Young At Heart

By -

Last October I suffered a significant birthday.  I suppose, clutching at straws, that at least I can now pass off my poor cycling performance as the inevitable result of old age rather than because I don't train hard enough and eat too many pies. As winter drags on, and the allure of the turbo trainer diminishes, I thought I should see what my poor decrepit old body can still manage.  After last year's drowning in the Townsville floods we thought we would give New Zealand another crack.  The prospect of 24 hours in a Coronavirus fermentation tank is taking the shine off the plan a bit, but I have purchased some snazzy surgical masks and am busy adapting them so I can still sip gin and tonic.

 

I have managed to lose some weight (you really know a diet is working when your SHOES start to feel loose) and have put in plenty of hours on the turbo trainer but I haven't done a proper full-day ride since last September.  Plum, by contrast, has gone into overdrive because he has signed up to ride the Tour de France route (the exact same daily regime, just 1 week ahead of the race timetable).  This is obviously silly....but that is Plum for you.  He is training hard and trying to disprove my argument that cycling post-60 is a genteel activity to be undertaken slowly and in small amounts.

 

We will start in Christchurch and work our way over Arthur's pass towards the west coast then cut back, via Murchison and Blenheim to Picton.  We then transfer to North Island and take a westerly route around the base of Mt Taranaki, ending up in Auckland after 14 days cycling.  There are some hard days to look forward to, including one of 95 miles and one with 7500 feet of climb, so Plum is going to be doing a LOT of waiting for me.  We start riding on Monday. 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/Mr Tamborine Man/I Write The Songs

By -
Image
  After an 18 month separation Plum and I are reforming the band for another tour.  The two of us, plus 6 others, are heading up to Scotlandshire for another crack at the North Cost 500.  I should probably introduce the full line-up:   Lead Singer - David.  David is the young(er) pretty one.....brother of John.  David also happens to be my Financial Adviser and is funding this trip (plus a yacht and a cocaine habit) out of what he makes from my account.   Lead Guitar - Nick.  Friend for 50 years.  At school Nick was a keen cyclist and consequently, quite rightly, bullied.  Nick has forgotten more about cycling than I will ever know.   Bass Guitar - Stuart.  Stuart and I worked together for many years; he has powerful legs and can push out big watts while looking like he is coasting.  I hate Stuart.   Keyboards - Michael.  Michael is also younger but not pretty.  Michael believes that upgrading cycle compone
Read more

If I Could Turn Back Time

By -
Image
If ever you are in the Inverness area on a Friday and looking for a lively night you could do a lot worse than avoid Muir of Ord.  Our hotel, the only pub, wasn't serving food so we walked into town where it appeared that Steven Spielberg had just finished filming some sort of post-apocalypse movie: nothing open, nobody on the streets and the odd bit of tumbleweed blowing along the pavement.  Even the fish and chip shop couldn't be arsed to open...on a FRIDAY NIGHT!  We managed to find a take-away offering a rather odd choice of kebabs and curries (served in pizza boxes for added novelty) and purchased some food which made up for in calories what it lacked in food-hygiene standards.   I recall a meeting where a few of my co-riders and I met to kick around ideas for a group ride.  We considered all sort of destinations....mostly in those parts of Europe where the weather isn't consistently shite.  I'm ashamed to say that I think it was I that th
Read more

Julia's Song

By -
Image
As some readers will know, Plum is no longer Chard's most eligible bachelor.  The lovely Julia has taken on the job that Social Services would otherwise have to do....making sure he changes his pants once a week whether they need it or not and loading routes onto his Garmin.  We are all very grateful to Julia, especially Chards most eligible bachelorettes who can get back on the dating scene now Plum is safely off the market. As we were starting our trip Julia fell, dislocated her foot and broke her Tibia so she is probably missing Plum more than usual. She has insisted that the show should go on so thanks for being such a trooper. Today was another with a shortcut that promised to turn a very hard day into something more manageable.  Some of our group took the high road and others took the low but I had a more cunning idea.....get in the van.  Whatever is ailing me, long covid or acute spinelessness, reached the point where pushing the pedals just w
Read more