Perhaps we'll win...

...and perhaps we did ! A fantastic start to the new year with a double over neighbours Ilkeston in front of 844 fans at the New Manor Ground. A single goal 4 minutes (or 2 minutes depending on which report you read) from time was enough for Belper to start 2012 with 3 points in the bag. Sub Jordan Turner took on the last defender and keeper before rolling the ball into an empty net in front of the ecstatic travelling Belper fans. I got some shots of it but that grumpy old bugger from oop north captured the moment perfectly. Have a look at his blog to see the goal in all of it's glory.

A Grumpy view of the goal

My photos are here: Ilkeston 0 Belper Town 1

Nothing much to report on the cycling front although I forgot to mention that I have just finished reading Mark Cavendish's autobiography - good read but I'm not sure I liked him that much by the end. One thing you cannot deny is what a fantastic sprinter he is and also a great cyclist, anyone who finishes the Tour de France has to be admired and especially a sprinter  who is not designed to take his frame over the likes of Alpe D'huez and Mont Ventoux et al.

Did I mention that I bought another cycling shirt on ebay ? The latest one arrived today:

Cost ? £4.99 + £1.99 p&p = £6.98 - yet another bargain methinks. I also purchased one more today (and definitely the last one) - a Carrera shirt. I know I bought one before but this one should actually fit me as it's a size 42" - time to stop living in a dream and thinking that those 38" ones are big enough... 

This one was a bit dearer but thats because it has a 'proper name' to it unlike the ones I have previously bought which are all of obscure amateur teams or the Decathlon Btwin one.

Carrera was an Italian cycling team which included my favourite rider Stephen Roche - the Irishmen who won the TdF in 1987. Read more about Carrera here: Carrerra Cycling Team

Other famous riders to pull on the best cycling jersey include Marco Pantani, Guido Bontempi, and the brilliantly named Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (pronounced jah-mohl-ih-deen ahb-doo-ja-pahr-awf). Nicknamed the Tashkent terror he was famous for his all out no holds barred sprinting style which mostly ended in stage victories but also ended in some spectacular crashes.

I can't wait to be pulling on one of these new short sleeved jerseys and heading off into the sun, unlike today which saw people killed and injured in 100+ mph winds across the country.

I did notice that it was staying lighter for longer - a few more weeks and we'll be getting home in the light, that will make a real change.