Other Interests

I like to bash out some rocking bass lines, the duff mckagan to the slash on the previous page

Hi all, well I like gardening growing veg. to eat, motorcycling, thermionic electronics and most of all SEX,just stated using Viagra, 60 years old you see, wow, you old fogis should try it, all I need now is an 18 year old.

That would do very nice.

away from cycling, anything to do with the outdoors.
previously that included gardening (think the goodlife, tom & barbara minus animals) with a 2.5acre garden and we grew almost all our own veg... everything was recycled/repaired from something and excess harvest passed on to other people. we don't have a garden with out new tenancy which is a real shame and there are no allotments anywhere nearby (though there are some in the pipeline with a new housing estate going on - part of T&C's the locals insisted on).
so the main ones until my leg was damaged included hiking & mountaineering - usually in the winter but I can't walk far with my leg at the moment so those are currently on hold, as are long distance footpath walking.
cycle touring is also on hold until leg is better....
photography is a very keen hobby of mine, but I have a very specific area - usually remote & extreme conditions, tied in with mountaineering etc...
cooking is about the only one I currently do - vegan & often including elements of RAW food living. I have to cook everythign from scratch being allergic to dairy - all dairy which now pops up in all sorts of foods that it should not be in - even bread & margarine have to be checked before I can eat them!
I used to teach Advanaced Level Driving with RoSPA on a voluntary basis, but even that has fallen by the wayside - I can't afford to run the car I enjoy driving and to be honest, I have lost interest in it after 22 years... worrying given I am only 40!

so hobbies away from cycling, at the moment include homecooking and photography. I am learning Spanish - thought it might help if we ever got to south america on tour...

you might like this website then - the raw foods there are amazing....
nouveauraw.com/raw-recipies/desserts/deep-dark-chocolate-blackberry-cheesecake/
I have tried the cheesecake and it is fantastic, but very definitely a special occasion, though once you have the ingredients available becuase it does not use all of them, it would be cheaper next time round...

been veggie for 29 years. intolerant to all dairy for about 15 years and allergic to it for around 5-6 years.
I use a lot of soya milk which I like, made my own brazil nut milk not long after christmas when they were clearning the shelves of brazil nuts at 49p a packet... lovely and creamy. love tofu but not quorn. have my own dehyrdator and love making raw onion bread and fruit leathers. also been playing around with cashew nut cheese which in this household is a massive hit. even my mother and father-in-law love it, but you have to purchase the correct probiotics because the really influence the taste. still looking for a better/cheaper sourse of the cashew nuts but to be honest I won't complain at 400g costing me £4.49 because that packet makes a double cashew nut cheese recipe. wild garlic pesto (vegan) was last week and a major suceess.

with my brother & sister (who I brought up) i ran a no questions policy. they were not permitted to tell me they did not like it until they had tried it more than once. then I would listen, the result is that they ate almost everythign adn whilst I had to be strict with them when they went to primary school, it worked really well. my brother is now a chef and not phased by people's odd requests and even managed vegan at the pub/resturant he works in if given notice by said persons. for his 21st birthday he arranged to have various dishes made for me so I could actually eat with them for the meal there. I know it has changed the way his pub chain look at meals and they now add a sideline that certain items can be made vegan if requested at the time of ordering! (there is 17 years between the 2 of us).
As for tea - well I drink it the way it should be, black & sweet - picked that up in Turkey and still find it the best way. though much prefer turkish tea to Uk tea and mostly have green tea in the uk now. prefer the clipper brand to any others though. Ironically egss are still something I love, mostly becuse I know how good non-shop bought ones are... honey I am not that bothered about, and pulses are all done from dried, not canned. foodieschat has quite a few of my recipes on it... have you found the website nomeatathlete yet? I follow some of it. it can be way ott at times but things like the vegan black bean brownies are excellent - i have posted a variation of the recipe (more affordable and sensible) on foodieschat.

I also love wild foods as well. nettles in particular are exceptionally tasty and just coming to their own now. must hope my health picks up soon so I can collect this years harvest and get it frozen instead of spinach, much nicer!

nettles like lime leaves, hawthorn leaves, wild garlic leaves, beech leaves etc are all best had when young. same with beetroot leaves and other such 'lettuce' crops. We would deliberately over sow in a row, eating the thinnings leaving only a few beetroot or chard left to grow to what people recognise.
nettle cordial is exceptionally nice as well. people often look at me as though I am mad when out walking because i just pick a handful of leaves from what seems like a random tree and eat them. some of the other 'wild flowers' are also good to eat in small quantities as well. leaves that is not the actual petals though there are plenty of those you can add to your salads - borage being my favourite then nasturums.

as for time - allergies dictate I have to make time for it otherwise I will end up in A&E being rescuistated. done that twice in this life time so far. don't want to do it again - screws up the next couple of weeks big time!