The Reward is the Journey

My ride today was possibly my favourite ever outing on two wheels.  An unplanned reconnaissance expedition, which took me out and about the North Somerset countryside for just shy of 32 miles.  I did not anticipate the climbs.  A precursory glance at an OS map might have been well advised.  My legs will doubtless tell the story tomorrow.  I had but one unfortunate mishap en route.  Having miscalculated an incline, I discovered myself to be a gear that was too high for the sharp incline.  There was no option other than to admit defeat, which I did none to gracefully crashing down on a welcoming verge which was thankfully there in lieu of a pavement. My being ‘in the regions’ meant that a concerned and charming motorist pulled over, to enquire as to whether I was alright.  I was.  She took one look at my cleats, and expressed disdain (on the basis of her own experience), suggesting that they were probably not advisable around the locality...

Two dear friends have both been victims of strokes recently.  Horrid reminders of one’s frailty, they seize their moments and have left a trail of concern in their wake.  One was a TIA, the other a more serious episode.  Both required hospitalisation.  It got me thinking about my own cognitive functioning, in a way I tend not to – we don’t realise how much we have, until we can no longer call upon it.  The stroke ward looked much like any other hospital ward I have visited.  But there was a particular tone to the quietness that felt heavy, almost ominous.  The staff were pleasant, and attentive.  Watching and waiting for important indicators of progression or regression.  I flicked through the leaflets there for patients, and their visitors.  I was struck by one in particular advertising a service undertaken by professional actors who read to stroke patients, and help their recovery in this way.  I had not previously heard of ...

I didn't know I was an adrenaline junkie.  But it appears I am.  I think you have to be, to take to the streets of London on two wheels.  Either that, or someone who would fit somewhere on some clinical spectrum.  I could probably meet the criteria for one of two DSM diagnoses, but we needn't go there... Some days I choose to pedal.  Others I get in my car, and drive.  More often, I take the bus.  The point is, I have choices.  I have different identities I can move between.  Without so much as batting an eyelid (or is that eyelash?)  It's a little like my clothes.  My appearance changes with my mood.  I have a degree of choice as to which version of myself I present to the world.  And I occupy a different self when I'm home alone.   I'm not the same person at work as I am at home.  I'm not the same person around my family, as when in the company of my friends.  I may be a different person depending...

If I needed a reminder about why I've undertaken my first sportive this summer, being shown an extraordinary video on YouTube this afternoon sufficed.  I hadn't previously heard of Team Hoyt.  The incredible father and son combo that didn't stop with Marathons but went on to smash Iron Man competitions... My own training is underway.  I've not got a great deal to report, but it is happening.  The weather has helped.  Enormously.  Each morning that I open my blinds to see sunshine is a blessing.  And I am trying to make the most of it.  This week I've clocked up a few miles a-round town.  It's been fun.  The potholes don't always make for a smooth journey, but the road is rarely smooth however we travel. I'm eager to get out of the city, and spread my proverbial wings.  I am looking forward to getting out onto open roads and exploring in a more rural setting.  I've got my work cut out.  In a matter of weeks I wi...

Three times in less than thirty minutes is something of a record for me... As I walked into the restaurant I was greeted in a very familiar, but inappropriate manner. Secondly, as I was invited to place my order. And the irresistible hat-trick as I left.   In English, we are required to go out of our way to specify the gender of the person to whom we are talking. And yet it happens when least expected, and completely unnecessary.  Effective communication does not require us to assume gender.  It is utterly superfluous and, as I was reminded so powerfully by this brief visit to a local restaurant, a road full of deep potholes.   The way I think and feel about my gender today is something of a work in progress.  I think it probably always will be.  As I live, I learn.  As I continue to reflect on gender, the less I think I know.  The more I might come to understand...  In the meantime, whilst thought provoking, and particul...

Freediving is something of a new found passion.  I am a complete beginner.  But that's alright.  In fact, given the safe hands I was in on Saturday, it was very much more than alright.  I had a brilliant time. It is joyously peaceful being underwater. I knew this before the weekend.  That was what drew me towards freediving in the first place.  The swimming pool is a place of solace.  It is where I feel most truly peaceful.  I have had moments of clarity in the pool.  I have had glimpses of serenity whilst submerged. Swimming is one thing.  Freediving is another, though the two are not unrelated.  I approached the learning of a new skill in freediving and apnea with a degree of confidence.  I am a strong swimmer, and I previously undertook open water training to SCUBA dive.   Freediving is about keeping it simple.  Really simple.  There are few rules.  There is little equipment.  And that's...

Today, normal is good.  Average is fine.  Routine and predictability are to be celebrated.  These are all hallmarks of my life which looks rather different to how it might have done.  If you always do what you've always done, you're very likely to always get what you always got.  If nothing changes, chances are, nothing will change.  These little snippets, whilst not the most grammatically exciting, are observations from the school of life.  I didn't learn them at any of the five universities I have attended to date. Yoga and meditation are important components of my week.  Without them, something is likely to feel incomplete, or out of balance.  So I try and show up.  My practice is not sufficiently developed, and my focus not always terribly easy to gather and direct, so I benefit from instruction.  I practice alongside others.  We have a collective purpose.  A shared intention and a common goal. We begin each c...

It was a shock.  When it comes to London roads, I never like to see cyclists anywhere but on their bikes.  Preferably with the full complement of helmet and visibility garb plus an array of bright lights.  With summer seemingly taking forever to arrive with us, lights are a good idea - morning, noon and night.   He lay there, motionless, and wrapped in something that looked warm.  The road looked cold, and inhospitable.  There was police presence, but no ambulance staff or paramedics that I could see.  Such sights are never pleasant. There was nothing I could do to help at that point, so I continued along my way, rather cautiously - I felt shaken and shivered in sympathy. A friend asked me how I rode a bike in London.  I don't have an answer.  Courage and common sense are required in equal measure.  Concentration is essential.  I think it helps that I am a sometime motorist.  I know all too well how distracted my fello...

I love London.  I also love escaping London.  This weekend was the perfect occasion to get away.  And that's precisely what I did.  I loved getting away, a little after most people had done so.  A spontaneous decision to make haste towards a change of scenery.  Which I appreciated from the moment I woke on Saturday morning. Rye is a beautiful and quaint town.  It is, in some ways, a quintessential English seaside town.  It made for the ideal retreat.  And whilst I wasn't the only person with this bright idea, this fact took nothing away from the overall blissful experience.  Spending time with a friend I no longer see as often as I'd like to (or probably should, given the reality which is that we are only separated by a couple of hours in the car) was heavenly.  We simply went with the flow over the weekend.  And it all flowed beautifully.  It usually does.  Walking to Camber Sands, heading into th...