Week 30 - Eric Escapes from Hospital

 Monday

I really did overdo the celebrating last night. I felt awful this morning. I managed to sit in the passenger seat when my wife drove me to work.

As usual, teaching made me feel better and I soon forgot how rotten I felt once I started working with our wonderful young people.

Back at home, however, I couldn't face any exercise. I curled up with a beer and watched some cricket (the Ashes). Then I made dinner for the family.

No exercise, no junkfood, 3 beers

Tuesday

Still didn't use the bike for work. At home, I was all set to do some weight lifting - I just thought I'd have a quick look at the Ashes. I ended up watching it until close of play and didn't do any exercise.

No exercise, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday

I rode in on the mountain bike. It was a quiet day at work and for some reason it seemed to go by very quickly. Before I knew it, I was back on the bike and heading home.

Back in the man cave, I did an hour of weight training. I didn't set any personal records tonight, but it was a good session which left me aching.

I then made chicken and mushroom stir fry for the family.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday

On the bike again for work. Again, the day went quickly, and before I knew it I had cycled home and started lifting weights. I didn't set any records today, but it was a good lift that left me feeling pumped!

Lucy had made a chicken and mushroom curry. Just what I needed. 

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Friday

Some worrying news in the morning: Eric was feeling poorly and an ambulance was taking him to hospital.

We went into work but soon left to drive out to the hospital to be with Jane and Eric. Laura joined us there too.

We went back to work in the afternoon. In the evening, I did some weight training before warming up some curry for myself. I made sure I stayed sober in case we were needed back at the hospital.

Weight training, no junkfood, no booze.

Saturday

In the morning, I had two breakfasts and then cycled up to the bank to deposit a cheque. Lucy went back to the hospital to be with her dad. I cycled to the dojo for the afternoon lesson. I introduced the group to 4 different basic defences against a jodan oi-zuki attack. I explained that these were taught to me by Sensei Paul Hexley almost 25 years ago. I know that Sensei Ronnie wants to see more variation in counter attacks, so I though these would help. We also did some kicking basics, some pad work with partners, two kata, and then finished on the heavy bag. Phew! Hopefully, the students didn't have time to get bored.

Almost as soon as I got home, Sensei Jason arrived to swap some bicycle pedals with me, and to sit out in the sunshine in my back garden. Then Sensei Gary called to ask about Eric.

A little later Lucy called to give me an update - Eric was feeling much better! There was even talk of him getting out of hospital tomorrow! Fantastic news.

The evening was taken up by washing up and ironing. Lucy didn't get home until almost 9:30!

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol

Sunday

Up and out with the lads at 9am. We cycled into the strong sunshine and barely noticed the headwind. It was a single layer day and we were already sweating after the first few miles. We headed straight down to Aston Cantlow where a large gentleman on a racing bike swished passed us. I decided to chase him down and thankfully Jonnie and James came with me. We were about to reach his wheel when he turned off on a different route. After this, we slowed the pace a little, agreeing that it was too hot to work hard. 

Too hot to work hard

One of the main obstacles today was the amount of traffic on the road. It took us a very long tome to get across the A46. Once across, I put the hammer down and picked up a silver trophy as I led the lads up to the Blue Boar pub.

Next, the descent through Binton. Jonnie whooshed past me, quickly followed by James. Even though I was pedalling and didn't brake at any point, I simply couldn't catch them on this long, sweeping downhill! The only reason I caught up with James after the descent was because his chain fell off!

We tooled along through Luddington next to the river Avon. After this, we went up past Anne Hathaway's house and then on to the Ridgeway. I had already planned to go for a Strava trophy here: the wind was behind us, it was a warm day and I was feeling frisky. I applied the pressure to the pedals...

I managed to get a silver medal along the Ridgeway on the way into Wilmcote. It is a section I've ridden 26 times before, so a silver was okay. I was 2 seconds slower than my best time (set in August last year).

At Wilmcote, we got stuck into cake and talked about poor Eric still trapped in hospital. We all agreed that it was a priority to get him home as soon as possible. Happily, before we left, Jane got the call to say that Eric would be allowed to come home today!

We set off feeling great, had a nice chat in the sunshine, and the lads were in such a good mood that they let me win the sprint up the hill to Jonnie's place.

Back home, I was put to work vacuuming and mopping. At about 4, Lucy and I drove to the hospital to pick up Eric and take him back to Wilmcote.

In the evening, in the last of the sunshine, Lucy, Luke and I sat out in the garden and had a few drinks.

I tried to watch Elton John at Glastonbury on the TV but it was boring, so I drank some more beer and then went to bed!

Cycling: 40 miles at 14.5 mph, junkfood, beers

Week 29 - Drayton Manor

Monday

Drayton Manor!

Today was Supported Learning's annual trip to the theme park. We took two coach loads (80 students) of excited young people, and not so young staff, for a day out in the sunshine. Junkfood was everywhere but I managed to avoid it, even when my lovely wife was thrusting bags of Monster Munch at me! I was assistant to a wheelchair user for the day, a young man who knew his own mind and wanted one shoe on, one shoe off, and a constant supply of apple juice!

We went on the dodgems, the Thomas train and had a walk around the zoo (including the dinosaurs!)

The weather was great, the students had an exciting time, and we only had one injury (minor). One of my favourite days of the year!

We went back to college on the two coaches.

I cycled home the long way and covered 15 miles at 14.0mph before making dinner for the family.

Cycling, no junkfood, no alcohol

Tuesday

I cycled in to work and back. Martha and I couldn't attend dojo tonight because Lucy was working late and had the car. I made spaghetti bolognese and then did some weight training instead.

Weight lifting, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday

Bit of a strange one today. I cycled in to work. On the way home, I went on my long loop and clocked up 15 miles at 14.5mph and picked up three Strava trophies. Then, while Lucy made dinner, I started boozing! 4 beers later and I was watching The Walking Dead on my own in the dark!

Cycling, no junkfood, 4 beers

Thursday

I drove in to work today. In the afternoon, I took some of the sports lads down the park to play a bit of football. It was a gloriously sunny day and it was great to spend two hours in the sunshine instead of the classroom. I even got a bit of sunburn on my head!

I drove home via the Post Office to drop off a couple of parcels.

It was too hot to go running. At home, Lucy made dinner while I did some weight training. I was very pleased to find that I could set a new personal record for the military press (overhead press) tonight. Dinner was loads of chicken and rice. Just what I needed! I was tucked up in bed with a cup of tea just after 10pm.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Friday

I cycled in to work and back. 

This evening's Karate session was a hot and sweaty affair (it was a hot and sweaty day!) with Sensei Ronnie in a playful mood. We did some 5-step sparring and some kata. I was put in charge of 3 orange belts who all worked hard at Heian Shodan and Heian Nidan. To finish, we did some team running races just for fun, which is very unlike Sensei Ronnie. It was a great way to end the lesson and lots of people left smiling.

In the evening, I did some ironing while watching the highlights of the test (Joe Root with an unbeaten 118) followed by loads of dinner. I nodded off in front of The Walking Dead.

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol

Saturday

Up at 6:30. After breakfast, I drove to the post office to drop of a large parcel. It's actually classed as a medium parcel, but it's big!

After that, on to the bike to get to work! On a Saturday! I was helping out with the Open Day at the college. It was a nice morning, chatting with staff (friends), following the Ashes and meeting new students.

I was home by 1:45 to eat a banana and drink a coffee.Than I was off to the dojo! I was the instructor today. Just like last week, I based my lesson around some combinations to start, some kicking practice on the pads, then two kata (heian and advanced), with heavy bag work to finish.

An hour later, I was driving off to meet my daughters and Jake at the bowling alley! We had a lovely time with plenty of giggles, despite the bowling alley computers having a bad day and getting our scores wrong! My only regret is that no-one took any photos of the evening!

On the way home, Tilly collected Uncle Paul form a nearby hotel and took him back to our place for dinner. It was a lovely warm evening and I sat outside with Lily and Mouse to watch the bats flap and dart about overhead.

After dropping Lily back, I was in bed before midnight.

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol

Sunday

Up at seven for muesli, coffee and hobnobs! James came round to my place just before 9 and then we cycled up to Jonnie's. The three of us were discussing where to go when James and Jonnie came up with the idea of cycling our Coughton Route - 48 miles with a lot of climbing early on. Apparently, it was a joke, but I decided to set off on it anyway! It was a lovely day for cycling, so why not?

We soon reached the climbs where, just like last week, it soon became apparent that Jonnie was in good form. His bike handling and cornering skills are always awesome, but today he could climb too! It wasn't long before he was having to wait for us. 

It was rather warm, so James and I had to stop to remove some layers. James had actually started in three layers! Sweaty!

The Salt Way up the A441 was the hardest section for me - a sharp gradient to empty the legs and then a long steady climb up to the A road. I was glad when the road flattened out again!

We modified the route to avoid the Average Destroyer (we'd done enough climbing by then) and arrived at the cakestop at about 11. We put the Ashes on the TV, ate cake and wished Eric a happy birthday!

On the way home, we decided another selfie was in order:

Do I need an orange jersey?

Today's ride had less banter than usual, at times it felt like a training ride. We got back with a decent average of 14.1mph over 45.5 miles. My bike computer and Strava both agree that at some point today I reached 38mph. I don't remember descending so quickly so I obviously wasn't aware of it at the time. Perhaps my downhill game is finally improving?

Back at home, the three of us relaxed in my back garden, and Jonnie and I enjoyed several beers to restore our energies. A little later, we helped Eric celebrate his birthday with two cakes and plenty of drinking!

I think I may have overdone it with the celebrating and I stayed up too late watching The Walking Dead!

Cycling: 45 miles, junkfood, many beers

Week 28 - New Car

Monday

I cycled in to work and back.

At home, I got some weight training done and then made dinner for the family.

In the evening, I found it hard to relax and ended up having a few beers to help me unwind.

Weight training, no junkfood, 4 beers

Tuesday

I cycled in to work and back.

Martha and I went along to the Karate dojo and we were pleased to find that it developed into a kumite session with some freestyle at the end. There was a higher grade black belt present whom I didn't recognise. He was standing above Sensei Jason so he must be at least a 2nd Dan. He was fast, strong and very confident in his techniques. The only thing I found strange was that he smiled and chuckled throughout the partner drills! When I partnered with him, I only got the better of him once, the rest of the time he was far too quick for me. I hope to partner him again so I can learn from him.

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday

I cycled in to work and back.

I did an hour of weight training before making dinner for the family.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday

I jumped in the Citroen with Lucy to get to work. In the afternoon, I did a simple karate drill with the sports students before playing cricket. They enjoyed the cricket.

After work, it was time to collect our new car! Lucy and I went along to Listers on Stratford Road and collected our Nissan Juke. It is hideous to behold, but seems solid and very well looked after. Lucy loves it.

Very pleased with my ugly new car

When we got home, I got on with another hour of weight training while Lucy made some dinner.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Friday

I cycled in to work. This afternoon, we were presented with our new timetables - I will only be teaching English next year! This was rather a shock, and I think I will miss teaching maths, ICT and sport. Oh well, let's see how the new approach suits me.

Tonight's karate session started badly - I had a sharp pain in my right knee during the warm up and I had to slow things right down to some gentle stretching. Happily, as I warmed up, so did the knee. I was able to join in with the fast-paced kata and basics lesson without any further problems.

Afterwards, I had a good meeting with Sensei Gary - I hope to be able to reveal more about this next week.

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol

Saturday

A very warm, sunny and windy start to the day. The knee seemed okay, so after two breakfasts I cycled down to the Post Office to drop off some parcels. It was T-shirt and shorts weather. 

Lucy used the new car to visit a friend so I had to cycle to the dojo. It was a lovely ride in the sunshine, and it made me question why I drive the car to the dojo on Saturdays! Sensei Gary was there for the first 10 minutes and then it was just me running the class. It went okay, I tried to cover lots of different things so it didn't get boring. I had two issues to deal with: the mix of students and the changes being made on Sunday mornings.

Firstly, there were dedicated, focused students who were getting closer to their black belts and wanted to train hard. There were also students who were struggling and getting there stances wrong, or who just wanted to mess about. There was even an incident where some students were sniggering at those having difficulty. I quickly put a stop to that and had a word with those involved after the lesson.

Secondly, the Sunday morning lessons are when Sensei Ronnie makes slight changes to techniques or kata that are then filtered down to the club. I had yet to be brought up to speed with the changes to mawashi geri and had the embarrassing situation where a 1st kyu had to show me the new technique! I need to start attending some Sunday sessions instead of going cycling!

Other than this, I think we had a fast-paced, varied lesson including kihon, kata, partner work and pad work.

In the evening, Lucy and I joined Luke, Kirsty, Dave and Neighbour Lucy for drinks and to cheer at some millionaires chasing a ball around on the TV.

Karate, no junkfood, beers

Sunday

I woke up with a clicking, painful right knee...

I was due to meet the lads for our weekly cycle ride and was worried about making my knee worse. Lucy suggested that I strap up my knee, so, after applying a lot of Tiger Balm, that's exactly what I did. I met the chaps at 9 and we sped off into the lanes. It was a gloriously hot, still day. Jonnie and I were both dressed in single layers - it feels so good to not have to wrap up with base layers, scarfs and hats. Bare elbows and knees! Even James was wearing his short shorts!

Jonnie suggested the Full Purity route which takes us past the Purity brewery, over the A46, through Temple Grafton and then onto the Evesham Road. We then climb back up through Binton and into Wilmcote. All this takes about 24 miles. Happily, my strapped knee only twinged once!

The cakestop was very hot! By now, the temperature must have been over 25 degrees and there was hardly any wind. I'm pleased to report that the cake was excellent. We stayed long enough to see Kohli and Jadeja both lose their wickets to the Australians in the World Test Match Final. Then we got back out into the heat for the final 15 miles home.

Cycle: 38 miles at 14.3mph.

Back at home, Tilly came round with a very, very dirty, sticky car. Lucy, Tilly and Mouse went off to visit Jane in Wilmcote, so I set about cleaning the car in the sunshine. It was warm enough for me work out doors without a shirt on. I wished I lived in a country where it was summer all year round.

55 minutes later and the car looked almost new. So I watched Walking Dead and did some ironing.

The evening's Karate session was a very hot and sweaty affair! Sensei had us working really hard doing plenty of kicks and punches at speed. After this, we did some kata in groups.

Back at home, I watered the garden until a huge storm gradually formed and finished the job for me!

Dinner was a fantastic homemade curry. I had to use all of my willpower not have a cold beer to go with it!

Karate, junkfood, no alcohol

Week 27 - MOT Misery

Monday

I dropped off Lucy, Martha, Tilly and Jake at Birmingham International. They are jetting off to Prague for a few days. After that, I dropped Lily back. I cooked a spaghetti bolognese for myself and Mouse. I did an hour of weight training.

In the evening, I watched a lot of cricket and then some Walking Dead.

Weight Training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Tuesday

Up at 7 for bacon and eggs. A bit later, neighbour Lucy came round for a cup of tea. After she left, I drove down to Halford's to put the car in for its MOT. I walked back via B&M (for oven cleaner) and the Post Office.

Back at home, I applied the oven cleaner with the intention of leaving it on until tomorrow. Then I had some lunch. When Halford's rang, it was bad news, a lot worse than I had expected. The car had failed on many serious points. I put Fred on the lead and we walked back to Halford's to pick up the sick car. I changed the worn tyre in the car park and then dropped the wheel off at Kwik Fit at 1:30. Then I went home to research car leasing options and to do loads of ironing.

By 4pm, I still hadn't heard from Kwik Fit so I called them: there was no answer. I called at 4:30 - no answer. I called at 5 - no answer. At 5:30, I drove back there. My wheel was leaning up against the garage wall. The guy behind the desk told me he would do it quickly. He leapt up and started the job that I had left with him 4 hours ago. I've decided not to use Kwik Fit again.

Back at home, I made a chicken chow mein for myself and Mouse. Then I dropped her off at the Hillfield so she could have dessert with her friends. Back at home, I spoke to my lovely wife on the phone and then set about lifting weights for an hour. I was pleased to set a new personal record for deadlifts tonight.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday

Blood Pressure: 120/72

Resting heart rate: 50 bpm

Up at 7 for muesli. By 9:45 I had scrubbed and cleaned the oven and its racks. It doesn't exactly look new, but it's a lot cleaner now.

By 10:25 I had taken the spare wheel off the car and put the full wheel back on (complete with its brand new, very expensive tyre.)

By 10:45 I'd watered the greenhouse. So then I set about putting some more records up for sale on eBay.

At 12, I spoke to our family friend Scott who is also an awesome mechanic. He told me that the car was probably not worth repairing - it needs a new engine.

I made a chilli con carne. I walked Fred in the park, and then did an hour of weight training. I set a new personal record for the overhead press (military press).

I did loads of ironing, had dinner with Mouse, watched Birmingham Bears beat Northamptonshire in the T20 Blast and then watched an episode of The Walking Dead before bed.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday

I dragged myself out for my weekly 10K run. The first 5 miles were okay, but the last mile was really hard on my legs! They were really sore, heavy and stiff and got worse and worse as I neared home. I finished in a slow time of 64 minutes 23 seconds. I could barely hobble up the stairs to take a shower.

After lunch, I set about mopping and cleaning all the hard floors downstairs. Then I made a curry for tomorrow night followed by fish and chips for myself and Mouse for dinner.

10K run, no junkfood, no alcohol

Friday

Got up at 7 to meet Jonnie and James for our weekly cycle. We set off on our Honiley Variation route. It was a cold start and I was pleased to be wrapped up in leg warmers and three layers. Jonnie looked very tough with his bare knees in the wind. James complained of cold fingers and toes.

By the time we reached Wilmcote, it had warmed up considerably and I stripped off my hat, leg warmers and jacket. After some lovely cake, we set off for the final 15 miles in the sunshine.

After I got back home, I walked Fred in the park and then jumped in the car to pick up Lucy, Debbie and the girls from Birmingham International. They had enjoyed themselves seeing the sights, and they had remembered to bring home some chocolate and beer for me!

Later, Lucy and I went back up the road to have a couple of drinks with Jonnie and Sally in their fantastic back garden. Later still, we met up with Luke and Kirsty on our front drive for several more beers!

Taking my training seriously...

We had a very late curry at 9pm!

Cycling, junkfood, lots of beer

Saturday

Lucy went to the the theatre with Jane. I spent most of the day nursing a mild hangover and searching for cars online - I hadn't realised how much the prices of cars had shot up. I gave myself a break and went along to the dojo. It was a pad work session - one of the best sessions I'd been to in a while. We did some self defence stuff using elbow strikes. It was great!

I had a couple of drinks in the evening...

Karate, no junkfood, alcohol

Sunday

Car buying day!

By 10am, Lucy and I set off for what we thought would be a tour of most of the car dealerships between Monkspath and the city centre. The first place we went to was Mazda. Which wasn't open. The cars on the forecourt seemed to be incredibly expensive anyway, so we moved on.

The second place was Toyota, which was shut. So we moved on!

We arrived at Honda which was in the process of opening. We quickly realised that we couldn't afford a Honda either. However, we were introduced to a nice man named Jagmaan. He showed us cars that had been traded in part exchange. We spotted a Nissan Juke with 15,000 miles on the clock. It was possibly the ugliest car I'd ever seen. Lucy fell in love with it straight away.

We visited a few other dealerships, looked at a Vauxhall, and then went back to Honda to put a deposit on the Nissan!

It was a sunny Sunday so I did 15 miles on the bike in the country lanes. Then home to have a few beers in the back garden.

Cycling, no junkfood, beers