Taiwan (TT column 25.08.13)

Did I mention last week that any routine might have gone out of the window? Well if it hadn't then it certainly has now, although this time I have the valid excuse of a seven hour time difference. I'm writing this whilst sat in my hotel room on the thirtieth floor listening to the intermittent creaking as the building resists the strong typhoon winds it's being subjected to. I have travelled east to Taiwan for the senior Modern Pentathlon World Championships where these extreme weather conditions are nothing unusual for these parts of Asia in August.

You might have noticed that my season has been rather void of modern pentathlon competitions and I've filled a lot of this extra time with my new found love, cycling. Whether competing in full pentathlon competitions or not I have always loved to run so these past few months have been painfully frustrating for me after I was diagnosed with a stress fracture in my shin. I won't bore you with the details but it basically means I must not put impact through that leg, thankfully cycling is not detrimental to its healing and I've therefore managed to maintain sanity.

That probably leaves you asking what am I doing at the world championships; I was invited out here to Taiwan as part of the commentary team for the host broadcaster. Due to the weather conditions this competition has been so interrupted I haven't been envious of those competing. Things were looking very bleak on the women's final day when the torrential tropical rain showed no sign of ceasing, the only option was to postpone the whole event and return the following day for the riding and combined phases. Thankfully the strong winds and high temperatures dried the ground sufficiently and there was a competition to commentate on.

Ready steady chop (TT column 18.08.13)

As a result of a couple of midweek weddings added to journeys between London, home, Bath, Leeds and Manchester any routine has gone out the window. Other than the amount of time spent on the road - which annoyingly trebles this time of year thanks to the SW being such a popular tourist destination -  I am not complaining, it has been action packed with fun.

The journey back home was not initially in the plan until I had an offer I couldn't refuse, the fact it involved food made it an easy decision. I was flattered to be invited to participate in Plymouths' Flavour Fest as a guest on their version of Ready Steady Cook. It wasn't until after I'd signed up that I discovered my opponent has been an actual food critic in the past, luckily though it came down to the impressive skills of the celebratory chefs the Tanner brothers. I was soon given the role of assistant although James Tanner's reaction to some of my 'dicing' (he politely referred to the finished product as chopped) hinted that I might have actually hindered rather than helped with the amazing final dishes. I was given a slight chance to redeem myself in a second round in which I and fellow guest had the challenge of arranging one dish, something I felt a little more skilled at. Decorating the plates and making delicious looking food was one thing, the most important part though was the tasting and that was by far my greatest input.

I made the mistake of heading north on Saturday afternoon, if you have the choice never do that during the summer holiday season. Sat in static traffic on the M5 I was wondering what I was doing but it was all worth it as I got to compete in a triathlon. Okay I had better admit it was just one third as I did the cycle leg for the bbc five live team, but I am certainly keen to do a full one soon.