Tonight we all went for curry. Myself, my ageing friend, my gangly friend and a couple of the Hockey Team guys. We were talking about bizz-ness and the possibilities that lay before us.

I have been working for many many years on software that solves the very problem my employer wants to solve by outsourcing. The details are not important, but it seems to be a no-brainer.

I had a conversation today with a senior manager in the outsourcing giant, and he is to meet my ageing friend on Monday to talk about what can be done that makes everybody better off - my employer, outsourcing giant, my team and me. We don't know where that one will go yet.

I spoke to Martin this evening. He ripped off his toenail and mangled his foot when he trapped his foot between the footpeg and a tree root at 20mph at the race on Sunday. This was on the sighting lap, and he still finished the race. There is a bit of fun up at Husaberg on Saturday riding Husaberg race bikes, and he is heading up there. Workload permitting, I'll take a trip up too - you can never get too much bike-time in.

Great idea for a bumper sticker - "Enduro riders do it by getting the best grip".

Trying to organise flights and stuff to get to Morocco in November for desert training. The prices are fairly reasonable, but it's a 6am flight back again. Ouch. I don't like flying at the best of times, and I don't do mornings.

Somebody else who doesn't like flying is Matthew Parris - former MP and now a journalist, he is the guy who outed Peter Mandelsson.

Anyway, he was flying on a RyanAir flight and was carrying hand-luggage only. He put his hand luggage on the scales and it weighed 12 kilos. The girl said he was only allowed 10 kilos and he'd need to check his bag in.

Matthew Parris protested about this - he pointed out at least 10 people in the queue who were at least 20 kilos heavier than he was. "Do they have to check in their buttocks?" he asked. The RyanAir checkin staff didn't see the funny side. "10 kilos" they insisted.

There was only one thing to do. He unpacked the bag at the desk, and put on the clothes that were in it, then filled his pockets with everything else. He ended up wearing about 4 jumpers and 3 pairs of trousers, but he got the weight down to 8 kilos.

He had proved his point, and the luggage was allowed as hand luggage. Security was a bit of a trauma, since he had to empty all of the pockets, but it was still a victory. I'd have done exactly the same thing.

If me and my luggage weighs in at 80 kilos, then this means that I have 25 kilos of luggage. If my luggage allowance is 20 kilos, then I am 5 kilos overweight and will have to pay for this. An 80-kilo person with 15 kilos of luggage has to pay nothing, but they are loading the plan with 15 kilos more than I am.

Something is wrong with that picture. Why not put the person and the luggage on the scales and weigh them both? I mean, that's what the plane is gong to have to get into the air - not just the luggage.

Martin gave the thumbs-up to me coming along AJP trail riding on 28 September, which means that I will get a days riding with my Irish team mate (who is flying in from Dublin and back in one day - he will be knackered).

It turns out that my Irish team mate has a pilots licence, and has an awful lot of hours of flying time behind him. Navigation is a breeze he tells me, he's been doing it for years. This will serve us well getting to Dakar, so I am putting this in the "good sign" category. It still doesn;t solve the road book trauma, and deciphering that little lot whilst dodging rocks and soft sand. Much ractice is needed here.

My nautical friend has left for Brazil - long old journey across the Atlantic for him - and we wish him well.

I spoke to Young Sky today as well. He has just been offered a job at THE company to work for - Google of all places. Well done to him, he will fit right in there. He is one of the brightest people I know - if not the brightest - and Google are lucky to have him. Good luck.

Because I am in late tonight, The Missus is already tucked up in bed as is the Wee Yin. This meant that the only welcome I got tonight was from a rather crap collie who makes silly whimpering noises. Been a long day today and tomorrow will be longer still. We are still not out of the woods yet with the whole outsourcing thing, even though the trees are starting to thin.

I have sort of reached a place where I know what is the right thing to do, and have volunteered this as a solution to the problem so that everybody gets what they want out of it. If this cannot happen for any reason, then there's not a lot else I can do except leave them to follow the course they have set for themselves. All of this cycle-stealing has caused a fair amount of turmoil these past few weeks, and The Missus and I were having raised voices last night - it cannot go on much longer.

It was occupying my mind so much that I rode right through a speed camera at 10mph over the sped limit. The double-flash brought me to my senses, but tht's not the bad part. The bad part is that I know that camera - I pass it every day. I was riding on autopilot and was not aware of my surroundings. This is not good, not good at all. This is a major cause of needing to put up "Dead Biker Ahead" signs.

Something is in the wind. Not sure what it is, or how it will pan out, but something is around the corner. I don't know if something wicked this way comes, or if it's something good, but I just got this uncanny feeling that something is about to come right in out of the blue.

With bikes, as in life, It's always the things you don't see that get you - not the ones you're looking at.

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