It Has Been A While.

Am I a blogger that starts off all keen and then eventually forgets to post any more? Well to be honest I have no idea. What I do know though is that I have been incredibly busy with work and also having to work from different offices – so finding the time to just sit and compose my latest masterpiece (self-delusion is a great thing) has not been possible.

Coupled with my increased work commitments, I have also had the misfortune to break a couple of ribs, no I didn’t do it cycling – but the end result is the same – no cycling for a six week period. Though in all honesty standing crammed onto a train with the great unwashed pushing and shoving me, probably meant my ribs took longer to heal than if I had ridden, but the pain was too great and I am a wimp.

The six week cycle break left me feeling more than a little ragged, I soon realised that I am very reliant on my daily cycle for my mental well-being – that 1 hour of mind clearing at the beginning and end of the working day. I was definitely more grumpy and often a lot less energised about life in general, I also think my work output was lower – this might have been down to my constant rib pain as well though. On top of feeling ragged I also quickly felt my body wasting away – it wasn’t just the lack of exercise but the general sedentary lifestyle forced on me that seemed to quickly take a toll on my ageing body. 

Another negative from using public transport has been the massive increase in the number of colds I have had. I know it is the season for it but I am certain if I had been cycling I could have avoided most if not all of the colds (yes I am very susceptible to them). It got to the point that I went back to cycling into work when I still had a cold rather than risk picking up another (and transferring it to other poor unfortunates).

On the plus side once I started cycling again it has not taken too long for me to get to a reasonable level of fitness – I am still below my fitness level pre break (excuse the pun) but I was soon able to cycle the same distances if just a little slower.

So here I am cycling into work, got my chilly weather gear on and feeling better with the world. Still not cycling in every day though – I don’t mind the cold and don’t even mind a bit of rain, after all I have clothing to deal with this – but I seriously object to the strong winds of the last week! What is it with the wind – why does it always have to blow into my face on my way home (a route that is predominately uphill)? The wind is like Gods way of saying I hate you and I am going to punish you for not eating your greens when you were a kid. When the wind is behind you, life is great, you feel like you are Samson standing in that temple that he knocked down (OK I am a bit sketchy on that particular tale) anyway you feel pretty fantastic.

When I am undecided as to whether I will cycle or not – I look at the weather forecast – if it’s rainy I pack the appropriate clothes – if it is windy I pack my Oyster card.