How to Lose a Belly When You're 42 (part 15)

The last three weeks have been a complete failure when it came to training. I still attended my martial arts lessons and did some infrequent running and riding but that was about it for exercise.

So I thought I'd tell you about my day trip instead:

Lucy, Debbie and I went down to London to visit Laura for her birthday. We were hoping to see my brother too but he couldn't join us.
I hadn't been to London since I was 22 - I was interested to see if it was as I remember it 20 years ago!
We all fancied a drink so we went down in the train.  I do love travelling by train - it's so much more comfortable with the big chairs and tables, especially these days with the free wifi and plug sockets. The only downside is how busy our particular train was.

I like trains

Everyone was either going to Twickenham to watch England beat Argentina, or going shopping. Towards the end of the journey, a lot of people found themselves having to stand (there were no elderly or pregnant people so I didn't feel guilty keeping my seat.)

Solihull boy in the Big Smoke

At Marylebone Station I was pleased to see hundreds of bicycles locked up - there is hope for humanity yet!

The most beautiful sight I saw that day.

The first stop was to find somewhere to have a wee - apparently you have to pay to have a wee in the train station! We stopped at a pub called The Globe. It looked comfortable but, because of the rugby on TV, we couldn't get a seat. I sampled a half of London Glory by Greene King. It was average. At least I got to have a wee.

I'd normally go for Black Sheep but I was in London, so...

Then we went on a tube train. I'd never been on the Underground before. Happily, it wasn't crowded so it was a very pleasant experience: I particularly enjoyed looking down the length of the train and watching it turn corners.

My first time on a tube train.

Shortly after, we arrived at the Portobello Road Markets. It wasn't really my thing - it was very crowded and very cold. I suppose it would have been fun if I'd had lots of spare cash in my pocket...

What will you have?

We eventually met up with Laura and then Carl. We settled in the Castle pub on the Portobello Road. We had chips and beer. The train journey home was ace - lots of laughter and more beer. A good day trip!

Next week, I did a 6 mile run and took part in some great martial arts lessons. On Sunday, a week after I got back from London, Jonnie, Nigel and I got ready for a cycle down to Wilmcote and back. It was a very cold start with lots of frost and ice about. The forecast was for lots of sun and no wind so I knew it was going to thaw out although it would still be a cold day! Unfortunately, Nigel is still relatively new to cycling: he took one look at the weather and wisely decided to stay indoors! That left Uncle Jonnie and myself to brave the first few miles heading south. With three layers on, one of them thermal, I soon warmed up. I was actually sweating by about the 7th or 8th mile, even though the temperature never got above 4 degrees all day! There was a lot of frosty tarmac to contend with and even patches of ice where the road had been damp. I could hear the ice crunching under the wheels and see chunks of it in the gutters as we went by.
We took it steady and reached Wilmcote a little over an hour after we set off. The tea and coffee cake were most welcome!
The sun was very low on the horizon for the entire ride. This caused a problem as we headed back through Aston Cantlow: an old lady driver, obviously struggling with the visibility, found herself driving on the wrong side of the road heading straight at us! She corrected herself just in time and probably didn't realise she'd done anything wrong...
We took it easy on the way back. Legs were aching and we didn't have much energy to use. It had been about a month since we'd been riding together, and the only cycling I'd done in that time was on my short, perfectly flat commute to work.
We are out of shape.
We discussed our options and how best to prepare for the Mad March Hare. There was even talk of going running together...watch this space.
Later that day, I went to a band rehersal with Nigel followed by an excellent kata and basics lesson with Sensei Gary.

Tuesday (yesterday) was Jonnie's birthday. Much ale and curry was ingested which made the following morning at work rather a struggle! However, it was a great night with great people!

So, I've sort of brought this blog up to date. The training seems to have taken a back seat for the moment although I'm still riding to work and practising my karate. I'll try to fit some more rides in before the new year and the training restarts with a vengeance!