Each arvo this week the family including the dogs have been getting a short 4km Skateboard, ride and run to the end of the road. The only one of us to take it easy was little legged Jessie sitting in the front basket after a distance of 500 meters not bad for a 13.5 year old tubby little dog. The temps have been a pleasant 28°C and slightly cloudy to match with a weak southerly.  

The excessive heat finally starting to show signs of releasing it’s grip has shown in the number of cyclists appearing on the Tweed coast cycleways. shame that most of who see fit to disregard the mandatory NSW helmet law. The police if they cared to would have a field day. I have not heard of anyone being prosecuted once, twice etc

I am not one to have planned exercise in any organised way at any time during my life, no training, no workouts, no sessions etc. Not that I did no exercise to the contrary I saw SURFING and WORK as exercise, move this here, carry this, dig this etc. Growing older has seen a slow down and change in work patterns, brain rather than brawn. Now sees me at a stage of life where I am neither fit nor healthy as a result! and never will be young again so it is unlikely that I will be able to change these things quickly nor practically. It took time to get to where I am now and it will take more time to get where I would like to (should?) be, not just effort.

I still, through stupidity, smoke cigarettes. Stress and weakness come to mind as feeble excuses? But I have found one way to drop a few kilos and increase my fitness over the last few years… although it might not be possible to follow this path for very much longer…

Riding too much with an “old” unfit body gave me a forced opportunity to stop, I got lumbered with an allergic reaction to the Sun ( I’ve never really liked the intensive itching of hives), whilst riding, cruising really, around 250-300kms per week ( Although I still think it was triggered from a massive day of using “Round-Up” a couple of Springs ago). During all that time of intense? exercise I couldn’t see any weight loss just a continual bouncing up and down on the scales although I could notice physical changes. When I was then forced to get out of the sun for three months and only ride at night, and occasional very short trips during the day, It was revelled to me that after a long period of exercise  pulling around a heavy(fat) body built up big muscle, then doing no exercise and still watching what I eat saw the weight drop dramatically! I must of being eating my excess muscle! Anyway this sun trouble passed over winter and let me begin excessive riding again… To my astonishment I saw that even though I was now getting fitter, (If one can whilst still smoking cigarettes), my weight was now lower and stable.

Another forced break has seen the same transition. My knee problems saw me slow my riding to a crawl and this had seen my weight again drop. But slowly as the duration of the hiatus lengthens the old ways are coming back…. the weight is still off but I have not got to my goal weight still 8 kilograms to GOOooo….

The long and short of it for ME is “it seems that continuous intensive exercise is not a good way for me to lose weight”.

An extended cyclic period of excessive exercise and then complete breaks from exercise has seen me lose the most weight. Yet, too long of a period of no exercise will leave the door open to an insidious albeit slow weight gain.

Not a good vision for my future . One where periods of intense exercise must in all inevitability become much more difficult to implement as the body wears slowly? as it gets older! How morose!

Anyway I am thinking of joining a MTB rainbow ride through Minion Falls but may only be able to finish the 20 kilometre route as there is a 22% climb for approximately one kilometre in the middle from the bottom of Minion Falls. The knees might just hate me after that climb!

Just noticed that “I” has been written 16 times in this post.

After a short ride last Friday to Bogangar I knelt on one knee to remove my shoes and “CLICK!” my left knee went out (again) the return ride on that occasion was one legged pedalling, lucky they were SPD’s.

Anyway this arvo’s ride was the first in seven days, UGH!

Should add that I managed to lay down again by un-clip re-clip un-clip stop drop smile

It did prove to me that it is possible to ride my commuter distance, but still leaves a niggling doubt of bringing on some long term damage. Something I really want to avoid. I have another 22 days straight teaching relief work ahead of me so I will not be able to get in to see a Doctor until about the end of March. Ho hum!  But as two weeks will be only 10km round trip I hope to give the shorter commute a nudge! We will see.