Fracked

I woke up feeling good today. Last night's swim did me good. I jumped off the train at Guide Bridge as it's perfect running distance from work and all along the side of the canal.

I had a new James Holden podcast on my iPod and the soundscape started off a little sedentary like me but I was feeling relaxed. I love running under the motorway bridge on the towpath; a grey and long concrete funnel with flat artificial colourless light. Framed in a perfect rectangle at the end is brightness and green, reflecting off the dank waters of the canal.

The beat was getting stronger now, tribal undertones building up to human sacrifice in a Tarzan film. My pace rose and I pushed on harder and harder. It was hot now but all I noticed was sweat dripping. The pain was there but just as background noise. Quack... Woops.... I hadn't seen the sleeping mallard on the edge of the canal and it got a glancing blow from my orange Adidas.

I reached work quicker than expected having been running at 4:20km pace... Fast for a morning jog. I lay down on the wall trying to catch my breath and stopping the sweat flowing into my eyes. 5 people commented how knackered I looked.

Afterwards, I popped into Keep Pedalling, a bike shop that fits in well with its edge of Northern Quarter location. Nearly all steel bikes, most very practical but some very idiosyncratic. I have my eye on a Soma Smoothie frame to replace my broken Cannondale. They are contacting the distributor to see if they have this rather fine Tange Prestige steel frame designed in San Francisco in my size.

The day finally ended in North Tea and an amazing cup of Kenyan on V60. I discussed its merits with a nice polish chap who had chosen the more balanced but less vibrant Brazilian instead. I was unconvinced by his argument on why French press was the best brewing method.

As it was the my last working day of the week, I decided it was Beer o'clock. Jane recommended the Citra Amarillo from the Partizan Brewery in Bermondsey so I tried that as we tend to have similar tastes (apart from Wayne who I think is delightful but he's not my type). The beer was amazing... Bubbles like champagne ones as Wayne said they would be; a coppery mouth feeling bitterish light English hoppy floral herb garden kickarse mother of a beer. Amazing.