Back on the bike

Decided to get off my arse and start cycling to work again, so after getting back from karate last night, I gave the hybrid a once over, packed the pannier with a change of clothes for work, and this morning cycled in.

Nice wee gentle 40 minute ride – I can hammer it in about 25 mins on the cyclecross, but I was up early and in no rush, as the gym at work doesn’t open till 7.00 so I didn’t want to be waiting about till it opened to get a shower.

By 7.0 I was showered, changed and in the coffee shop reading the paper.
Nice way to start the day.

Bike stuff

Been a wee while since I’ve been on, so here’s a quick update.
I did the Pedal for Scotland bike ride again, cycling from Glasgow to Edinburgh (Ingleston Showground to be exact) a distance of 46 miles.  The route this year was way better than last years’ with some of the brutal hills from last year being avoided.  That’s not to say there weren’t any hills, there were, but no problems to get up. (OK there was a bit of work involved, but at no point did I think I’d have to get off and walk up).
I also raised £220 for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, so I was pretty chuffed with that.

I just received a gps bike computer that I’d ordered, so it’s on the bike and good to go.  I’ll test it out on the commute to work tomorrow.

Other than that, I’ve just been getting on with the usual stuff.

 

Bike ride to Balloch

On Wednesday, I’d taken a day off work after checking the weather forecast, and decided to cycle the 21 miles from the house to Balloch.
I’d been wanting to do this for a while, but the weather and the timing had been off.  On Wednesday, everything just clicked.

I’ve not done this before, but getting from the house to join NCR7 was simple enough and I joined at the Bells bridge at the SECC before heading for Balloch.
The route takes in Clydebank, Yoker, Dumbarton, Renton and Balloch following the Forth and Clyde canal.

It’s a really nice ride once you’re out of the city, and I completely lost track of time.  Before I knew it I had arrived at Balloch and Loch Lomond.
I was getting a lift back from my wife, so I gave her a call, and while I was waiting I grabbed some breakfast.

So a great wee morning out.  Really enjoyed it and will definitely do it again, but extend the ride to finish at Luss

 

Boats moored at Bowling

The Maid of the Loch

Loch Lomond

The trusty steed at Loch Lomond

Keeping up the good work

I’m managing to keep up the cycling to work followed by a half hour of yoga before starting, and I’m feeling all the better for it.
Last night there should have been karate too, but I’ve done something to my foot, and it’s a bit painful to walk on, so karate was out.  Made up for it by watching 3 episodes of the X Files back to back.

I’ve finished reading the Bhagavad Gita, and I’m currently reading Revolution by Russell Brand.  I know he’s a bit marmite, but personally I like him, and I’m enjoying the book.  I’ve got a book on Kundulini meditation that’s next up on the “to read” list.  Slowly getting through the book pile.

I’ve decided that clear-out wise, the Tolkien special edition hardbacks of The Silmarillion/The Hobbit/LoTR should be the ones to go, as they take up way more shelf space than the paperbacks, and lets be honest, I’ll never read them, they were bought as collectables, to look nice on the bookshelf.  I’ve got them all in paperback, and LoTR on the kindle as well.  Also, the paperbacks of LoTR are slipcased, and I’ve had them since I was a kid, so they have sentimental value, a bit like the original three books in Asimov’s Foundation series that I’ve also got in a slipcase.  Had them since I was about 13, and even though I cleared out all my other Asimov books a couple of years back, I couldn’t part with this set.

The t-shirt collection is also due a major purge as well.  It’s just stupidly big at the moment.

3 days in a row

So that’s three days in a row I’ve cycled 5 miles to work, and followed it up with 30 minutes of yoga, instead of just grabbing a coffee and a muffin.
Then at the end of the day there’s the 5 mile cycle home again.

As long as the weather allows I’ll keep up cycling.  I don’t mind the rain, but it can get really windy, and I don’t fancy being blown off the bike.  The yoga will happen regardless of how I get to work.

Monday is the only day I don’t/can’t cycle, as I have karate in the evening and go straight from work, and the bag full of karate gear on top of the change of clothes for work, is too big for comfortable cycling, but again, the yoga will still get done.

 

Back in the saddle

This morning I decided enough was enough, and got back on the bike to cycle to work (about 5 miles, so a 10 mile round trip).  I need to get in training as well as I’m doing the Glasgow – Edinburgh ride in September, and don’t want to knacker myself like I did last year.  50 miles with pretty much no training may be fun, but it’s also exhausting.

Once I’d arrived at work, I locked the bike outside the gym, and went in and did a half hour of yoga.
The class I’ve been going to has stopped for the summer, so I’ve decided to up the ante and try to do at least 1/2 an hour every morning before work. Yesterday should have been day 1, but yesterday I was running late so decided today was the start of a lifestyle and attitude change.

(I did do some manta meditation yesterday, so I’m claiming that as a worthwhile addition to the day)

Easter weekend

On Friday, we drove down to Largs with the bikes, and walked them onto the ferry to Cumbrae, for a wee cycle round the island (it’s about 9 miles).
It was a glorious day with a bit of a wind, so half the trip was into a headwind, and the other half was with a really nice tailwind.

Stopped off in Millport for a bite to eat and a drink, before heading to the ferry and back to Largs.

Nice wee day out.

The rest of the weekend had miserable weather, so we caught a couple of movies at the GFT on Sunday and Monday – Disorder and The Witch respectively – both of which were well worth seeing, but of the two, I have to say I preferred The Witch.

Some interesting films coming up next month, so plenty to see.

 

Good weekend

Had a day off on Friday.  The car was going in for a valet that it was due as part of the deal we got when we bought it.  Of course, they couldn’t give us a booking on the weekend, it HAD to be during the week, so I had to take a day off.
It was booked in for the afternoon, so I decided in the morning, to take myself out on the bike, and cycled over to Shawlands (a couple of miles from the house), where I had breakfast, before cycling to Bellahouston (another couple of miles) where I went for a swim in the first time in years.*
The plan was 30 lengths, but I surprised and surpassed myself by doing 40 before calling it quits.

The sports centre does a swim only membership, and I can break even with one swim a week.  Any more than that and I’ve saved money, so I think I might be going more often.

Yesterday the ongoing clearout netted another bag of clothes and dvd’s for the PDSA.  While we were there, I picked up a Tom Waits cd – Heartattack and Vine – for 99p, and the graphic novel Habibi for £9.99, so that’s a result 😀

 

*not strictly true as I DO go swimming, but only when we’re on holiday, and I haven’t swum in a pool in Scotland in about 15 years

Back on the bike? Fingers crossed..

So with the ice and the wind and the incessant rain, I’ve not been on the bike since just after Christmas.  So, after seeing the weather for the rest of the week (light intermittent showers.) I’m getting back on the bike tomorrow.
This leaves me one day a week when I’ll still be getting the train, a Monday, as I’ve got a karate class to go to straight from work, but other than that, it’s all go for the bike again.

On Friday I’ve got a day off, and I’m planning on going swimming in the morning.  The only time I get to swim is when we go on holiday.  When we first got married, we lived near Govanhill baths, a beautiful old Victorian pool, which the council in it’s infinite wisdom, shit down.  This resulted in protests, sit-ins and campaigns – click on the link – and no swimming pool.  Now, I’m near (but not as near) Bellahouston sports centre, and you can take out a “swim only” membership, which I’d only have to use once a week to break even on, which sounds ideal.  So, with that in mind I’m going for a swim on Friday morning, to check out the pool, and see if it’s worth my getting a membership.

A couple of months on the bike, and the train fare I’ve saved would pay for the swimming, so it’s a real possibility.

Bike ride

Took a drive over to the Whitelee windfarm with the bikes today, for a wee cycle round.  It’s an amazing place, with cyclists, walkers and runners all using the paths round the turbines.  Since we were last there, they’ve even added some mountain bike trails, but since I don’t have a mountain bike, it’s the unpaved paths we stuck to.  (I’m claiming them as off-road, as (a) they’re not paved and are bumpy as hell, and (b) I’ve got a cyclocross and this is the first time it’s been used off tarmac)