I had hoped to be writing about the 24 hour cyclothon that was on this weekend, in Weston super Mare, 12 noon Saturday through to 12 noon Sunday, cycling a 4 mile loop along the seafront. I woke up on Saturday morning with a thick head, sniffy nose and sore throat. Really disappointed as I had taken part in this last year, but, having started a new job very recently I wasn’t about to exacerbate the possibility going down hill. They smashed last years total mileage and racked up 250+ miles in the 24 hours. you will be aware of the appalling weather we have had recently and the forecast wasn’t good. Jason Smith my best friend was taking part and was going to attempt to beat his own personal 24 hour record….. the cyclothon will be posted on his page http://jasonsmith.me.uk ……. I will definitely be there next year, prepared and trained to go the distance

Cycling StoriesSo, a New Job? ……. I have worked for National Express for the last 2 years, on the 401 Route, Stroud, Cirencester, Swindon, Heathrow Victoria. Getting up every day at midnight, arriving home between 2:30 and 3:30pm, with a 64 mile round trip to travel to work. I enjoyed the job, and the pay was good, but after 2 years of being “Billy no mates” and refusing invitations, which we all know can dry up after a while, I decided the time was right to look for pastures new. The management at the depot were brilliant, and the time off I was allowed, to follow my passion of world travel, was amazing, but the constant tiredness and no social life was impacting me too much. I have no wife or girlfriend, but I do have a daughter and grandchildren (and Rob son in law) and as you get older it really is so important to keep that amazing relationship going.

I had a holiday booked to go to Australia for nearly a month, so I decided resigning, taking 3 months off, enjoy the holiday and then a rest and have a look around to see what was available in the marketplace. Apart from my passion for cycling and golf I have been looking at making bespoke hand poured candles (something I spent over 10 years doing running the manufacturing side of Eclipse Candles) but it will be more of a hobby with small runs of unique lines. (another blog I think)

So having spent 3.5 weeks in Australia helping my very close friends from HK, clear out their home of over 30 years, ready for the new owners… (another blog to follow) I arrived home recharged, looking forward to another month of chilled out time.

A good friend and colleague was working at Bristol Airport https://www.bristolairport.co.uk  (he was ex National Express) and with my passion for aviation, I talked to him about possibilities. So having registered my details on their site it was only a couple of weeks when I received a message from Rob to say there was a vacancy and I should apply. Long story short I did apply, had 2 interviews and was offered the job. PCV Driver at BRS driving Bendy Buses transferring passengers to and from the terminal. The great thing about having a PCV Licence is there are always vacancies.

Still in my first month, it is very different to NX, but in so many good ways. No M4 each and every day, No Roadworks, No accidents, no traffic jams, no Friday congestion, no London each day fighting the traffic…. This new job at BRS is very chilled, average 39 hours a week, shift work yes, but they work for everyone, and believe it or not, it isn’t monotonous at all. New people every trip, happy smiley people, great supervisors, brilliant management team, and the perks are really very very good.

My two week induction was well laid out and very thorough, but we managed to sail through that, maybe because of my experience or maybe my age I don’t know, but I was through the induction and trained in all aspects by the end of first week, had many nice comments about my commitment and diligence and ability to pick things up quickly, so I was out driving on the shifts having been type trained on all three types of vehicles. I am part of a 6 person shift with a supervisor, (really nice chap) and our shift is part of a 6 shift 36 man operation.

BRS offer a round the clock 24 hour operation Silver Zone Parking https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/parking/silver-zone

A 24 hour staff shuttle ……..and a 24 hour Long Term Parking shuttle https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/parking

I am sure that all things happen for a reason (I am sure I have mentioned this in previous logs) … :-) and I see this as a real plus for me. Can plan a social life with friends, more cycling and perhaps more golf to….. and also spend more time with my family. Am happy at BRS and can see myself spending the remaining of me driving career here. working at an airport has been a wish of mine since I was a young lad so finally get g to realise it, is fantastic.

I bought a new car https://www.ford.co.uk/cars/ka-plus so the miles will be much less going on. Its a great small car!

So we (Daughters family) are heading to Majorca in July, really looking to spending a week with them all, and later in the year will be going on a long haul trip…. (so many blogs coming to you)

This weeks special link goes out to @seabirdradio https://seabirdradio.co.uk/wp/

This is a great internet radio station available on Android Play Store or iPhone App/Online/Alexa/Car Play My favourite show is The Ambient Hour at 9pm on a Wednesday, and if you miss it you can find it uploaded to Mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com

Take care out there until next time …………… “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, its about learning to dance in the wind”