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I put weight on over Christmas………….

Now I am in two minds at the fact I put weight on, on the one hand it was Christmas and I was not going to starve myself by avoiding all the nice Christmas goodies that were on hand but on the other it was a little more than I had hoped (but nowhere as bad as last years). What has not helped is the fact that I broke my bike and I was unable to ride yesterday or today (more of that later). So this coming week I am going to try to eat sensibly and avoid the sweets, chocolates and cakes etc. which are still hanging around from Christmas and do a bit more riding.

I managed to get a bike ride in on Christmas eve which was a bonus but it did include falling off at walking pace on black ice, I now have a lovely cut on my knee. Managed to get another ride in on Boxing day morning with the wife trying out a new route. Went out for a ride on Sunday on my own, the ride can only be described as a mud fest which included trying to ride up a track where the front wheel disappeared up to the axle in mud. On recovering my bike the pedals and wheel were covered in black gloopy mud. It was also interesting trying ride a cross a field where I was pedalling and not going anywhere, the front wheel stuck in the mud and the rear just spinning.

It was during the cleaning of the bike after the Sunday mud fest that I found a broken spoke on the rear wheel. It was not there on Saturday when I cleaned the bike so it must of happened during the mud fest ride. Not wanting to further damage the wheel any-more I decided not to ride yesterday, but I did do a 5 mile walk instead, lets just say is easier to cycle 5 miles than it is to walk.

I dropped the bike off at the local shop this morning and they quickly replaced the spoke for me so hopefully I will out again tomorrow and Thursday weather permitting. I want to get some miles under my belt not only because of my diet but I want to do an organised ride in 11 days time so I want to make sure I can do more than the advertised 15 miles as it will be in an area I have never ridden and apparently it will include a few hills!!

The GPS and mapping software has been proving useful, part of Saturday’s route came from looking on the OS map and worked very well apart from a river crossing, there was a bridge but it was the 2 foot deep water you had to cross to get on the bridge which proved a problem, result was wet cold feet. Sunday mud fest was another local route I found on the web and with the help of the GPS I was able to check I was going to correct direction, would be handy if they could tell you when the route was flooded with water though…………..

I am slowly getting used to the GPS, the total lack of manuals has not really helped as not only am I learning how to use a GPS and it terminology I am also learning how to use this particular GPS and the mapping software that comes with it. I am not saying that the GPS or the software is rubbish, quite the opposite. I have found the Memory Map Adventurer 2800 and the Memory Map software very good once I learn how to use it.

Well there was just me cycling today, her indoors is still suffering from the cold so decided Christmas retail therapy would cure it!

I had already decided to try an extension on the route we normally take, so being on my own I was able to explore this new route on my own. The new route meant doing a second lap on the local heath but then taking a new route off our normal route and then cutting back into the normal route further on down the trail which would give the option of continuing the route in the normal direction or by doing the route in reverse from where we rejoin the route so in affect making one and a half laps.

Well things started well but then went down hill once I started down the new route, it was like a mud pool, this was then followed by a very steep hill…………….upwards, then there was flat section with some more mud thrown in for good measure. Then there was a very steep descent down a short concrete road covered in pine needles with a large steel barrier at the bottom! Having avoid any collisions with the steel barrier I headed of the heath to the next gate back on to the heath. Once on the heath and after a 100 meters or so I am at a T junction, left or right, I opted for left, bad move. I ended up where four legged bovine traction gave up trying to access and had to climb out of the undergrowth through bramble and prickly bushes, my shin are currently red raw. And for good measure I got a puncture.

I made it back to the gate and as I repaired my puncture, another rider came past who came down the path I should of gone up and he said it was very very muddy. With that in mind I decided to take the road route further down the road and come back onto the heath further round the route. Having rejoined the heath I found the path that I enjoyed cycling down was in fact a slow up hill gradient when travelling in the opposite direction, by the time I reached the end of the path I was wheezing like a asthmatic. It was about now that my body was telling me to pack up and go home, except to go home I had to rejoin the normal route which I was now about half way round. So I rejoined the normal route and the second time round all the mud water and sand were a lot harder to get through than when I had gone through them an hour or so ago. As I rode upstream (yes I had to ride up a stream) both my calf muscle started to tighten up. I am not sure what was more painful my calf muscle tightening up or me trying to stretch them while pedalling the bike.

I eventually made it back to the final hill (well small incline), on a normal day I would of ridden up it but my exhaustion got the better of me and I pushed it to the top. Once at the top it was just a flat-ish run across the heath and dodge a few mud pools (the one I fell in last week).

Suffice to say I made it home totally exhausted, only to find nobody at home and the daughter had run off all the hot water so I had to wait for the water to heat up so I could have a bath.

I don’t know exactly how far I cycled today but I think it was in the realms of 17 miles, not a lot in cycling terms but it was the longest ride I have done to date and if it does not help with the weight loss for this week then there is no justice!!