Just tried to invade Russia by myself. The Russian counter-attacked strongly and more or less destroyed me.

For my next trick, I shall perhaps attempt the easy trick of reprogramming the Kobayashi Maru.

I've been waiting all week for the hangover to kick in. The stiff knees. The aching forearms. The painful posterior. The heavy legs. But, ... nothing.

Sorry? What am I talking about it? Right, well ...

Last Sunday, instead of lounging in bed for Father's Day, being pampered by my children, I spent the day on my bike riding all 204km of the BRCC Cotswold Expedition Audax.

An audax is, essentially, a organised long-distance cycle ride. You're given a route card, with directions, and there are a number of control points along the way. At the control points you stop and get your card stamped and your arrival time is recorded. The controls are generally at cafes or pubs, so you can stop and have a drink and a piece of cake too. It's not competitive, but there is a time limit (albeit a pretty generous one). Interestingly, there's an upper time limit too, to discourage racing.

Due to one thing and other, the other mainly being the kids' rather enthusiastic swimming club timetable, I set off rather unprepared. The maximum allowed time was just shy of 13 and half hours, and I didn't really have any doubt that I'd finish the ride within time but I did expect to suffer. The classic cycle training maxim is "ride your bike", which is what I'd failed to do. On the 25th of April, so long ago it doesn't count, I rode down to Oxford. On the 13th of June, I did a 65km circuit. And that's more or less it. There were no miles in my legs. So I was expecting to struggle.

We had the good fortune to have more or less perfect weather, ie. not warm, not cool, no rain, light winds, overcast all day, which certainly helped. I didn't get lost, managed not to set off too quick, and found some good guys to ride with. Some of the hills were hard work but I managed not to stop, even if I occasionally dropped to walking speed. There were some cracking downhill stretches, my cycle computer tells my I hit a maximum speed 70kph (a rather alarming 43.5mph). 200km is a pretty long way, and the last 35 or 40km were really pretty difficult, but I rolled into the finish in 10 hours. Not bad for a first go, I think.

And why no hangover? No idea. Do it again? Yep. Absolutely, but hopefully with a bit more prep.

Raining when I walked the dogs last night, and still raining when we went out this morning. Had the park to ourselves. Perfect.

My chum-in-comics Garen is 40 today. Nothing so odd about that, of course, people turn 40 all the time. I did it myself just a week ago and don't feel remotely soiled or grubby. Anyhoo, to mark the occasion Garen asked if internetty-pals like me could big up his rather splendid comic The Rainbow Orchid, due to arrive in a book shop near you on the 4th of August. That's right, book shop, for The Rainbow Orchid is being published by Egmont, who also publish Tintin in the UK. It's available for pre-order on Amazon for a frankly ridiculous £4.19, so why not nip over there now and order a copy. In the two months between now and then, you can forget all about it and when it arrives it'll be a lovely surprise present. From yourself, mind, but a present nonetheless. Perhaps you should get two, one for the kids and one for best. Lacking children, perhaps one for the lounge and one for the kitchen. Am I pitching too hard? You don't have to trust me when I say it's jolly good, because there's a hefty chunk for your reading pleasure right here. Go look, and then never doubt me again.

Clearly, I'm rather looking forward to it, not only because it's a terrific comic, but because I can smile smugly and pat myself on the back. Reviewing the first part in 2002 I wrote

Garen's a big Tintin fan, and it shows in both story and art, but this is no mere pastiche. The characters are real, the setting is authentic, and this opening chapter hints at many plot strands. It's got depth, charm and real polish. Read it now, before he gets signed up by Casterman and becomes a big star in France.

This issue's stand out strip is Garen Ewing's Rainbow Orchid, a 1920s set high adventure. It's just so complete - everything about it is good and all fits together wonderfully. If there's any justice you'll see this turning up in local Waterstones on that spinner with the Asterix and Tintin books in.

Look at that. I made a prediction and it's going to come true. Go me. Go Garen. Go The Rainbow Orchid.