Spring Cycling

So as winter eases off and the better weather starts to arrive it was time to get out on my bike and start getting some miles in before the Skyride season begins. This spring I attended a British Cycling one-day route planning course, swiftly followed by instructions to get out and re-write a couple of routes. So that was my weekends sorted for a while. It coincided with OK weather, either warm and dry or at least dry, so managed to cycle the routes and check them out from a risk assessment perspective. You know the kind of thing, when falling off ensure you roll to your right as there is a 300 foot chasm on your left dropping to an icy-cold lake. Well something like that!

It was good to be out riding, which along with an early spring Skyride road ride, made sure I’m ready for the summer Skyrides. This commitment means I need to re-balance some time, so I have concluded my volunteer role with Sustrans, letting another member of the group come in to take on the role as group co-ordinator. It’s been good fun and interesting, but I don’t really have enough time to do it all and still have time for my other interests so it was time to refocus and make some choices.

While it felt good to help the cycle charity Sustrans, a lot of it became paper based, organising and scheduling stuff rather than being an active ranger or riding, so it wasn’t such a tough choice once I started thinking about it. One issues I had when I started was that we had an all-male group of mostly retired people. We have tried to redress that but I see why the role attracts the recently retired person, they are the ones who have the time to do it. I’ve been happy to be a volunteer but recognised if I didn’t decide to make a decisive break I would just carry on doing the same old stuff in the same old way. Maybe sometime I will return to it, maybe when I do retire! Best of all it gives me more time to be out actually cycling so that is all good.

We’re going to need a bigger spanner

The Prelude is a massive ocean going vessel under construction; we’ve talked about big buildings but these giants dwarf them. So how do they keep these huge things on the go (once they get going!) Bit like cars these also need MOT’s. Although I’m not sure where they put the tax disc.

Yoga High

Having just completed a six week beginners Yoga course, I started the year with a ready-made new year resolution to commit to doing yoga regularly. The easiest way was to attend the drop-in sessions at the dedicated yoga centre. These range from the mild and relaxing to full on sessions, like circuit training only slower, which doesn’t necessarily make it easier! But now I find the whole concept is itself a challenge.

Who would ever have thought it? Trying to make it into a moral or spiritual decision. I know, I will just treat it as a form of exercise. And carry on doing it because it certainly helps me, especially in increased flexibility. Maybe a more flexible mindset as well! Namaste.