Holes.

FMFT never like to be the ones to buck a trend and find ourselves behind the exciting news on the Internet so we’re going to join in with the general yammering about how potholes have got worse after the Big Freeze. There’s a website where you can register your disapproval and discomfort, or vote for your favourite pothole here.

That was a little joke. The actual website is called Fill That Hole (and is far more safe for work than I expected). It’s a CTC site and you can find it through their website or via another useful FMFT link.

In some ways I enjoy the broken road surfaces as it reminds me a little of mountain biking which is infinitely more fun than simply riding the same roads to work.

Talking of mountain biking (seamless link there, I hope you’ll agree) I was encouraged to see that a scheme in North Wales to encourage people to surrender their motor powered off road vehicles including quads and motorcross bikes in exchange for mountain bikes and equipment. While I am a fan of sharing the countryside, I have met the odd ‘crosser up while out on a mountain bike (and silently laughed when they got a corner pretty wrong and fell off in a comedy manner) and I would far rather come face to face with another cyclist. They’re quieter and less aggressive and seem to leave the track considerably less destroyed. I am all for people riding them in the right places and the incredible things that they can do (this feels like another Red Bull video’s coming up – I’ll resist) but the antisocial use of them is definitely something that should be discouraged.

Finally I imagine you’ve been wondering why we’ve not mentioned the iPhone for a week or so. Never fear, because I’ve discovered that digital OS map and GPS suppliers Memory-Map have an app in development that will allow you to use all their routeplanning and map information on the Apple phone, as if it were a standard GPS system. I’m not convinced about digital mapping over a paper map that lets you see more of the bigger picture and doesn’t rely on satellite signals or battery life, but it could be a fun thing to have. It’s just a shame that it only seems to be available as an app for the one phone, let’s hope the developers look at other smart phones as well to broaden the appeal. I bet you could plot in all the annoying potholes you find as well and then moan about them in the pub later.

Right I’m off to sit back and watch the giants of Internet bike sales pitched against each other in my inbox as Wiggle and Chainreaction seem to be fighting it out with bigger and better sales. If only I could afford anything.

A