Middle aged woman on a bike
From long distance road rider to off roader - what I’ve learned since making the transition. Forget everything you once knew about speed… 10 mph could be a very good average, but so can 6 mph. Some trails will be fast and exciting, whilst at other times you might be…..
Hurrah, another weekend at home adapting to our new normal. On Saturday this meant that the Hubster whizzed around the house cleaning windows, dusting, clearing weeds from the garden, doing washing etc. Since it's not something he does much of normally, I kept out of his way. After three weeks of reduced exercise, and jumping on the scales to realise that I have gained 1/2 stone, I knew that I needed to pull my finger out and start recreating my daily exercise habit. One problem though is that I am now sharing the turbo trainer with the Hubster.
With home now being where we work, rest and play we've found it important to create a break between the working week and the weekend so that all the days don't just merge into each other and create some kind of alternate Groundhog Day. So on Friday, work was shut down, the doors to the 'offices' were closed and we settled into our weekend routine. On Saturday I would normally go for a long bike ride and at this point in my training, most likely would have been riding for most of the weekend, and through the night. But, this is not a normal Saturday.......
Taking a glance at my book collection, it's not hard to understand why I feel compelled to travel all over the world with my bike. My reading material transports me to far flung places, and it's usually around this time of year, when the evenings are dark that I bury my nose deep into the next epic cycling adventure.
It does seems that it's possible to get around the city quickly and efficiently by public transport, today it was a tram that would take us to the Brewery. The Heineken experience is on the site of the original Amsterdam Brewery, in what is now the centre of the city. Production has now moved elsewhere, and so the original brewing tanks and stables have been turned into an 'experience' for tourists. The moment you walk in young guides, all bubbly and full of enthusiasm, are dressed in the branded black clothes with green polka dot braces, or bow ties - they are excitable in a Disney kind of way, as if we are small children waiting to see Mickey Mouse for the first time.
Today feels a little odd...we are off to Amsterdam for a few days. The land of the bicycle, and yet bikes are not the main feature of this trip. This weekend is all about running....The Amsterdam marathon to be precise.