With the weather being a little dicey in the centre of the island today, hampering photo opportunities, and in a continual bid to keep things interesting I found that by the time my ride was coming to a close I had little material for an update of the day. Time was running out so in true ‘last action hero’ style (or should that be 'lost traction hero?') I felt pressure to pull something out of the bag. Please note that what follows may not be for the faint hearted among us.

So, picture the scene. It’s been raining pretty hard during the ride and to my amazement the GC600 passing Rogue Nublo had ice and snow on parts of the road and surrounding mountains. Crazy I know. As I approached the sunny haven of Maspalomas things were improving fast and temperatures were back to what you’d expect. This globally warming malarkey really is insane. Having negotiated all of the extreme stuff out on the road I pulled up outside of the apartment and started to roll down the ramp towards the entrance. This is when things turned bad pretty darn fast. Note to reader - I ride down this ramp every day and have done for years with not so much of a care. Today, however, was different. The ramp in question was slick like an ice rink from start to finish. Pretty funny if you know in advance and avoid it at all measures but on a road bike with 23c tyres pumped up to 120psi you stand no chance (I’m living proof of that).

I was pretty impressed with my bike handling skills to make it all the way down without a fall, the only downside was the fast approaching glass door to the entrance of the apartment which I managed to punch clean out with my shoulder, hip and arm. Not clever. Not clever one little bit. To make matters worse I then realised that I'd sliced up my fully waterproof, seam sealed, jacket and brand new Santini leg warmers. I hate ruining kit. But the damage continued. As a final insult to injury I could feel something not quite right with the inside of my left bicep. As I looked up at the receptionist (bloodied and covered in glass) his face startled with shock, I had to try and deflect the situation in the best possible manner. "Hola amigo, room key 108 please". Well, I thought it was humorous, but I'm not sure if he fully understood.

Oh great, all I wanted was a quiet evening in after a good day on the bike but the electrical tape I’d brought with me just wasn’t doing the job in piecing things back together so I felt obliged to make a trip to the hospital.

The result? A round of injections, eight of your finest nylon stitches, a tetanus jab for good measure and a €90.00 bill.

Tomorrow looks like a perfect day with blue sky predicted across the whole island. Sod’s law eh?

This bandage is going to play real havoc with the cultivation of my tan lines.