An Interesting Evening!

Hello blog lovers.

What a glorious day it was today, a perfect day for a run or, in my case a lovely bike ride in the evening with the Old Boy. We quickly prepared our tea, put the oven on for timed cooking and went out as soon as we were dressed in our finery.

It was only going to be a little plod along, enjoying the unusually mild end of February weather, by the way, my car thermometer registered it at 17 degrees this afternoon! we were going for a nice pint of lager at the George. which means going off road, through Hayes common.

I think we were a little too eager to go off road! The ruts in the road, with the muddy puddles, was not good really, plus the night had truly drawn in my the time we got there. I was glad to get to the other side and back on to good old tarmac!

After our refreshment, and of course a lovely bowl of olives, we headed on towards Bromely. We had a mission in mind, we had to find a certain address in Bromley where I shall be sending our Big Son to tomorrow!

After we found the place we meandered on home, via the Red Lion. but before we got there, there was a slight incident. Just ever so small, and no one was hurt....to badly, and no bike was damaged! Somehow the Old Boy managed to be face down on the floor, on his knees, bike sort of underneath him. He had put on his front brakes a little too hard and sort of flew over the handlebars!! Of course, being the concerned wife and fellow cyclists, I just p****d my self laughing, before enquiring how he was. By this time the couple we had just passed came running up to see if he was alright! Which he was. Well, he is a little sore now, and he maybe even more sore in the morning. I do hope not. I know how it feels coming off your bike!!

Anyway, by now I was desperate for the loo, yet the Old boy was still keen to take a little longer route home than the direct one. But it was down hill, towards Shortlands. Now you know that whole Pain/pleasure thing, laugh/cry thing. I thought that because I absolutely cracked up laughing at the Old Boy, I was going to be very, very, very careful going down hill. Hold the brakes by all means, just to slow myself down.

Both of us got to the bottom of the hill safely. But by now my bladder needed to empty. We are not in the woods, we are on busy roads, no pub in sight. Then the OB said that my sisters house is not that far, so that is where we headed.

Withing 10 minutes we were banging on her door, she duly opened as I was throwing off my gloves, undoing the tie thingy on my cycling tights before I even said hello to Nagging Sister! Of course, once out of her loo I recounted the whole incident again! Boy was it funny.

Any way, both of us got back home safely, and our dinner was nicely cooked and waiting for us when we got home!! Perfect!

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On Me Bike!

Hello bloggees!

13 days since I last put on my padded cycling tights!! It's been a while! I was hoping for a nice gentle peddle around a nice flat(ish) route, but the Old Boy had Downe village in mind. Oh well, I'm stronger these days, I'm fitter these days, and...... I'm still kidding myself that hills get easier!

I am sure I am still suffering colds and what not, just by the nasties that are oozing out of my nose! But who worries eh!? If i am feeling ok, not coughing up and no headaches, pains or feeling tired, then being out doing a couple of miles on my bike is where I should be!

The road up to Downe Village is a slog though, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, I am sure even the professionals are out of the seats pushing up here, albeit about 50 mph, but there is me, in my last 40 something year, ex couchie plodding away, not getting off my bike and walking up it, just doing it! You can imagine what I said to the old boy when he told me how many miles an hour I was doing that his super duper new Garmin was reading, (as he was cycling behind me!) Did I care, was I bothered! Nope! I was doing it.

In fact I hadn't stopped cycling from my house until we reached Keston, and stopped off for a lager! Not one stop, apart from traffic and junction's, obviously! so I was quite pleased with myself! Ok it took us 1 hour and 10 mins to ride 11.55 miles, but I did it not stop.

As we started to ride home from here it started to rain, it had become a bit colder as well, and the wind had picked up. I think time to go home! I love my cycling, I love my bike, and I love getting fit on my bike, I would like it to stay that way, and cycling in the cold getting wet is not my idea of fun!

So geeky stats,

Why Am I Out This Evening

Hello Bloggees

I have been freezing all morning and most of the afternoon due the heating not working! But that has all been rectified now, (I should say that very quietly, just in case things go awry) So after the guys managed to fix my boiler, even though there is still a temporary fix on some part of it, my house is finally warming up! And me and the Old Boy decid to leave the comfort of our home, with our boiler happily heating up our radiators, water, our home and our spirits and go for a shortish bike ride. ARE WE STARK STARING CRAZY!?

I think so too! It's this whole keep fit malarkey, once you start, you just don't want to stop! It needs to be kept going!! Otherwise the whole year behind is wasted, the money we spent of running and cycling goods, wasted! The effort wasted! No! we are not crazy, just determined.

We were only going to go for about ten miles today, local, stay near home. But by 6:30 we were still sitting, wrapped up in blankets, still talking about it. So with a determined effort we went up stairs to get changed, and put layers and layers on, to keep the cold away.

It was bloomin freezing!! On my goodness. I was so glad we were only doing a short ride. because even that is going to take about an hour, and being out for an hour, riding in this, is going to really chill me down. Just hope the temp fix on my boiler lasts at least until tomorrow!! It's going to take that long to thaw out.

We rode up to Princess Plain and the Old Boy said that we will ride to Chislehurst, I was thinking "Mmm the Tigers head", but quite frankly, I would refuse! There is no way I'm sitting outside after riding all that way, drinking a cold lager! I may like my lager, but I like my toes, and fingers and my nose, all of which I'm pretty attached to! I don't want any freezing off!

We arrived at Greenstreet Green, I'm sure in record time for me, and my bike then started to have 'issues' with the gear shifting thingy! It refused to go into top gear, and even took it's time shifting into gear after I had pushed it over!! Very strange indeed. The OB thinks it might be the cables, after all, things happene to metal in winter, it shrinks or something, so it could need adjusting.

Anyway, this is where the OB told me that we are going straight up to Crittals Corner, and not going up to Knol rise! Oh well, we're out now, I don't suppose its going to be much different! So onwards and upwards. Still freezing my ass off, and now my hands were hurting. My superduper new gloves are not working very well, and my feet are freezing, they feel like lumps of ice stuck on the peddles, and who remembers 'ice cream headaches' because that what I feel like I have, every so often!

I can't wait to get home now, definitely not stopping for any pint, in fact not stopping for anything, I just need to get home now.

I didn't think about anything else from about Crittals Corner onwards, I just wanted to get home, get into my (hopefully) warm house, and have a nice cuppa! But just as we were riding up towards Pettswood the OB pulled up at the kerb. His pocket was opened and he felt he had lost things from it. And he did! It was the little tyre irons that had fell out, but while we were looking for them I tried to walk, oh my goodness, I am sure my feet had become frozen solid. My toes refused to bend now, my thumbs were numb and my fingers were hurting!

Yet still, we did not ride straight home! We went through Jubilee park, down Blackbrook Lane and then through our park!

A good ride, a freezing ride, and ........... our heating is working!!

Geeky stats.