Mild weather, regular rides...

There's been cold weather and there's been mild. Of late, the latter. But I've managed to rise above it, thanks to my Parka, a balaclava and a beanie hat. I've finally kicked myself into gear with a daily exercise regime, in other words, regular cycling. I've worked out an almost six-mile, single lap route (5.94 miles) and it's a roller coaster of hills and dips, nicely balanced, and I now ensure that I go out every night, in the dark, lights flashing front and back. Andy was right, I do get a decent night's sleep as a result. I feel good too. Last night was a case in point, I slept through from 2300hrs to 0600hrs and probably could have gone to bed earlier if the truth be known. I had a relaxed dream and awoke to the sound of birdsong emanating from my iPhone and now, here I am, listening to Radio 3 and writing a much-delayed blogpost.

Return journey along Pilgrims Lane, Sunday 12 December.

The weekend rides have been kept up, although last Saturday I rode the Weeble rather than head for Westerham, which had been my plan. The reason was simple: lateness. I had dawdled and by the time I got outside in the fresh air it was gone 1000hrs and I didn't really want cycling to take up the entire day. In truth, I hadn't riden the Weeble for a while either, but it's of no consequence, the key is daily riding, keeping that heart rate up and generally feeling good about things. It's been awhile. My recent trip to the doctor, incidentally, turned out alright. I explained to him that when I relax my blood pressure eventually dips to an acceptable level. He even allayed my fears about a low pulse rate, accepting my diagnosis in a sense, that was based on the amount of cycling I've been doing (well over 3,000 miles in a year - hence that huge repair bill when I took my bike in for a service recently (see previous post).

Andy and I have been keeping up our Sunday meetings in Westerham, a kind of high point of the riding week. That said, the week before last I couldn't make it as I needed to be in London for a family meeting. We met in The Engineer pub in Camden, which seems to have taken a dive in quality terms and nowhere near what it used to be like 15-20 years ago when Michael Palin name-checked it during an interview I conducted with him 'back in the day'. We all had roast chicken, which was alright, but I've eaten better; and the service lacked something. We sat upstairs in the Brunel Room (geddit, The Engineer pub, engineering, Brunel?). Anyway, it wasn't that brilliant is what I'm saying. It was the first time I actually felt tempted to order a beer, a pint of Doom Bar no less, but I resisted (of course I did!) and settled for sparkling mineral water instead. It's rare that a temptation to drink arises and I'm always rather glad when I resist it, which isn't difficult. Occasionally I dream about drinking again and when I wake up I feel mildly anxious until I remember it was a dream, not reality.

Egg, mushroom, tomato for lunch

The local six-milers are good for one reason: they're just one lap, there's no repetition. If I get bored doing laps then the appeal of regular exercise will wane pretty quickly, so I'm keeping it simple and it's working. The route is familiar, but it's the knowledge that I'm always progressing forward and not thinking that I've got to do another lap; every revolution of the pedals takes me closer to the finish rather than just to the end of the first lap. Night riding is good too. It's dark around 4pm now so by the time I reach home I have to rely upon the street lights to illuminate the ride. The great thing about riding at night is that you can see the cars coming. Add to that my own lights and it's fairly safe. And when it's over I'm both relieved and elated. Relieved that I've done my daily exercise and elated also that I'm actually doing it and that I can relax, safe in the knowledge that I've riden another six-miler. The key thing is that it's becoming part of my routine, something that I have to do, but also, strangely, something that I enjoy doing. I'm familiar with the route and at this time of year my albeit brief ride is accompanied by Christmas lights. At roughly six miles per ride, by the end of the week I've covered almost 30 miles and I'm also trimming minutes off of my time, which started at something like 37 minutes and is now around the 33 minutes mark, I think I've even managed 32 minutes, I'll have to check on Strava. For some reason I don't feel the need to wear a crash helmet, although I did last night. The mild weather (which I'm told will be short-lived) has meant no balaclava.

I had my booster jab on Friday (my birthday) and fortunately no side effects, bar a very mild pain in the upper arm. While walking around M&S immediately afterwards, looking for a Christmas present for mum, a friend called and when I told him I'd just had my booster jab, he calmly informed me that he was an anti-vaxxer. I wish I'd quizzed him as to why, but I didn't, preferring instead to simply accept his position and leave it there; that said, I feel that anti-vaxxers somehow like to put across an air of being the enlightened ones, the people in the know who know best, and that left me momentarily feeling a little deflated because I thought back to my two Astra Zeneca jabs and, a few moments ago, my booster, and I wondered whether I was guilty of blindly following Government instructions without a thought for personal liberty and so forth. But it didn't last long. I'm glad I was vaccinated as the last thing I want is to die from COVID. I don't want to be one of those statistics they read out on the television. The problem with not being vaccinated is that, sooner or later, you won't be able to do anything. Rock concerts? No. Eating out? No. Staying in a hotel? No. Air travel? No. You'll be completely stuck. But I guess if you live in a fairly remote farmhouse in the middle of darkest Wales, well, as long as you live the life of a hermit, you won't be affected.

M&S soup and a roll for lunch during the week

It's Wednesday night, 15 December 2021, and I'm watching Michael Palin walk to Base Camp at the foot of Mount Everest. He moves on to Lhasa and then swims in a hot spring, making me realise, perhaps a little fretfully, that I need to start swimming again. How COVID-friendly are swimming pools? Tonight I missed my 6-mile ride, largely because my phone was out of power. Now that might sound really daft (and it is) but it all boils down to Strava and the notion that 'if it's not on Strava, it didn't happen'. So I didn't go out. And besides, it was getting late. I made the mistake of having dinner first and that kind of did it for me. I wish I'd remembered that my phone was out of power, but I didn't and while I was planning on going out around 2030hrs I discovered that I hadn't fitted the charger properly and my phone was still dead. At that point I gave up. Perhaps I'll go in the morning, although, for the past two weeks prior to today I've had one day off (from cycling) per week. I think last week I rode four of the five days and the week before possibly the same, or it might have been three out of the five days. Mustn't fret about it, just get out there tomorrow and do it.

Birthday present from Max...

Something I have been fretting about is eating rubbish. Crap in the shape of Quality Street chocolates, biscuits and cookies at work. The custom at work is that you buy the office 'stuff' when it's your birthday (normally chocolates and cakes). My problem is that I can't help myself and it's something I need to address. I managed to address my weakness for alcohol (by giving up completely) and now I really ought to consider doing the same with cakes and sweets. To be fair, with various lockdowns and three-days a week in the office (working two days at home) there hasn't been much in the way of celebrating colleagues' birthdays. So I guess it's been few and between, thankfully. But that doesn't stop me feeling a little guilty, especially when I missed a ride. I'm off now until the new year (again, thankfully) so I can focus on a bit more riding, although I think I'll maintain the daily night rides of the Nobbler, single lap. That's what it's called on Strava, 5.94 miles with a few ups and downs and then it's over, exercise done. I always feel good on my return. I'll be back on it tomorrow.

The mild weather is set to continue, right through to Sunday when Andy and I meet for a chinwag in Westerham, something we both look forward to. While I know that Christmas is only 10 days away, I know that I won't be over-indulging like I used to and for that I'm thankful. I'm going to spend my time off reading and riding, walking and chilling and while I'm not going to deny myself the odd cappuccino or the occasional slice of coffee & walnut cake, I will keep a weather eye on things. Here's hoping.