Horrible Premonitions

There’s another outing to work for the posh bike today, ahead of Sunday’s Flat Out in The Fens Sportive. It’s going to be a hot 70 odd miles on Sunday apparently. It’s pretty hot this morning as well.

As I’m still on for a £50 bribe from the council for using their gym every month for a year, I thought I best show willing and drop in to do my June session. As it’s now the 25th of the month, I’m running out of time.

So I pedal to John Carroll and book in for a short session. Not that I particularly want to. I do a massive 1km run on the treadmill, two small weight sessions and then sit on the bike for a while. The exercise bikes are so awful that again a km is all I can bare. I think cycling further on those uncomfortable contraptions would actually do you more harm that good.

So having passed a bit of time on the bike, I get off and go for a coffee. So, not exactly a tough session but I've had a hard week.

Today is Daughter's 17th birthday and we have bowed to concerted pressure... yep, we've let her have a small party. This is despite the horrible premonitions I’ve been having for weeks, well at least since 'that' incident... but she assures us it’s not going to be like one of Son’s bashes, which have got progressively more out of control with each one. That’s a relief. Of course if it was jelly and ice cream, pass the parcel and a Disney film like the old days it would be fine but it’s not going to be is it. Perhaps I should have faith in her or at least get drunk. Mind you that didn't work with Son's parties. With the blue touchpaper lit and the sick bucket in place, we retire to a safe distance and take the dogs down the local.

When we get home later all seems orderly, unbroken and well civilised. Perhaps Daughter has been ruling them with a rod of iron like she does us.

Bad Apples

A damp, chilly morning. Ideal cycling conditions. Not.

Thankfully the rain seemed to clear up as I go along. It was still cold though and by the time I get to work my knees still haven’t warmed up. All the same I’m sticking with the shorts, I’m not going back to long trousers, it’s supposed to be May after all.

I pull up at one of the roundabouts on Pride Park between a cyclist on a MTB who has his mobile phone glued to his ear. Surely he’s not going to go around the roundabout like that, one handed, still on the phone? Oh yes he is. It’s bad apples like him that give cyclists a bad name. It would serve him well right if a motorist came around that roundabout doing exactly the same thing. It also wouldn’t be a surprise, there’s sure to be one along any minute.

Doggo has developed a limp, I think he’s just trying to get out of training tonight. Little does he know... we’re not going. We have a night off. MD won’t completely escape because he’ll have to put up with a brief refresher course in the garden but he’ll get a park session afterwards to compensate. Mysteriously Doggo’s limp has disappeared long before we reach the park gates.

Before then I also manage to fit in a rare session in the pool. To my surprise I even remember how to swim properly. I was tempted with the pool at the new Djanogly Leisure Centre, which they have built only a mile or so from the one at John Carroll, which seems an odd distribution of facilities but at least it’s handy for us. Unfortunately they don’t do an early laned session on a Wednesday whereas John Carroll does, so I stick to the usual.

There are a couple of big football games tonight both of which go to extra time. Fulham fall at the final hurdle and lose their UEFA Europa League thingy to Athletico Madrid through a very late goal. Whereas Leicester City go out of the play-offs on penalties to Cardiff City. So we keep hold of both of our east midlands derbies for next year.