WAY OF LIFE

New day and the weather is gloomy with heavy rain so onto the rowing machine indoors before breakfast and lunch. Fatty did a Blog on his swimming activity some time ago and mentioned how you forget where you are and the need to have a lap counter. Well I multi task on this trainer as even though it has a “computer” it does not work correctly, close the eyes and count and you find that the count is inaccurate if you pull hard over a period of time. When I start rowing I have the clock and the MP3 , of which I have three, and eyes closed I think of all that I have read in other people’s Blogs recently and soon I realise that the count has jumped.

Now if I cannot keep count whilst listening to a MP3 on the rowing machine, how can a person concentrate on driving a vehicle whilst talking on the mobile phone with the radio blaring in the background as they shuffle through their paperwork and consume their lunch. Easy to forget that you are driving a lethal weapon and ignore/not notice all around you as you progress at 60kph towards your destination! Multi tasking at any age requires concentration and at the desk it means that you are able to do little damage, on the rowing machine who cares if you get the numbers wrong but in the Vehicle it can result in a traffic fine at the least or a casualty if someone is unlucky to be in the way.

“PYGMYS” are out there bleating about how “cyclists” are causing “mayhem on the roads”, how dare they “slow them down”, “get in their way as they rush to work”, “block the road”, “ride on the pavement” , “ride through traffic lights” and so on and so forth. Traffic is at a standstill and the cyclist works it’s way to the front where there is a “marked cyclist area” at the traffic lights which are red. In Europe the lights change and off go the cyclists and some are quicker than others so they get off down the road allowing the following vehicles to overtake before the next red lights without any recriminations and honking. In England and the USA there will be a small number of “aggro incidents” on occasions because there are drivers who cannot remember that it is they who decided that they did not need to allow the reasonable time that was required to make their journey in a tranquil way.

Harmony is a thing of the past, aggressive driving is becoming the norm, selfish behaviour in all parts of the world is a growing problem in all walks of life. Rushing your food, rushing those around you , rushing in the street, rushing your colleagues , rushing your work , but what are you getting out of all this?
An item came to my attention recently in a another blog:

For now, here's a brief introduction to the nine behaviors we believe can lead to living longer, better:
1. Move (find ways to move mindlessly, make moving unavoidable)
2. Plan de Vida (know your purpose in life)
3. Down Shift (work less, slow down, rest, take vacation)
4. 80% Rule (stop eating when you're 80% full)
5. Plant-Power (more veggies, less protein and processed foods)
6. Red Wine (consistency and moderation)
7. Belong (create a healthy social network)
8. Beliefs (spiritual or religious participation)
9. Your Tribe (make family a priority)

Some of these points may be of value to those who believe “rush” is the way to live. Continually living in stress cannot be good for a person’s health so some of the above points must be of value in slowing the tempo of life. Personally I enjoy no.6, each evening meal regardless of where I am I try to get into the wine , when it comes out of a brick then it gets flavoured with some Gluwein and frizzante water to improve and dilute. Better classes of wine get better treatment of course.

There is a web site that I visit from time to time www.cyclingfever.com it has Dutch and English chat lines and it is busiest when the cycle races are on with links offered to the Major Cycle Tours. The Dutch chat line is the busiest and as they understand English they have been quite helpful to me, I know they have logged onto this Blog on occasions and I thank them for doing this. Perhaps some of them have been kind enough over the past decade or so to feed and water me on the various Cycle Tours which I have ridden. There may well be some who have photos from these encounters, if any of you can pose the question on the chatline or in any other forum that you participate in then I would be grateful. Connection can be made direct by email on skippi@ausi.com .

Veloreviews.com is another website that I visit and in the near future they have asked that I join in a pod cast which will be about “Disabled Sport” in the main but I guess will also bring up experiences from past Cycle Tours. I will advise on www.Twitter.com/Skippydetour once this has been recorded .


Those that have visited this Blog should consider “bookmark” as an aid to visiting and notification of when new postings take place. On the RHS you will see a blue box with a number which apparently advises the daily rank of this blog. There are about 30k in the internet so I was quite pleased to see with your help that the rank has got into the top 15% on occasions, thank you! www.fatcyclist.com which I have asked people to visit because of a recent fundraiser to help a Cancer Victim gets upwards of 53000 visitors to his entries so I will have to be a lot more entertaining and informative to encourage you to tell your friends that this is a Blog worthy of your time.

At the bottom of this Blog I installed a counter today which will I hope prove to be of some value in encouraging “Sponsors” to consider helping the “2010 Project”! Whilst there are some who have indicated an interest in joining, there is still a need for more Volunteers to assist the “Disabled Athletes” who wish to participate. Word of mouth and introductions to more internet users will be just as critical in getting this project to become a reality. During the past week the Blog has had visitors from 16 countries through a variety of sources and this can grow only if you my readers choose to assist.

Back to the rowing machine as the weather is no better and the “derriere” yesterday was just a little uncomfortable so an extra day off the bike will allow recovery. On the “Giro d’Italia” at Agrigento in 1999 I was given the “Concor” saddle by San Marco’s rep Johnny and during the first six days of riding the whole route the “derriere” suffered the adjustment from the previous saddle shape . Lance was using this San Marco Style saddle until 2005 as were many of the racers but I am unsure which saddle he uses these days. Next days I hope to increase the distances and hours in the saddle so as to switch back to the Carbon saddle as soon as possible.