Hate To Exercise

“…the few alternatives we have made have been all very much for the better.” Persuasion, J. Austen

At the time of booking the cycling trip, I took an unusual decision of not including the flights in the trip. I figured, by checking out the various air companies, that I can get the flights for the same amount as the tour company was going to charge me. Perhaps I might also bolt on a few days somewhere else, so it didn’t make sense to include the flights.

As it turns out, having had a proper look at the trip details and the amount of cycling required, that might have been the best idea I’ve had yet. The trip is due to finish on a Wednesday, so I’ve decided that on a way back, I will stop over in Singapore for 2 or 3 days, book myself into a nice hotel with a swimming pool and a spa, to relax and decompress after nearly a week and half of cycling, and get over the ordeal. Yes, that’s exactly what I’ll do. I will get in touch with the Exodus travel team to help me sort out the flights, however, closer to the date. I’ve reconsidered my decision. Otherwise I have a bad feeling, that I will book the tickets for the wrong day. With the time difference, it’s not always easy to figure out when one should leave each country. That is for the future. Many months to go before I need to sort out that out.

In a meantime, I need to start the training. Christmas is over, New Year is nearly here.

There is a little snug to my plan, however. I don’t actually own a bike. I live in a small studio, and there is no room for one. I have thought of joining the gym, but that to me always feels like waste of money, besides which I know I’ll get bored. More importantly however, no matter the settings on a gym bike, you just can’t replicate actual outdoor cycling in full.

Boris Bikes it will have to be. It was Boris Bikes that I started to ride, in order to lose the weight the first time round all those years ago; and despite the pop-up of many other cycling schemes in London – Boris Bikes are still my go to choice. The scheme just feel easier, simpler to use – even if I feel that there is a need for more docking stations, and further afield.

So that’s that. I know the distance required, I have a access to a bike, a rough idea in my head of how I’d like to start training, on my way I go

Days to trip: 385 days
Weight: 90.7 kgs
Distance travelled: 0 km
Stupidity level: Reasonable

“Somehow, things are never so good when they’re thought out a second time.” Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montogmery

A few days after I booked the trip, Exodus send me a Welcome email, as they are in the habit of doing. Along with it arrived a Cycling Fitness Plan. Clearly they were thinking of people like me. I took a cursory look at, but that’s about as far as that went. I’ve decided that I would start my training preparation in the New Year. Surely 12 months is plenty of time to get ready for X amount of kilometres cycling.

At this point I still had no idea what the total distance travelled is going to be, and the amount of cycling required. Perhaps I should educate myself with those little details.

Thus, during the Christmas break I made the effort to read in detail all the trip notes and information I was forwarded. And suddenly it didn’t look so much fun. OMG what was I thinking booking this trip?! Whilst I enjoy cycling, I absolutely abhor the structure of it, when forced. Way back when I was little, in one of he schools I went to, we had a teacher who would make us run 3 rounds around the school pitch. I think everyone who ever went to that school will always remember him for “3 rounds around the pitch”. It was his way of warming us up for the actual exercise or as punishment if we were naughty. I’m not entirely sure, but I think the 3 rounds equalled roughly to 600 metres, so not even a kilometre – but when you’re a kid and hate structure, that was way too much.

And now, in mid-life I was going to force myself to do structured exercise. Clearly my stupidity has no bounds. I know there are benefits to it, and for years I’ve wanted to lose weight. I did at one point weight 105kgs, a bit more than a new-born-baby-hippo, and it was thanks to cycling that I lost 15kgs and kept it off. However for my height and age, I am now classed as morbidly obese and the fact is, I shouldn’t weight more than 70 at the max. I’ve struggled to lose the pounds – what can I say, I love cake too much.

I’m sure there are benefits to having to force myself to do exercise, more regularly. The trick will be not to over-do it with the food afterwards as compensation. That’s exactly what happened when I joined a gym some years ago. My fitness level was increasing, my weight wasn’t budging because every session I had at the gym, was an excuse for a doughnut. This time round I’m determined to be a tad more sensible.

Anyhow, I finally perused the trip notes and on the 10 day trip, the cycling challenging turns out as follows:

Day 1 – 0 kms
Day 2 – 25 kms – easy I can do that one, not a problem
Day 3 – 55 kms – ok, that’s………..hm
Day 4 – 70 kms – OMG, that’s just scary
Day 5 – 35 kms – phew
Day 6 – 65 kms – WTF
Day 7 – 60 kms – OMG, expect to have killed my legs by then
Day 8 – 30 kms
Day 9 – 45 kms
Day 10 – 0 kms

Total kilometres to travel: 385 kilometres, in 10 days. WTF was I thinking!

Days to trip: 388 days Lessons Learned: None, clearly.
Weight: 90.7 kgs
Distance travelled: 0 kms
Stupidity level: High, or so high!

Few Alternatives

Second Thought