what i've learned by cycling to work ...

... five miles each way really isn't that far

... i'm not as lazy as i thought i was (now i don't think i'm pushing myself hard enough!)

... the ride is different, so very different, each and every time i do it - new sights, smells and sounds greet me on every journey: each morning the sky changes, painted with colours from a new day's palette, with a variation of cloud type and density; each day the river flows with a new rhythm, with more or less urgency, fluctuating depth and waves; every morning there are new flowers and plants growing, a variety of scents from the foliage dependant upon what's blooming and the weather which assails it; so many different birds, not all of which i can identify by their call alone. all of which is very obvious and i was of course aware of, but somehow missed it all on every previous journey cocooned as i was in the car

... freewheeling is fun

... wet grass is slippery

... falling off hurts

... especially on concrete

... i bruise like a peach

... and whine like a whiney thing

... i can smell the fresh scent of washing drying on the line as i cycle past

... i can cycle through a river

... the edge of the pedal is sharp - although i don't think my brain has fully appreciated this fact yet given the alarming frequency with which i pierce my leg with said pedal

... the sewage works really smells some mornings

... i have discovered my very own 'cyclists wind' - no matter which direction i cycle in, no matter which way the wind is initially blowing ... it is always in my face, with occasional gusts from the side

... pedestrians can sometimes be more of a hazard than cars

... keep my eyes open for clouds of bugs, and my mouth closed

... and just to be doubly sure, breathe out through my nose when cycling through them, on no account inhale - as this leads to a noseful of bugs (not pleasant for them or me!)

... there is no small amount of pleasure in being able to cycle up that big hill in a larger gear

... much as i adore the sun (oh yes i do), cloudy days make for better cycling than thirty degrees in the shade

... it's best not to breathe in when a bin lorry passes

... the leaves are starting to fall already

... the person/people who developed padded lycra should all be made saints

... there really are otters in the river

... i feel a smug, guilty pleasure as i cycle past all of the cars that, having whizzed past me five minutes ago, are now stuck in a traffic jam

24 hours in leanachan

so, 24 hours in the forest in october doesn't sound too bad? well, try spending each one of those 24 hours cycling round said forest! this was m's second 24 hour endurance race (first one being the toughest race in britain - try 24 hours in scotland in JANUARY?! talk about a baptism of fire or, to be truly accurate, of snow; hail; wind; rain; sleet!).

while m was cycling round the forest for 24 hours, getting in this state

i took my role of 'team support'

(or 'pit bitch' as it's known in mtb circles!)

very seriously by putting my feet up and drinking lots of lovely nettle tea

thanks to bill watterson

for so perfectly capturing my 'getting back on a bike for the first time since childhood' moment

and there went another week!

wednesday 22nd august
back on the bike this morning, trying to visualise cycling nearly 20k! and a hilly 20k at that!

watched the excuse that passed for a football game that england played tonight. well, i only watched a small part of the game. m was taping a tv program and our set-up means that you have to watch the same channel that you’re taping from, so, whilst in our local grocery store i noticed they had their tv’s tuned into the game – had to leave after a while though as shouting was about to happen – ok if you’re in the confines of your own home but not so ok in the aisle of the local supermarket!

tuesday 21st august
still hyper from my lesson yesterday and my violin practice tonight was SO much better – i bet the neighbours noticed the difference too! with my possible potential mammoth (!) cycle in mind i was motivated to get back on the bike today!

monday 20th august
my panic at the thought of my violin lesson was totally unnecessary (as it usually is), my tutor is lovely and once i told her where i was struggling she pointed me in the right direction and i had a bit of a eureka moment – like, oh of course, now that makes it so much easier and, more importantly, so much more pleasing to the ear!

scoped a potential cycle route, or a possible potential cycle route considering that it is an 11.7 mile (or 18.8 kilometres) round trip. ok, this probably doesn’t sound much to the cyclists out there but to someone who has been cycling for 15 mins at a time on a trainer in the kitchen …

wow, that was a quick weekend!

left work at one on friday to head to oban (which, i would like to point out, is just shy of 100 miles from where we live) to collect m who had decided on a whim to cycle there (as you do!). so, despite a lay-off of nearly a month with a stress fracture a hundred mile cycle was a cinch! oh i feel so lazy and unfit, this is great motivation to keep training on the bike.

then followed a weekend of mostly rain and greyness which meant not much outdoor activity but resulted in felt making, painting, and jewellery making (along with the boring stuff like housework). how lovely.

have a violin lesson tonight, which i'm not really looking forward to as i don't feel i have progressed very far from my last lesson. still, it gives my neighbours ears a rest!

a virtuoso in the making

so, not only did i manage two training sessions on the aforementioned bike, followed by weights and stretching yesterday, i also picked up my violin again (much to the auditory discomfort of my neighbours no doubt). have had two or three lessons to date and am really enjoying discovering my so far undiscovered musical talent! progress has been fairly slow but, given the fact that i can't read music and haven't really played any instruments, i'm quite happy with where i am. and i've also been inspired to pick up the whistle and beginners book that m bought me a couple of years ago, which i'm sure is a real treat for the neighbours. still, we put up with their loud music, parties, screaming feral children, bagpipes, drums ...

cycling with lebowski

well, i finally got back on the bike last night. i dragged said bike and trainer into the living room so i could cycle whilst watching 'the big lebowski'. we're going to the lebowski fest in edinburgh soon and i'm starting to fret on the costume front! would like to dress up but deciding upon a costume is proving tricky given the dearth of female characters in the film, well those wearing anything remotely resembling anything i would like to be traipsing around edinburgh in at any rate!

find lebowski fest at http://lebowskifest.com/default.asp