other stuff won’t make much difference.

 

Well the answer is, if I don’t do it now, when I have lots of free time it will build up and when we do run out of clothes to wear, we won’t have the time to do it. So the easiest thing to do is to get of my butt and get the bloody job done.

I am home again, 18.8 miles of hell this morning, driving rain, slippery mud and a couple of falls, great fun. It took me a 1’ 47” and that’s with two falls (and a submission) and having to stop to carry out repairs to the bike, my handle bars came loose for some reason. I think it was because I was standing up and leaning well forward while going up and hill this was putting a lot weight and pressure on them. But it was successful repair and I managed to complete the course.

 

As I said I did have a couple of falls one a speed on very wet and slippery mud, but thankfully I fell on nothing harder than grass and mud. It has been a great weekend for exercise, I done some great time s and have felt great and very strong. I am really pleased with my progress; just have to keep it going now.

Right I’m dressed and ready to go, and the good news it stopped raining, the bad news is it looks like it’s quite breezy which will make the first half of the ride quite difficult as I’ll be riding into the ride, but the upside of that is when I’m on my way home the ride will help me, there’s always a plus side to every thing. I am always an optimist; the glass is definitely half full with me.

 

I need to do a few stretching exercise to get me ready and then I’ll be off, Rosemary and just called to wish me luck and then has gone back to bed, sometimes she get right up my nose, (not really) lol.

Police in Milan are investigating an unusual $1m (£628,420) robbery in the heart of the Italian fashion capital.

 

It was, said the victim, "a masterpiece of its kind". It was certainly daring - in broad daylight and on one of Milan's swankiest shopping streets.

 

Staff at Pederzani's, one of the city's exclusive jewellers, thought nothing amiss when a window cleaner went to work on the plate glass display.

 

Dressed in regulation overalls, he propped his ladder against the window. But then, instead of using the bucket and squeegee to clean it, he calmly unscrewed it before scooping an estimated $1m-worth of jewels into his bucket and walking off into the Friday shopping crowd.

 

This is not the first audacious crime to hit Milan's fashion district this year. In February robbers tunnelled their way into another top jeweller's - escaping with almost $24m-worth of gems while its owners were away entertaining Hollywood stars at the Oscars.

 

A huge search is set to resume for hundreds of athletes left stranded after bad weather in the Lake District. About 2,500 runners were taking part in a two-day mountain marathon near Keswick when they were overcome by high winds, torrential rain and flooding. Many sheltered in farms and mines, some camped out overnight but about 900 remain unaccounted for, say reports.

 

Organisers say all participants will have been prepared to camp out and were well-equipped with tents and food.

 

The event was abandoned at about midday on Saturday as the Original Mountain Marathon was hit by some of the worst weather in its 40-year history.

But the extreme conditions on the mountains and severe flooding made it difficult to get the message to competitors scattered across the hills, often with no means of communication.

 

Mountain rescue teams searched the hills until after dark, dealing with 11 casualties, and the Northwest Ambulance Service took about 12 people to hospital with hypothermia and minor injuries. Weather across the region is expected to improve throughout the day, making the search for others easier.

The BBC Weather website has forecast light showers and winds below 30mph for Sunday, very different from the previous day.

 

One competitor, Rob Darrington, said at times the high winds and rain had felt as though it was "blowing needles into your face". "For anybody lacking experience in what they were doing, it was certainly a dangerous place to be," he added.

Overnight, 300 runners sheltered in Honister slate mine, which has seen 1ft (40cm) of rain fall since Thursday, according to the Environment Agency.

Mine manager Mark Weir was critical organisers had allowed the race to go ahead.

 

Speaking on Saturday night, he said: "We've overwhelmed the emergency services - the poor mountain rescue are out trying to find people on the side of the mountain, in the dark." But organisers defended their actions, saying many people did not understand the nature of mountain marathons.

 

An article on the organisers' website said: "The idea of self-reliance isn't a popular one in this day and age, so the fact that 900 people are said to be unaccounted for is being presented with the implication they are lost and in trouble - which is not the case."

 

It went on to say they were all well equipped and the vast majority would have made their way down off the hills and found shelter, while those who did not, still had a tent and food. It advised any worried friends or relatives to look on the Original Mountain Marathon website for the latest updates.

 

Many other local facilities also opened their doors overnight to runners. About 400 stayed at Gatesgarth farm, while Glaramara Centre and Cockermouth Sheep and Wool Centre gave refuge to dozens of runners. By early Sunday morning, 750 competitors had been accounted for, said Cumbria Police.

 

Competitor Adrian Netherwood, who took shelter at Cockermouth School, said he was still quite concerned about friends and colleagues who had not been heard from. "They are all experience fell runners...they have their tents so they will have gone to low ground..so I'm sure they are all ok." It is understood casualties were admitted to the Mary Hewetson Cottage Hospital, in Keswick, and later moved to Cumberland Infirmary, in Carlisle, and West Cumberland Hospital, in Whitehaven, for treatment.

The cat is asleep (for a change) with a full belly,  on the back of the sofa, the last couple of day she has been running around like she was possessed. Playing with anything she could get her paws on (a make up compact, pens and pencils any thing small), hopefully all her energy is spent.

I hope you all remembered to put your clocks back last night, but if you didn’t don’t worry too much not a lot worth getting up for. As I look out of the window at the moment it’s just getting light no sign of the sun, just a grey rainy day. Fortunately I am not planning on going anywhere, well part from my usual bike ride, but that’s not for a couple of hours yet, plus I don’t mind a bit of rain when out on the bike. It keeps the tourist’s away.

 

Am planning on going out at about eight ish, that’s still an hour away, so I should be back by 10, a shower and breakfast that’s all there is to do, today. My only worry is how wet the cross country bit will be, the last it rained the mud was so bad it stopped my wheels turning which was a bit of problem. It should be ok the rain is not too heavy and it been mostly dry this week so I should be ok.