Nice Day For A Ride

I went for a ride this morning, I was waiting for Vince to get back so we could go into town so I jumped on the bike and went out for an hour. My knee has been playing up again but has eased off a bit so I went to try it out. I did the usual route which I usually find helps blow the cobwebs off and today was no exception! It was sunny and warmish but the wind was quite strong so half the ride was ok and the rest was against a strong wind. Why can't I just have a good ride without killing myself due to a strong head wind. There was the road works too, which I had to ride as fast as I could so that I didn't stop the traffic behind me. I did enjoy the ride though and I hope that the weather is ok for me to go for a ride tomorrow, preferably without the wind!

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Back On The Bike

This morning I went out on my first bike ride in months and really enjoyed it. I didn't go fast, just went out to test the knee and it was fine, just got the odd twinge when I put a lot of pressure on it when stood off the seat to ride off from traffic lights. It felt great to put my cycling gear on and to know it's a good ride ahead of me! Today is Easter Sunday and it is lovely and sunny, still cold but really fresh and the clocks went forward early hours this morning so you get a feel that maybe spring is really here, let's hope so!

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Physio Day

Went to see the physio today and after some moving and pressing on my leg, she thinks I've got weakened muscle around my knee on the inner side. She found the area that hurts, pressed on it a lot and you could hear my knee cracking. She says that the weakened muscle is preventing my knee from moving in a straight line and is in fact moving at a slight angle, which is making the knee crack and is weak. So I have to go for an x-ray for my peace of mind she says and then I can start some physio with her to get the knee strengthened up again. She also aid there is no reason why I can't go back to the gym or start cycling again. So I plan to start the gym at the weekend, hopefully it will be a little quiet so that I can slowly get my knee working and the fact it is a new gym and got to get used to the place too! Can't wait!

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That Was A Nice Weekend

I've had a pretty good weekend, got my mountain bike back on Friday after geting a new back brake put on which cost me £120 but is worth it. Saturday morning I went to the gym, worked my back and abs then got sorted to go into town. I had a contact lense eye test in the afternoon, so that's why I swapped things around as usually I'd be in town then to the gym!It was sunny for a change which made things feel good, although it was cold due to the wind blowing, but seeing the sun made the difference.

Sunday morning started with my usual bike ride out, the sun was out again but a strong wind made it an interesting ride. I got into Cottingham and a cyclist was riding round a roundabout as I rode over it and he stayed behind me, I thought he'd be riding off but seemed to hang behind. He came up to me after a mile or so and apologised for riding behind me hiding from the wind and I laughed as no-one had done that before and he rode in front of me so that I could make use of the wind shield. We said our goodbyes as he went on his way as we got onto Cottingham Road, but it made me think and smile as I must have been going fast enough for him to want to stay behind me, some of these riders travel so fast, maybe I am a better rider than what I give myself credit for!

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Bank Holiday Weekend

It's been a typical Bank Holiday Weekend really, weather wise, cold and rainy! But, it has been nice having the time off work. The meds are working for my IBS so that's good, managed a workout on Saturday without farting my head off whilst working my abs.

Today I went for a ride out for an hour, was a fairly good ride and saw quite a few riders out. They, like me must have been taking advantage of the reasonably good weather, cold and breezy but still was a good ride. Later on it was my training session with Steve and reached a personal best doing bench press. I bench pressed 2x 30kg dumb bells which I'm really chuffed about and it proves things are really moving at the gym!

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Winter Blues

I can't wait for winter to go and spring to turn up. I tried to go for a ride out yesterday and I turned back home as the wind was so strong, it's bad enough whe you are riding into a head wind but when you are fighting with your bike too, that was enough for me so I turned around and dejectedly came home. I think that may be the only time I've done that!

My training is going well, Worked my chest on Friday and I'm there again tonight. Sometimes I don't feel like going but when I get there I do enjoy it and feel good afterwards. So when I feel like this I have put some photo's for inspiration on my ipod of guys working out and fit bodies, so that I can look and think about why I need to go to the gym, hope it works!

It seems the mouse invasion is over (I hope I'm not speaking too soon), I think I killed about 30 of them since November after the disgusting neighbours of mine moved out. The house was a real mess apparently and even the builder in there has told me of stories of the mice in the house eating through plaster. Vince has sealed the holes under the floor lading into the kitchen so hopefully that is sorted!

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Happy New Year

Well, the year is ending and I need to start the new year with an open mind, hopes and resolutions. Me and Vince split up on the 6th of December after 11 and a half years together. Obviously I was and still am gutted but I'm slowly coming round to the fact that it's gonna be me from now on. Our friends say he has gone through a mid life crisis and left me for a 16 year old and God! He has destroyed all his friendships with everyone in Goole too, that's why I think he has had more of a breakdown of sorts than anything. There's nothing I can do, apart from swapping presents at Christmas I've not spoken to him and I don't think we will.

So as I type this I am full of hope that 2011 will be my year, all the great things I want to happen will happen and make it a special and fantastic year for me. I've resolutions such as going to the gym more often, going out on my bike and riding further than last year, I will grow spiritually too and develope my Reiki and resume where it all left off and push it further!

Happy New Year to all those who come across my page!

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Running And Cycling

This week whilst I have been off work on holiday I have managed to get out on my bike twice and had a couple of decent but not too far rides. Easter Monday was the hardest as I hit strong winds on the return journey home and it was strong too. I felt good for it even though a little knackered. Thursday and Friday I have been to the gym, I'm trying to start running and spent yesterday running for 6 minutes with a 3 minute gap inbetween for 30 minutes. Today I ran for 30 minutes doing the same running for 6 minutes but a 2 minute gap inbetween. I managed and felt great that I've done it, now over the next week or so I'll try to make the running time longer and the aim is for 30 minutes non stop!

Talking of cycling, I've shaved my legs tonight, the first time this year and it feels good to shave them although I do like my hairy legs, smooth is really good too. Now all I need is some good weather and the chance for me to aim towards a 50 mile ride!

Healthy Heart Testing

I'm going for a heart test tomorrow at work, as part of the NHS there are units that go into the city centre and places of work to get people to adopt heathly lifestyles. I've wanted to do this for a while and finally got the chance, but it isn't quite what I thought. I imagined that you would be wired to a monitor for a few minutes to check the heartbeat but no. It's more a lifestyle check and they check your cholesterol levels and blood pressure so it should be interesting!

Another note, I managed to bike 40 miles this weekend, with head winds but sunny days. It felt great to get out and hopefully the weather will improve now!

Dieting And Reading

This weekend I went back to the gym for the first time in Ages. I did enjoy it and had a sauna at the end but I really need to get back there more regularly to get back into shape. I went for a bike ride (the first one this year) and really enjoyed it too. I only went to Beverley but it was nice to get into the fresh air. I rode down Long Lane and managed so far riding no handed which was really good for me, as it means the old balance is still there! I bought 2 books this weekend too, the Hiary Bikers latest cook book and a dieting book by Paul McKenna. His book deals with reconditioning the brain not to eat when it wants or when you are bored. Hopefully it will help me control what I eat, fingers crossed!

Happy New Year

Happy New year to everyone out there, hope your year is going to be great! We stayed in last night, I don't really like New Years Eve so I'm happy to stay at home. I haven't made any resolutions for the last couple of years but this year I'm sort of thinking about some. The top one for me to to get fit this year, the fittest I have ever been. I'm really into cycling now and therefore I need to lose some weight and tone up. I'm just over 14st 3lbs right now and I would like to be 12.5st so that is my goal. I will be back to the gym, cycling and trying to start running again. The next one is to save money this year, I want a pair of Sidi cycling shoes which retail over £200 but they are the best. Also I want some Assos cycling clothes, which are really expensive too so I'm sorting stuff for Ebay and hopefully that will make me a little money towards the gear that I want. Also I need to get tattooed again as for the last 2 years I've not had the money to get my back finished and I want it done so I can start my leg. So watch this space!

Catching Up

Thought I ought to update on here as I seemed to have forgotten to put anything on here. Work has got fairly busy so we are back on 5 days which is good. Traditionally we should be quiet but we are busy enough so nobody is complaining. As quick as I get some money coming in, I'm spending it on cycling gear. Just bought a new helmet to go with the bike, a red and white Specialized helmet, 2 water bottle cages and a pump to fix onto the frame. I'm really getting into road cycling. The last time I was on the bike I reached 27 mph which was so amazing and I didn't mean to but it just was so easy to reach that speed, so I slowed down when I realised but wow!

I'm currently going through old video tapes and transfering them onto DVD but it does take a long time to do. I must have done about 30 tapes up to now and that means hours of video, but it is worth is as there is stuff in there I have not seen for over 10 years!

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Weird And Wonderful Four Days!

I'm typing today as I have an unnofficial day off, well my lay off day has been moved from Friday to today. We had a machine that got flooded out by a valve blowing off the overhead heater last Sunday and pumped thousands of gallons of water over it. This meant we ran out of work and they have been trying to produce enough stuff so we can go back to work with something to do.

This weekend we went to Leeds for the day, it was cold but dry so we were ok going in and out of shops and having a coffee. Sunday I went for a ride on the road bike, only the second time I've managed to get out on it but feel a lot more confident riding it now. I rode to Beverley and once out of Hull away from the traffic lights, I could get used to the gears and riding with both feet clipped in. As I got to Beverley it began to snow and I decided I'd better turn back and ride home before things get worse, I got home fine but the snow was on and off all day yesterday. When I work this morning it had been snowing all through the night and had laid. Today it has been snowing quite a lot and some really heavy snow falls mixed with Thunder, how strange!

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Out And About

I managed to get out on my road bike a couple of weeks ago, what a weird experience that was. I am so used to my mountain bike that just handling the bike was a new thing, it is so light. The next thing was the pedals, I use SPD pedals on the mountain bike which are standard pedals and road bike use SPD SL pedals (there are others but I wanted these). The pedals are more stronger and only can be used one sided, SPD's can be turned either way to clip into. So a lot of the way I was riding with one shoe clipped in and clipped the other one in when I felt more confident. Next were the brakes, on a mountain bike they are in front of you, a road bike they are on the front of the curved handlebars, you have to ride in a different way and keep your hands near the brakes.

As I rode you could feel all the bumps in the road as I'm used to full suspension as I rode to Cottingham which I chose as it isn't that far away and I always seem to ride there with a new bike lol. As I rode up to the traffic lights in Cottingham I knew there was someone behind me and I was turning right as he was going straight on at the lights, they were on red and he said wow, that's a great bike and I explained about it. So we pulled over to one side and began to chat about bikes, his name was Dave and seemed pretty friendly. He shot off and I went to where I was going, had a drink and got some cyclist to take my photo with my bike. Another rider pulled up as I was setting off and began to chat to me about the Hull CTC which I am thinking of joining. She seemed nice and they other guy who pulled up said it would be good for me to join, let me get used to the bike first then I will, I replied. It was an amazing ride, but just need to get out more to seee how I go with the bike. Rain and high winds stopped me last weekend so I'm hoping this weekend will be ok.

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Cleat Sorting

I've been trying to sort out the cleats on my cycling shoes, I'm using SDP SL pedals on my road bike but they feel really different to my mountain bike. I think I'm gonna have to go out on the bike without my cycling shoes to get a feel of the bike first. It feels so different and I'm a little nervous as well as excited about going out on it. Once I'm riding it, I'm sure it will be great. I'm hoping to start the gym this week and start to lose the weight I have piled on again and have a fairly decent weight plus fitness level and I want to ride to Withernsea again and see how I feel. Last time I rode there it killed me and I've not attempted it again.

I've been put on a 4 day week again, we got told on Tuesday that it would start this week. I thought we might have got January out of the way first but no, it has surprised me how quick it has happened. Guess it will be the gym and riding for me on Fridays!

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I'm A Roadie

Finally a wish come true, I finally bought a road bike. I have been after one for ages and after a lot of thought on my part, plus I had some gift vouchers for the gift shop and it was in the sale I got it today. It is a Cannondale CAAD 5 bright red, the same colour as my MTB and got some SPD SL pedals, so I have to learn to master them.

I've not rode it yet, I walked it from the bike shop as I didn't have my helmet with me and had some bags with me too. Just walking it home you can feel it is different from a MTB, theres no suspension so I'm gonna feel every bump. The life of a cyclist!

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The End Of The Week

It's Saturday and my weekend off. I'm back on a 4 day week although I worked yesterday to try and pull us forward with our work. So I've been chilling out and was thinking of going for a ride but went into town for a wander and get some shopping in. I've booked my bike in for a service two months after I bought it, that's part of the deal at the cycle shop. It's going in for a service on Friday but will be taking it straight from work on Thursday. Also I have been looking for more winter cycling lycra as the weather is so unpredictable this time of year.

I got my nipple pierced today, I had it pierced originally 16 years ago but about 2 years ago it started to go a little bit manky so had to take the bar out and it closed up. The other nipple piercing is fine so finally I deced to get the other one done again. It bled a little and got a plaster over it but now I got to peel it off so there goes some chest hair lol. So now I'm gonna start to get my other piercings put back in that rejected and get some more too. I used to have my eyebrow, bridge and nape done so might get my eyebrow done next and bridge. The nape was great but I kept catching it and there was my bikers jacket collar that always rubbed on it and made it sore!

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Fresh Air

I went for a ride today across the Humber Bridge. First time I have ridden across and really enjoyed it although it was pretty cold, windy and wet. The idea behind the ride was to find how to get to the car park of the Humber Bridge as we don't have a car and I don't drive anyhow so I didn't know what route to take. Anyhow, back to the story, I'm thinking of joiining the local CTC cycling group and they meet at the car park for quite a lot of their rides, so I needed to know how to get there!

I really want to get out more on my bike, mainly for the exercise but also the fun part and getting to places I wouldn't normally go to. Also there's £1200 worth of bike there that's just getting used to go to work and back. I am also thinking of buying a road bike, I have seen one, another Cannondale and same colour as my MTB but that's another £800 and seeing I'm back on a 4 day week at work, I don't think I'll be buying it for the near future!

Here's a photo of my bear Five posing on the Handlebars

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Latest Reiki - Seichem Level

On Saturday I took my latest Reiki level. This was Reiki - Seichem level 3 and the next level for me is Master level which won't be for a year or so. I have been doing this for almost 2 years to the date and the transformation of me and the way I think about things has been amazing and hopefully made me a better person. For me to explain everything that has happened to me would make me look like I've finally lost the plot but those who have done similar and had similar things happen to them will totally understand.

Today I rode to Withernsea which is a small seaside town about 20 miles East of Hull, I've not rode this far before or spent as long on the saddle as I did today and I can tell. It took me 2 hours to get there and a little longer getting home. When I got there it wasn't busy as the season has almost finished so most of it was shut and all I needed was a coffee but what cafe's were open were the ones where I couldn't take out a coffee and wasn't leaving my bike. So I spent just over 30 mins there and started riding home. so I did 40 miles and 4 hours cycling, wow just think of the calories burnt today. What makes me quite happy is how other road cyclists or mountain bikers always say Hi as they ride by, a mutual cycling acknowledgement I guess

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