and in health
Well its sickness, sort of, for me at the moment after an 'interesting' back half to the week.
I woke Thursday feeling a bit out of sorts and with a forecast of 30c+ decided that two wheeled entertainment could wait. Instead i had a short walk and dedicated the day to writing finishing the next Gaby chapter and shaping the next. Apart from the urg changing to lurgy, a mucky chest and drippy proboscis being the main elements, i continued the writing, finishing the 63rd chapter mid afternoon. Another walk and i cracked on with formatting and completing the first edit of Changing Lives Part 9 which Amazon once again, quickly processed into Kindle format as per my brief Friday post. Link via the image below.
Saturday then. The plan was to ride down to Salisbury Plain to take in the annual Imberbus event (details on line), a ride of over 130km as planned but easily reduced if need be. Indeed, as i set off i was fairly certain that i wouldn't be doing the full route, maybe the symptoms were a bit less than Friday but not by a lot. That said, once i got going i actually felt pretty good and when i reached my minimum point at Warminster, i was doing okay so decided to commit to the loop around the Imber training grounds, once started, there is no short cut for at least 40km.
The day was warm enough, mid 20's but when the route turned northwards it was evident that i'd have some sort of wind hindered return. I got to my second 'event' stop, essentially a viewing point where i had my sandwiches and spent @ an hour observing the comings and goings of the event participants. Then it was time to return to base still some 60km away.
The wind nagged but i had enough twists in the route to save me from any prolonged headwind exposure, two hours riding put me in Bath and a further twenty kilometres saw me done - in! Well to be fair i was warm and tired, but not to the point of exhaustion, 133km, a bit over six hours and just shy of 1200m of up. I had a drink, grabbed a shower and fell asleep for a couple of hours! Clearly the bad chest, heat and duration in combination had taken a toll on my body but it had been a good day, i even managed a bit of bridleway exploration on the way back.
Hopefully the next few days will get me back closer to 100%, day of rest today, trip to Dorset tomorrow, meet up with my Bro down in Weston S Mare on Tuesday so Wednesday will be my next ride - possibly. My problem is that in my head i'm still twenty something and i expect to do stuff i could when i actually was twenty something then i'm reminded that i have a daughter in her 40's and i'm chewing through a seventh decade of seasons, my body having suffered its fair share of traumas down the years. Then bang, its back to reality, at 81kg/178lbs/12.7st i weigh less now than for most of my working life, hearing and eyesight pretty good and even a resting hr (when i can find a pulse!) in the 40's, i'm still fairly fit and reasonably capable. But a dodgy shoulder, dodgy leg, inherited foot and hand issues, well some days it all brings things back into focus.
I know there are many on here with health issues and i know too that sometimes i may come over as a fitness zealot. Fact is, i worry about folks succumbing to preventable health stuff so if my blathering about bike rides, writing about same in Gaby, encourages just one of you to start riding, i've done my job. I'm a susceptible as anyone to a bit of doom scrolling, of 'doing' a boxset, of struggling to get my head around leaving the house but i'd quite like to see my grandson reach maturity, maybe start his own family. Each walk, each ride contributes to that aim, the last time i failed to manage at least a short hobble each day was almost exactly nine years ago, rain, shine, snow, hot, cold, it might just be a walk to the shops but anything is better than nothing - i'll be taking that walk today after a spot of lunch!
Well, that's the Maddy Bell lecture over I'll be back Wednesday, but for now,
Tschuss!
Madeline Anafrid
