36 hours without food

The problem with getting old is the lack of exercise.  Motivation dose not exit to hit the gym and sweat like a pig for a couple of hours and leave with an endorphin high. It is just too much work, too tiring and overly disciplined. It's something best left to the younger people who probably like to view themselves in full length mirrors. They like to look at themselves which is always very funny to see. I was a runner and my exercise usually consisted of stretching followed by a period on the treadmill and some weights. Running while going nowhere is mind numbingly boring and mostly a necessity in the Autumn come Winter time. The other good effect about exercising is weight control and it's possible to stuff your face as much as you like because it all gets burned off in the end. Except when old and not exercising. The weight now collects itself around my mid section and I worry about barely being able to see my feet. Let alone entire body starting to break down and sag. Loss of hair, man boobs, aches and pains. It's not a nice thing.

A year or more ago I heard of the five days on two days off diet. As a way to control weight and actually lose some. Unlike other diets which require the conscious change in eating habits this one doesn't change what you eat but rather how often you do eat. In a single week two days are taken off from eating at all. In ideal circumstances these days should be consecutive, which is asking a lot for a little tubby fellow like myself.  So 36 hours ago I decided to take some time off from food, because I really do need to lose a little weight.  Another secondary reason is it is cheap, because for 36 hours I didn't need to buy any food either. Great news for my wallet. I really am fed up with being as fat as I am and unfortunately getting glimpsed side looks from reflections in windows viewing the gut. The thing which extends over my belt. Further when having a bath it seems the bath water rises up higher than it used to, which is a demonstration of physics in reality. The water displace by my belly moves up, if I didn't float as much as I do now I'd drown.  Once upon a time, my core muscles used to be so tight and I was so slim it was a problem keeping my trousers from falling down so my belt was pulled tight. Whereas now the problem is wondering whether the seat is going to split if bending over and stretching them too much. Or whether there are enough holes in the belt, I even got one of those hole punctures.  Now bending over can be difficult. It is not at all a pretty sight. It had been a while since I last tried this fasting so it was interesting to identify what was happening yesterday and whether my clothes still fit.

Not having food for 36 hours didn't stop me from farting. Yep, I still farted throughout the day and used the toilet. What I did do is drink a lot of liquids because it is summer as well and this was good. There was a moment in the afternoon come evening when there were some stomach rumbles but I've now started to employ the cognitive method of coping. Simply engage your mind in something different make it occupied. The belt on my trousers had to be tightened and was more stable during the day when normally it would be loosened and tightened depending on when I ate. The usual intense postprandial need to sleep was still there after what would of been my lunchtime break. Except I hadn't eaten so this tiredness could be related to lack of sleep due to hot summer nights or it's just habitual. I generally just sit in a chair and close my eyes napping for a burst of ten to fifteen minutes. It partly shakes it off, but not all the time. I wasn't grumpy or tired generally over the day, but what I did feel was more energy and even alert. Perhaps the blood which would of gone to my gut had nowhere to migrate so fuelled my brain. What I did do was try and keep the image of getting an accidental view of my profile, thinking about this belly and how typically middle aged I looked. This was my motivation and I should now try and use this every week even if it is one day out of seven. The other thing I notice was the taste in my mouth and teeth, it felt like it needed a good brush and wash out. Possibly this was a combination of gastric liquids being intensified, or even mouth bacteria screaming for food to live off. The mental alertness levels lasted throughout the entire day. Which kind of striked me, there must be a optimal balance where the right sleep, food and drink consumption puts the body in a place of feeling awake and alert.

Maybe one of the lessons of life is to do things which are good for yourself but unpleasant. As the saying goes too much of a good thing is bad. However, over time the human body changes, it doesn't metabolise so fast and eating at the same rate will mean obesity. The biggest disease affecting modern day society, unless you happen to be in a country at crisis is being fat.  Regardless I must admit to enjoying breakfast this morning but will do my best to eat sensibly today and not try to make up for 36 hours of fasting by 36 hours of gluttony. Perhaps even a little exercise would be a good thing?

My socks caused this damn insomnia again

Drinking a number of Jack Daniels and coke put me in a slightly intoxicated sleep. Not too many drinks just enough. It was good because I didn't have to lay there and think crap, head hit the pillow and off to lala land. Nothing to do with the telly tubbies either. However at about 3 a.m. I awoke, so the four hours of somnambulism had been snatched away. Gently a waft of something smelly seemed to be tickling my nose. It was bad enough to just lay there and realise sleep was not going to happen again but to understand this waft was from me, or because of me. From yesterday. My socks to be precise. Now in a imaginary world where dreams are of the weirdest kind those very socks would of done a favour and walked off on their own, like the mops from Disney's Magician's Apprentice. They would of found the dirty laundary basked and dived in there all of their own accord. For it would of been the right thing to do. However, socks are evil, they do not have the power to get up and walk to the dirty washing pile, instead they will lay on the floor where last left and fester in the previous day's sweat and bacteria. Slowly and surely letting their presence known throw the reminder of their odour. This is what happened at 4 a.m. and makes me get up to write this bloody BLOG.

What is it about 4 a.m. in the morning? It is a time when going back to sleep is absolutely essential to ensure you are bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning, but it is also one of those times when the pressure is on because if sleep does not come in an instant it will mean it is unlikely to come at all. Just laying there trying desperately not to move, or if it is necessary to move then to find the perfect position where sleep will return. Yet the bed is too hot, it feels uncomfortable, there is a itching devil in your mind jumping up and down on the cerebellum giving it a right kicking and not letting nature take it's course. Mind this may well be down to drinking too much coke and about now the effects of the alcohol have worn of but the effects of too much caffine are kicking in. So by the time you do get up about 8 a.m. then you're feeling like shit and want to go to bed again but can't because the law of humanity says it is time to get up and move your blooming arse, things need to be done.

I've not been walking so much this week. Which is odd why I should be woken up by the smell of my socks. For walking gives them a reason to be worn out and stinky. Taking the bus or the train into work most days and returning the same way has my preferred modus operandi. It is a form of lazyness when lazyness doesn't strike at night. It really is something I should sleep on, oh except I can't sleep on it, not at the moment anyway. I used to think walking was a boring thing to do and it was something the unfit people did, the ones who could not get to a gym, who were fat and said they walked as a way to ease their conscience. Now I'm older, fatter and unfit I to walk to ease my conscience and become a hypocrite to my younger self. The slimmer self who slept very well, the slimmer self who didn't drink too much coke or eat too much and had more head on his head. But such is the way of the world and getting older. Such is the way of invidious nocturnal very early morning awakenings and writings of words in blogs which never get read by anyone but are a reminder to humanity that one awake individual did write something down. Even if it was for himself and in order to ease his awoke nonsleeping mind, which very much would like to sleep.

Think I'll go and lay down now, but I can't sleep because I need to get up shortly. And maybe sort those socks out.

Some tips on losing weight

Losing weight is probably the most difficult thing a person can do, especially if the intention is t make it a permanent loss. I've lost weight on many occasions and on an equal number of occasions put it back on again. Talk about yo-yo dieting or what, in fact the name yo-yo should be replaced by dieter. I am a dieter in a broad sense of the word. Faced with a choice between a piece of toast and a bacon butty put in front of me, the bacon butty would be gobbled up in no time.  This is why I am overweight now and bordering on obese.  Which by the way may isn't really so fat when you are at that level at all. It's only a skinny person who can recognise an obese person, obese people just feel overweight not obese.  So given I belong to the group of dieters who do up and down I am just as worthy of putting some tips on weight loss as the next person. And certainly more so than may of the self sanctimonious people who think they are professionals.  Because if you haven't been there and walked a mile in my fat shoes then you're asking for a slap in the face, with my fat hand.

To lose weight successfully means recognising it is a life style change and it is something which will have to be watched every single day of your life. Because those get fat quick biscuits are always going to be on the supermarket shelf, therefore it is a matter of realising you can't pick them up. But the best thing you can do is avoid them like a vampire would avoid garlic, don't walk down the biscuit aisle ever.  Further to take this attitude and internalise it you should understand your body doesn't need as much as you think it does to survive food wise.  Except eating food can become a pleasure, except again when that pleasure is over indulged you get fat.  Sometimes it is necessary to actually not eat at all or to be so frugal with what you eat you learn again what it is to taste and not to gobble. Food savoured in your mouth because you have earned the right to eat it is so much more delicious than because you have a large plate of it in front of you and it has to go down as quickly as possible in order to give you a full up belly feeling, and the contentment it has.  Oddly I've found this full up belly feeling can come with a smaller portion. Without doubt mental attitude must come first and one way of reinforcing this attitude is to think of the reasons why your weight should be less than what it is now.

Obesity equates to illness, diabetes is the primary pain, then there is liver disease, then there is not so much the fact of illness but the inability to move about. To pick things up, find the right clothes or clothes which are big enough. Or there could be the future thought of repeated visits to a doctor or hospital because of a multitude of ailments associated with weight.  How much more painful it is being heavy on your joints than it would be if you weighed less.  Bodily wear and tear is a slow killer, so it is with being fat. A slow lingering death can be on the cards. If this is not good enough reason to lose weight then consider family, friends and people you love.  To stay around longer just so you can be a help to them. My grand daughter Princess J is the most precious happy little girl in my world, I love her to bits and I would love to be around to see her get married and even be a great grand dad to her children. My close as can be daughter Rock Chick who is a wonderful girl bringing up a wonderful family with a wonderful partner. I can only be of help if I am around and able to support them. Just as Sparkling Eyes is the love of my life I need to look after myself for her as well.  When I think of these reasons my mental attitude towards losing weight strengthens, even if I am still fat it's getting into the right frame of mind which will help me get somewhere.

So I've lost a couple of pounds in a couple of weeks, it might not be much but it is in the right direction, just think of how long it took to get as fat as you are now and the realisation is, it creeps up on you like an unrelenting but successful fat ninja. Here are my tips.

1. One pound in weight is about 3000 calories, understand losing weight is a slow and long term process don't take fortitude from losing more than two pounds in a week. In fact my personal belief is you should aim for one pound a week.

2. Exercise is necessary, even if you don't like it, it has to be done. But it does not have to be crazy stuff, there is nothing wrong with gentle exercise, walking is good. Yoga at home anything at all, even getting out in the garden for a couple of hours as long as it is physical and not sitting on your backside. Try to do something every single day not just at weekends. Don't strain yourself but do dedicate yourself to it.

3. Reduce the amount you eat. This is definitely easier said than done, but you will notice a difference and after the first couple of weeks get used to it.  When going to work I used to make two sandwiches, this was four slices of bread with filling.  Now I have only one sandwich.  I endeavour to sit down and eat it slower than I would normally eat it.  Over a month of home made sandwiches my lunchtime meals are now much easier to cope with.

4. Occasional treats. Allow yourself to have the odd treat at least once if not twice a week.  For being on a strict diet is not fun, this weight loss regime is looking at the long run not short gains.  If you have a bad day and eat or drink too much, then punish yourself by having a day of frugality.  Eating as little as you possibly can. This does not have to be then next day but if you can fit it in within the same week it will keep you on track again.

5. Steer clear of those things which you know are going to be no good for you in the long run. However if you need a treat go ahead break the diet and give yourself a treat and then return back to your diet. It is OK to have temporary breaks you are not out to do this in a single day, you are looking at months and months into the future.

6. Take a note of your weight, do this either once a week or once every two weeks, write it down on a piece of paper. You will need to come back to this and know the weight is dropping off, but do not under any circumstances look for a quick weight loss fix, in the end these never work.

7. Be conscious of your size and weight in everything you do.  Keep an eye on your figure in the mirror, when going to bed be conscious of how much your body sinks into the mattress. When walking up stairs feel the strain of carrying those extra pounds.  Accept you are heavy and accept now you are doing something about it.

8. Stick to set meal times and don't snack.  I always have a slice of toast for breakfast and then do not eat again for four to five hours.

9. Be gentle with yourself, you will get there, this is about perseverance, your life and the rest of your life, there will be slips, but like a boomerang return again to the diet.  You can do it.

10. Understand food, look at sugars, calories, fats, learn to cook from fresh and take time cooking. Be aware of hidden substances in processed foods, as the philosophers say, both knowledge and education give freedom. The freedom to choose and freedom to not follow the crowd.


It has nearly taken me a year to lose a stone in weight, it is July and I anticipate by August to be just a little bit more lighter than I am now and about one stone plus a little on last year. My trousers and jeans are feeling less stretched than they used to and I'm healthier, I try to take the stairs whenever I can, and set aside time each day as part of my day to walk part of the journey to work. After all I want to live a longer life and this is a long term pursuit.  I now do my best not to have sitting at home days where I do very little at all. It is tough and slow going, but progress is being made.

So the question is: To blubber or not to blubber?

24 hours without food

After a dicky tummy episode one morning I knew was something not right.  Having last eaten the previous evening I decided to continue with this abstinence.  So from 8 p.m. on one day to 8 p.m. the next I ate nothing hoping it would cure the shites.  My belief is intestinal acids build up and then incinerating the dirty little virus thing dwelling within the gut.  Just as it helps not to have a stomach of food which eventually would have to find it's way out.  However, I am not a biologist but it sounds reasonable enough to someone with their head screwed on.  Abstaining from food doesn't hurt either, some do it for religious reasons, others to diet. Whatever the reason it would have a multifaceted advantageous effect on me.  This belly could do without a few calories and the scales might even look on with happiness as well. I can hear them now, "get off ya fat bastard" if they could talk that is.
The other thought besides the need to stop running to the toilet, was this whole thing would be a test of my own determination.  Fasting for me is not something which comes naturally, whereas eating is, and starting in the evening meant all I had to do was endure a few hours before going to bed because there would be no desire to eat while asleep. Providing I didn't wake up in the middle of some erotic food related dream. Mind I don't remember my dreams much anyway. So it was, the day began.

I thought the morning would of been difficult, sitting in the kitchen and drinking a cup of tea listening to the radio. When normally it would of been toast, tea and radio. I did notice a feeling of just taking it easy and not needing to rush about. Probably this was the residual of a recent holiday and the post holiday euphoria kicking in again. I must admit the tea did have a better fuller taste to it than normal does. Perhaps this was linked to my expectation I was not to eat all day long and had to savour every drink from this moment onwards. Which reminds me I must learn how to make Indian Chai.  It wasn't until I was sat at my desk at work I could then feel my belly rumbling. It knew something was missing, but I just looked at the monitor in front of me and thought concentrate on work, do your job, if you do this then your mind will be taken off the need to eat.  It seemed to work, but waiting for lunch time to come took forever.  Again at lunch I know considered well I will not be spending money on food. If this is an exercise I can do on a more regular basis it could work out to save me some dosh. I do spend too much money on lunchtime food as I rarely make my own sandwiches.  Walking through the market at lunch time I could smell the open fast food stalls, one specialises in Nepalise the other in plane greasy burgers and there's a third does Caribbean food.  I could of gone over and bought something. But no, I carried on walking to the pub where I have my lunchtime coffee.  It's nice sitting in there. Getting my phone out I could spend more time catching up with the BBC news website and of course make a phone call to Sparkling Eyes.

While inside the pub someone had ordered a plate of fish and chips. The smell of the fish was pungent and I could feel my nostrils flare up. It was like if I could breath in deep enough I would be tasting this fish and chips, even if it was overly smelly.  The experience of being forced to smell it was awful. My belly was again having some weird stuff happen. It felt swollen on account of the undiagnosed self diagnosed IBS. It had become solid as a football. This is one of the things I hate about being overweight, having a belly which means I don't get to see my feet unless I'm sat down. It's not a pretty sight.  So with purpose, I managed to get through the afternoon, constantly trying to distract myself by getting on with my work. I had a similar temptation period after leaving work and popping in the pub for a pint of Guinness, some lads had ordered burgers and chips. Bastards. The smell of those chips almost made me break, but I wasn't going to now, only a couple of more hours and it would be a full 24 hours.

Later in the evening I did eat and managed a full 24 hours.  However, I should of gone through to the next morning again just to make sure the belly virus was burnt to hell.  Missing out on a day's food made me feel a little better about myself and it probably has helped a little in trying to lose weight as well.  A full pound in weight is 3500 calories and an hour's walk is about 450 calories. It sure is a lot of energy.  There are two parts however to a diet, one eating less and two exercising more.  Damn it's tough to, because exercise gives you an appetite just when you should not eat the desire is so much more. 

A crazy day of excessive exercise and music

It might be Sunday but it has been a crazy mad day for physical exercise.  As if all the days of continuous sitting on my arse has effected my head and body, I just had to get out and walk.  So did two and a half hours of walking. Got back, had a cup of tea, then went out again on a forty minute bus ride to do some shopping. I had in  mind a nice winter coat for Layabout Lad.  Even though he works now, he still is lazy so I'll stick with this name.  The coat looks good and I know from previous years he just doesn't wrap himself up warm enough, so this would hopefully keep him dry and warm.  I returned home, had lunch, went to sleep for an hour and then got up again to see Layabout and his girlfriend for a few drinks and a catch up.  He and she seem to be very happy and have been enjoying a week off work together.  They have another week and I'm sure this will be good for them as well. It was so good to see them both so happy.  I felt happy as well, like it was contagious.

This evening some other madness has overtaken me. It has been listening to music on Youtube.  The thing about youtube is it makes suggestions based on what I'd already listened to.  These are good because they are similar genres, but they are are bad when three hours later you suddenly realise it's gone midnight and your eyes are feeling distinctly heavy.  It's the exercise catching up with me.  How on earth have I packed so much into one day?  Well, I haven't because it's now Monday. Shite.

Three Salads

For three days I made my own lunch, each one was a tub of salad, the ingredients of which were bought on a Sunday. This is the start of healthy eating, of the new me, I'm fed up of feeling fat, uncomfortable and like nothing actually properly fits me. Except today I didn't eat a salad and went to the usual Chinese.  But for three days I ate food which had been grown from the ground. Food which even prepared still looked close to its natural state. Why did I break down? Tomorrow is a new day an new start, there isn't enough food there to make a day four of salad. I'll try and do something else. Hit the shops for a sandwich, made with salad instead of eating inside. Or maybe I could use my imagination, use the existing bits and pieces and see what turns out, it could be another vegetarian feast. Which makes me wonder, do vegetarians feast at all?  I shouldn't of eaten those three dark chocolate biscuits earlier, I need to get on the road again. The straight road not one which twists and turns, taking detours at every fast food place there is. Not one which desires a curry at the weekend. Exercise. This should not be a dirty word, yet it is something I don't do and heard on the radio most adults don't but yet this is the main ingredient to a healthy life, to living long, fighting all sorts of human illnesses. From cancer and heart disease to illnesses of the mind. That's it, it's all in the mind. When I see food I don't really need it, I am feeding the desire, but hell the desire to eat is a pretty strong one.

Got to think. When I die will they need six skinny men to carry my coffin or will it be a fork lift truck?  Exercise, it's almost like garlic to a vampire, hmm garlic is nice when mixed with ginger it's the basis of a lot of foods. Back to food again, how can this meandering stop?  Three salads, tomorrow lets make it a mixed salad sandwich, one day and I'll try to see it as a little blip, better than a big fat elephantine looking man.

Having a walk and getting sore feet

The mornings are bright, sunlight shines through the curtains and it wakes me up. Even if I don't want to wake up I have little choice in the matter. This as well as the pigeons in the roof clattering the tiles on their way out. I thought it was later, but it was just after 6 a.m. and I was up. My room was hot as well. It must be the start of real summer. So hot I was just sleeping ontop with no covers. Trying to get back to sleep was useless so I got up, had some brekky and then decided to hit the road's for a long walk spending about four hours. With a couple of little sit down stops on the way. Damn my feet killed me. If you go walking get proper walking shoes, I can feel the pain now. The sun caught me and my arms are red as well. Burnt arms, tired feet and unable to sleep. The last days of June 2013 disappear. As they do we get closer to Christmas. Which is another thought in itself. One I'd rather not think about.

While out I was amazed at the number of joggers there were. It seems going for a Sunday run is the in thing nowadays. They are of all different ages, even some quite older women. I saw one woman who must of had her husband with her. Except he was not running. He sat on his cycle and kept pace with her. She might not of been going fast but it seems to me to be a lazy thing to do. I could never see Sparkling going for a run, but she'd follow me if she was not wobbly on the bike. I'd be the one doing the hard graft and if we had a hill to go up she'd make me push the bike, probably with her on it. All of a sudden it seem like a bad idea. I must admit though watching all those people out and running made me think back to the time I was a few stone lighter and running myself. I don't think there was anyone today who would of been trouble to beat in a race. I did see one young man, dressed up in fancy running gear and I thought he was a snob. I so wanted to run like a greyhound and show him. Pitty I'm a short fat middle aged man. I'm getting on and it is so much easier not to run but walk, catch a bus or get on a train.

One things for sure, I can't eat chocolate as much as I used to without the consequences. Maybe this I know have a reason to find a pair of trainers. No, I'd rather do it to wipe the smile of arrogant shites thinking they are fit. I rub my jelly like belly and realise even with the greatest will in the world some realities have to be overcome.  Tomorrow, I'll probably get on the train again as well.

A Sunday exercise

I don't know what it is nowadays but each Sunday I find myself heading out for a walk. It is the most exercise I get all week long and I enjoy it.  Sometimes I see people who I have seen the week before also out on their exercise stint.  I walk up a hill through the woods, then cross a road and around a heath.  Twice round the heath and then head back home.  Last week the ground was still damp but today it has been sunny.  It wasn't too hot either, and as I walked through the wooded areas there was a nice cool chill from the shade.  I looked out for the elderly sikh man who raises his hand to say hello, but he wasn't out today.  There also seemed to be some kind of event happening at the heath as temporary steal fencing was erected cording off a large area.  Again this is a pet hate of mine, especially when people are allowed to restrict access to a normally public place.  Like, this is my zone, so don't you come in it, even though the area belongs to everyone, i'm going to build a wall and you can stay on the other side, so there.  I carried on walking around the monstrous obstruction wondering what was going on there and this group held something personal against me.  Yep the little paranoia head was speaking.  It wasn't just me who didn't have an invite to behind the steal cage most other people didn't either.  But you just can't help getting the you are not welcome feeling.  What is the world coming to?

I miss Sparkling Eyes and wished I could of given her a hug today.  She'll be at work all day and this is my day off.  It seems the only jobs nowadays are in the service sector and they are no good for private life.  Just as Layabout Lad has to work at the weekend as well.  People who attend the needs of other people give up a lot in their life.  Giving their opinion freely is one aspect of it.  Having to put up with bad manners and harassment is another.  I want to see her and don't know how long it will be before I get a chance again.  For the next two and a half months London will be ruled by the Olympics and this goes for anyone who works here as well.  If you want to get out of London, or go anywhere in London traffic is going to be worse than it has ever been before.  It will be a very difficult time.  It seems we are already being mocked by the French.  It's of no surprise to find the private security firm who were to provide all the Olympic security have been incompetent.  It's lucky we have an army on call, even if they have come back from doing a tour of some war torn country just to babysit an Olympic park.

The Olympics should of been scaled down, the whole thing.  We could of done it with dice, paper games boards and little counters to move around.  It would of been a lot cheaper, had little to no effect on traffic and could of been held in one large venue.  Like a local village hall.  The javelin could be throw the tooth pick, high jump replace with hop,skip and jump, swimming with who can splash the most in a bath?  With a little ingenuity most of the events could of be metamorphosed into their second cousin not quite the same but interesting.  The sponsors wouldn't of been able to control it either, and the board game could be sold on afterwards to make additional funds available to a country suffering from yet another recession.  It's not double dip but more of quadruple dip recession.  Every little bit of additional revenues stream could help.  They could of even reduced the Olympic flame to a special Olympic match box, then everyone could light up their little Olympic candles at home, just to get a bit more atmosphere.  The opening and closing ceremonies would be repeated millions of times all over the world and different each time.  The outcome of who won the most medals would also vary.  Unfortunately there could be no record of it.  The Olympics would be an unrecorded one but enjoyed in homes everywhere.  Shame we got the proper and original version and not a cut down paper one.

Come to think of it I should probably get out for another walk.  It's all a product of being stuck in the same position for a long time.  No wonder people are putting up fences all over the place.

Pain of exercise and the challenge of a life evaluation

Since yesterday's run my body has been going through various degrees of pain.  Depending on the part.  This morning it was general all over pain, even my shoulders ached and I couldn't work out why.  It must something to do with the general running action, swinging arms, but they weren't swung too madly like I was some kind of demented idiot, they were swung in a cool calm slow fat man way.  As the day has worn on most parts of me have recovered.  Except for my thighs.  They are stiff and painful when I walk down stairs.  They were stiff and painful with any kind of walking.  Now it's just going down stairs.  I'm on the mend.  I hope.  Today was day two, so I did a little more exercise but this time gentler than yesterday.  I cycle ride with Monster Boy of about six miles maybe a little less.  Cycling wasn't difficult, I enjoyed it and he enjoyed it as well.  I exercised my legs he exercised his jaw by doing nothing but talk for the first forty minutes.  It was like he'd been locked up all day with no one to communicate with and now had been let loose on me.  I like his company and it's interesting to see how an eleven year old sees the world.

I am trying out the thirty day challenge, my personal challenge is a little bit of exercise each day and it doesn't have to be exhaustive.  Something is better than nothing.  This is how I am seeing it now.  I think I am having what Covey would call a paradigm shift.  (Stephen Covey author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People).  Which has been one of the many reading books I have been reading at the same time for a few months.  If I enjoy something I don't think it should be devoured in one sitting, literature wise, if only I ate this way as well then I'd be a bit slimmer than I am now.  Fat Lad is a name which could not of been applied to me at one time.  I'm on Covey's second habit.  Which is: begin with the end in mind.  It is a powerful concept and one I have been thinking about even before I started reading his book.  It will likely have additional impact on me when I go on holiday next week.  I'm off to Poland and Sparkling wants to see one of the Nazi death camps.  It's a historical and more.  I'm not entirely sure how to view it.  I've seen the documentaries on TV know what happened but sometime next week I'll be there.  Seeing things for yourself, experiencing places and events is also part of the nature of Lean management, although in a somewhat different context.  I don't know what to think of it.  It will be a time when watching TV or reading are synthetic in comparison.

Covey states there are three kinds of asset, human, financial and physical.  This is a good way to remember  asset but I'm sure it is a little crude.  An accountant could find numerous ways in which to describe the financial.  Even when the financial doesn't exist.  A bit like the UK's chancellor at the moment, juggling with money he doesn't have.  Physical speaks for itself, but the most interesting is of course the human where again in Lean management the human asset is the most important.  It is the human touch which will decide the success or failure of a business.  As individuals we decide our own success or failure our in own attitude to the world.  Should I say the coloured spectacles we decide to put on.  Which can be inherited by those people around us, family being a prime example.  Every family has it's own set of prisms, and realising you are seeing the world through an inherited set of view points which are maladaptive is a big step.  Changing them is the next step.  Easier said than done.  So the bottom line is, at this moment I find myself re-evaluating myself, I'm taking off those glasses and trying to find another prism to see things through, or hopefully one which obscures but in a different and more pleasant way.  One which makes me at peace with the world.  Maybe I'll go for the job of Dalia Lama when I see it next advertised.  I'm not sure if I can be a vegan though, but I do hear vegans are generally fitter and not as fat.  So there could be an advantage, then at least I wouldn't ache as much as I do now.

Tomorrow is day three, let the slim man inside come on out.

First run Sunday

Before I went running this morning, I was perturbed about one thing.  Dogs.  Whether I was going to be chased by them. I thought back to the days when I was skinny, then I would go out for a six mile run and think nothing of it when I returned.  I would wash get dressed and didn't show a single bit of fatigue.  It was so easy.  I kept wanting to improve my time and get faster but I reached a plateau and couldn't improve on it.  Cold and wet days would harm my motivation because it took a while to warm up and fight off the cold or the rain.  On every run though, it would be dogs and cars I'd be wary off.  Dogs because they like to chase things and there is nothing better for a dog than to chase after a man running.  It's like they have some kind of instinct which says if this man is running he must be a rabbit, a big rabbit, but a rabbit.  I'll have a bit of him if I can.  Owners would shout at their dogs who in turn were temporarily prone to going deaf.  You learnt to give dogs as big a detour as possible, or to slow down and walk up to them and just past them.  They had no reason then.  They like to bark and scare runners, I'm sure it's not encouragement it's the expecting a bit of rabbit bark, this is why they are so loud.

Cars or rather all traffic is another danger because there is always a time when a road has to be crossed.  When running you just want to get across it as quickly as possible.  Standing still and waiting for traffic isn't a good thing to do.  You get cold and are then vulnerable, but you're more vulnerable in getting run over by a car as well.  There is the fast head turn which is developed.  Looking over your shoulder quickly to see if there is a gap in the traffic or on a quiet road there is nothing about to come out of a turning or speeding along for the moment of crossing.  It can be a risky business crossing a road.  A human being will always come of worse.  Because you have to do road running there's always exhaust fumes to put up with and wonder how much you are exposed to the diseases of exhaust smoke against the health benefits of a run.  This is why getting out and pavement pounding on an early Sunday morning is a must.  It's convenient, less cars around and more freedom in getting across the road.

I saw an old man out jogging while I was feebly trotting along.  He was unlike other old men and was a jogger himself.  He was fit, very fit, running faster than me, he was also tanned, like he must of been on holiday.  He wore a white t-shirt and imprinted on the front were some words which indicated he was a member of a running club.  One of the codes of joggers is to raise a hand as you pass each other, to say hi.  I saw him and said hi with my hand.  He raised his, but I felt he might of felt obliged to raise it rather than raise it because he genuinely was saying hi.  It annoyed me, but I'm fat and was going in the opposite direction.  So at the moment I have no say, no stamina, no ability to raise or allow testosterone driven motivation to kick my heal and take off.  I was closer to a walk than a jog.  But it didn't matter.  It was a start.  One day I'll be his age.  Hopefully not called fatboy either.

Stinky the pissing cat and exercise.

Stinky the cat is pissing all over the place.  He's nothing like our old cat Tigger.  When Tigger wanted a piss or crap he would meow at the door to be let out.  Stinky just goes to the same places and pisses on the carpet.  If he's already pissed there he goes to his second best place to piss.  Not only that his piss stinks bad.  I don't know what to do, but if he carries on then there will only be one place for him, an appointment with the vet and a one way ticket to another place.  I love the cat but there is only so much piss you can keep mopping up.  If anyone knows how to train a cat to meow at a door and then piss outside please tell me.

Last night I decided I would hit the gym today.  I was hoping to get up early enough so I'd be there for 8 a.m., but I just couldn't do it, so made it for 9 a.m. instead.  There were not many people about this morning so it was good.  I like it when there's few people around.  There's no cuing up for machines then, no arsehole pricks just standing about by machines or in front of mirrors seeing if they look any better than they did the last five minutes ago they looked at themselves.  It seems with youth and body beautiful types there is a high narcissistic trait.  I bet Eysenck didn't even know it existed when he constructed his views on personality types. On the treadmill I had to take it easy and begin with my usual slow fat man routine, this is alternate five minutes of walking then running for half an hour.  During the walking periods I grasp hold of the bars and measure my heart rate through the sensors.  This is interesting because one measurement of fitness is recovery rate.  The faster you can recover from a strenuous exercise to a relaxed rate the better for the heart.  Well I think so anyway.  It was good to see after my first set of walking and running I'd managed to drop down by sixty heart beats in five minutes.  So I might be a walking middle aged fat boy but there is something there still just waiting to burst out into a fine featured athlete.  Unfortunately this middle aged fat boy probably has two athletes inside him waiting to burst out.  I don't at this moment have much in the way of discipline to get on the scales and begin the hard slog back to fitness.  The reason is it is a bloody hard slog, hard demanding and relentless.  It is so much easier just to be middle aged and fat than middle aged an athletic.  Even if there are certain advantages to being healthy.  Like not losing brain efficiency for one.  I could of course always run around after Stinky with a cloth and bucket, that might make me lose a few calories and slim down.  With the rate he pisses it I could be on a winner here. 

Dogs are much easier to train and get into the mind of.  Cats are too girly like.  Too emotional.  Or it just might be Stinky is an exception and is psychologically damaged.  Rather than the nice soft feel of grass he likes the soft feel of a carpet to put his arse on.  Cats you certainly can't kick up the backside.  If you did they'd go flying and probably lose a life.  Hell they need everyone one of their lives and Stinky could well be running out of his lives at the rate he's going.

Better go and fill the bucket up.  Lose a few more calories and make the house smell a little better.

Cycling against the wind

This morning I attempted to lay in bed and enjoy a rest, after breakfast I returned back to bed just so I could read a book and lay there a little longer.  If it were not for Stinky the cat meowing his head off I'm sure I would of got more sleep, he's lucky to be alive.  But something happened and I had to get up. It was about 10 a.m., so much for a long lay in.  So in order to carry on with a week of attempted health I went out for a cycle ride along the Thames.  Which can be quite pleasant especially when the sun is out.  It was half out, but even half is better than nothing.  Except the one thing I didn't account for as I cycled up river was the wind.

A jogger passed me as I took a moments breather to drink some orange squash.   I thought to myself, go on mate, I used to run, but with my cycle I'll catch up with you in no time it will be no effort.  Somehow I then contorted myself to drop the bottle of liquid into a pocket of my ruck sack and began my pursuit of the jogger.  Standing upright and cycling is a good way to get up speed quicker, it allows you to put more effort in especially if going uphill.  On this occasion though I was on a flat, but what I didn't account for was the strength of the wind.  It was full on and incessant.  I had a large surface area on account of my mountain bike forcing your to take a less aerodynamic cycling style.  I could see the jogger in front of me about two hundred yards.  However, it seemed I was going nowhere fast and using a hell of a lot of effort, I wasn't even sure if I was going any faster than the jogger.  My coat flapped open as I unzipped it, the effort was making me pretty hot.  I kept pounding rotations of the pedals, even trying to bend down a little so the full force of the wind wouldn't use my surface area as a break.  It seemed to be of little use because of my ruck sack on my back.  I kept changing gears hoping to find one which would be a little easier, but the easier gears meant I was dropping to a slightly faster than walking pace.  I kept pressing forward and the wind whipped tears from my eyes streaming down my face.  It must of taken about a mile before I was able to overtake the jogger.  It was one of the hardest cycles I have done and most of it was on flat ground.  The worse bit was being overtaken by a female cyclist or a road cycle.  I tried to consul myself road bikes are made to go faster, mine was more for rough ground.  I soon veered off and went to a cafe, in need of sustenance.  Sausage on toast and a cuppa tea, which went down so quickly.

It is day seven of my regime.  So it has been, no crisps, chocolate, biscuits, one sweet, and a little alcohol but less than normal.  Well going completely cold turkey is difficult.  Tomorrow I'll weigh myself, but I'm a little dubious whether I lost any weight, because nowadays it no longer drops off.  The fat on my body feels like it's attached stronger than a limpet mine.  I've done my best to reduce carbohydrates but I don't think it is enough so tomorrow morning could be a disappointment.  So losing weight is very much like cycling in the wind, difficult to say the least.

Fat and feeling the cold

After a wonderful holiday with Sparkles in Malta, where they like cats by the way, I've come back feeling a little fatter than usual but also finding I can feel the cold more.  Even though it is not particularly cold at all.  In Malta in November I was walking about in a T-shirt.  In London, in November, it's not going to happen.  However, as I said for this time of year it is pretty warm here.  Autumn hasn't fully got into gear as there are still leaves on trees, there has been no frost I can speak of, but it has been dreary and overcast.  So, the Russian like depression of going days without actually seeing sunlight is here.  Which for some reason I read was an inspiration to Russian writers such as Chekhov and Dostoevsky.  What I do know is days or weeks or even months without sunlight can be depressing.  Yes, months actually does happen.  Further is the feeling of cold.  In Malta their cold days are probably in the region of about 16 degrees Celsius.  In London, a winter day can be minus 16 degrees Celsius and over night even less.  Not all the time I'll add because it's certainly not as cold as other countries.  But we are really never properly prepared for it, we still engage in cheap fashion clothes than practical functional clothes most times of the year.

When I wake up I am feeling the cold.  It could be I am still shaking of a cold virus I got while in Malta, which I'd put first down to drinking the water, but maybe it was just a cold.  Is it the weight thing I ask myself? Maybe a few extra pounds in weight means a few extra shivers.  Or worse of all could it be related to getting old.  The nastiest of all problems which only gets worse and never gets better.  Unless you happen to be Benjamin Button.  Or quite possibly it's because Malta was mild and warm and I quite liked the mild warm effect for a few days.  Perhaps it really is a process the body has to acclimatise to, going into winter.  They say it is possible to get used to practically anything at all.  I mean, soldiers learn to sleep while bombs are exploding all around them.  I once saw a documentary about a man who had an ability to endure the cold more and swam or ran while there was snow and ice about, wearing very little clothes.   The body can acclimatise, it's just a matter of having the balls to acclimatise.  Putting yourself out there.  Just doing it.  I know one thing, sitting still doesn't help.  Sitting at a computer, typing away generates very little in the way of heat.  Even an energetic key basher wouldn't create a great deal in the way of body heat, though they would be pretty noisy.  If I sit still on the weekend and do nothing I will be unhappy all weekend, just waiting to get to the fish factory, where I can sit still and feel warmer than in the house.  Perhaps it is the house.  The house has not been engineered to suit adequately the climate lived in.  It's just the basic bricks and mortar and that is the problem.  I don't know.  Just it's not good to feel cold toes when we don't even have snow on the ground.  I'm going to have to get out there and do something.  Move, generate heat, exercise, anything.

The morning mist looks like it is lifting.  Sitting in it's place under the stairs in my bicycle, it is now crying out to me.  It's saying "take me out, ride me, cycle those little leggies," and if it is not saying such a thing I must be having auditory hallucinations.  Yes I am.  It's gone quite again, but now my toes are getting unhappy.  They are rebelling.  Great.  The little fat man is going to get some exercise.  Well it was going to happen one day.

What it cost to lose one pound in weight

Losing weight is bloody difficult.  It's difficult for a reason.  It was Oscar Wilde who said "I can resist everything except temptation" no truer word has been spoken when it comes to food.  Food which tastes good. But food with a taste may not actually be healthy.  For example, chips.  Chips with salt, vinegar and perhaps a little bit of tomato sauce.  They're hot, you've just bought them and the vinegar is steaming off, as you take a nicely coated chip the waft of vinegar stings your eyes just a little bit, you place the chip in your mouth and it explodes with salt, vinegar and steaming heat which sometimes may burn your mouth.  But it tastes very nice.  Especially after a pint or two, or particularly on a cold day.  When it's raining the difficulty then becomes keeping the rain off your chip bag so it doesn't get too soggy by the time you are half way down the bag.  You know what I mean, don't you?  And if anyone hasn't had a hot portion of chips from a chippy then they haven't lived.  Cholesterol thumping, zillion calories bad for you, but hell don't they taste goooooood!!!  Which is as good a reason as any why it is bloody difficult going on a diet and losing weight.

So to help I've tried to understand what it takes to lose weight by spending a few minutes looking at web sites and reading bits and pieces.  Only of course to then check out something infinitely more interesting.  But the facts are along the lines of, to lose a single pound in weight you have to burn 3400 calories.  I didn't add an extra nought this is the figure I got.  So, if you had to lose ten pounds in weight then you would have to somehow burn up or reduce food consumption to the value of 34,000 calories.  This is now becoming obscene.  But I haven't finished.  When I go to the gym and do my fat man running routine I get disappointed at seeing the number of calories which have dropped off in a half hour session.  After which I am pretty well shagged out and am not up to do much more aerobic exercise.  Half an hour burns approximately 350 calories, give or take a little.  The amount burnt off depends on how much you weigh, your gender and I guess how honest you are with the effort.  I notice some people will stand with their feet astride of the running belt while it spins round and they have a moment's rest, this is cheating, cheating, I so wish I could stand for an hour and lose weight and not break a sweat.  So losing weight, which nobody actually does, like how can you lose weight, and if you did where would you lose it?  So reducing your weight by one pound will take approximately five hours of continuous running.  If this is, my calculations are correct.  A single pint of Guinness is approximately 350 calories, and most other pints of beer will be more or less around this mark.  Again this magic number is the same as the effort to run for half an hour.  So I'm now feeling like I am not actually getting anywhere.  I also found a new fad in training techniques, it was to build up muscle and not just to spend half an hour running or rowing.  The reason behind this seems to be as your muscles get bigger they burn up more calories when they are doing nothing than a smaller set of muscles.  Weird.  Read it for yourself.  Of course when I tried to have a closer look at these web sites promoting this type of exercise I only got so far, because they then wanted to lighten my wallet.  This wasn't the kind of weight loss I had in mind.  Scientifically though, I don't know.  I just don't know if this is something someone has said or whether it has been justified.  Then to become a fat cat web site owner, I expect it might mean a few porkies have to be told now and again, although strictly speaking not entirely porkies but you know what I mean.

Fact, to lose weight you have to reduce your calorie intake.  This will mean either not eating so much or changing your eating habits.  So now when I have a portion of chips I no longer eat the whole portion.  I'll eat some of it and throw the rest away.  I wish I could say the same about chocolate, but I can't.  Changing eating habits is hard.  Bloody hard.  Saying this one easy method I came across and is quite common sense, is to masticate every mouth full of food for 30 chews.  This allows the saliva to do it's work and prepares it better for digestion.  Further it takes time.  This is an important factor.  For with any meal it is only after about twenty to thirty minutes the stomach actually starts to feel as though something has been eaten.  I mean.  Given you were in an eating competition you could absolutely stuff your face for thirty minutes before feeling the need for a good puke.  It's quite simple, just take your time while eating.  I sat with my plate of Chinese at lunch time and managed a unique feat.  Reading the news online via mobile phone and counting from one to thirty while eating.  I didn't think it was possible but I did it.  One side of my brain must of counted and the other read the day's news.  There's not a great deal more I can do on account of only have two sides to my brain so I probably maxed it out.

Lastly, it is a fact the brain gets pretty hot when it is working.  It has a unique system of keeping itself cool.  It's own radiator in a sense.  This is the Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF).  Now I'd of thought if the brain runs hot then it would be possible to use up a lot of calories just by thinking.  The CSF isn't pumped around the brain as far as I know, but it is there to provide temperature control.  So in one sense it's possible to say the brain can act like a muscle.  As muscles exercise they get hot and burn energy, as a brain exercises or thinks it too gets hot.  The only thing with a brain is it does not have muscles in it.  So I'm not entirely sure why it gets hot.  Maybe it's because of all the neurons firing.  Well better to be a neuron than a moron.  So I still have no idea of sitting here and thinking of exercise or thinking of food actually helps to reduce weight.  In any case it does keep me entertained.  And I haven't got up once in search of a chocolate biscuit.  So it must of worked.

Going out for a run

I've been lacking in my blogging duties lately and I know it.  I'd get home after a day at the Fish Factory, or if not working doing the usual catch, chilling, maintenance things and have no idea of what I'd write.  As Elmore Lenard said in order to be a writer you should write everyday.  It's a lot easier said than done.  Ideas and events just don't grow on trees, get plucked off and then matured into some kind of wonderful bit of prose.  However, even if I've lacked motivation and somehow stuck a red hot poker up my arse to get me to write something I have tried at the time to make it as clear and readable as possible.  So this paragraph is just for me and no one else, but you're not going to know it until you've got to the end of it.  Tough titty.

I woke up this morning and saw my belly.  I thought back to the days when I was a kid.  Those were some dusty memories, lots of cobwebs, I blew the dust off and recall how I used to think.  As a kid I could never understand how people got fat.  Be it other fat kids and there were not many of them about those days, or adults.  I even thought the adults were greedy, fat people and looked on them in a derogatory way.  Nowadays, now I am fat it's an eye opener.  It creeps up and before you know it the clothes which used to fit you.  Which were quite nice ones just don't.  The size I have to shop for has gone up.  At one time it actually was size small.  Bloody hell.  Small.  Now I contemplate whether I should toy with the extra large just so there would be a little extra room in the clothes after they have been shrunk in the wash.  But I haven't yet.  So while staring at my belly and thinking all week long I had been desperately trying to fit some gym in and intended to go running, I made the decision I would go running this morning.  In fact straight away.  So I did.

There's a lot of difference from running on a treadmill to being able to run freely.  The treadmill is quite predictable, it's pace is guaranteed, whatever pace you program into it.  The belt doesn't deviate in this respect.  However, when outside running I don't run at a constant pace, it varies according to the surface and other obstacles in the way.   Road running is said to be the easiest running to do.  Pavements are uniform and they are hard.  Their hardness allows your feet to predictably bounce back and there is a shock factor as each step impacts on the pavement.  Something it is easy to get used to.  Running shoes are made so to help you run easier and either bounce back off pavement or to cushion the impact.  The predictable foot fall allows you to set a comfortable pace.   Running on any other softer surface is going to take more effort.  The most difficult to run on is sand, it absorbs every impact so it takes more energy to lift up your leg.  Sand, wet soggy grass and inclines sort the men from the boys.  Running in the park can be enjoyable, the birds the trees, fresh air they not only give you a lift they take you back to nature, they're destressors.  Except for dogs, dog shit, and youths who may want to harass you.  But then getting up early in the morning can help to avoid some of these factors.

After the run and a wash, there is a period of calmness which descends.  This is like hitting some kind of meditative state.  As the brain releases chemicals and a natural high kicks in.  It's very relaxing and probably one of the things which results in some people becoming addicts to exercise.  I can see that.  However, we are all human beings, animals really, but unlike any other animal we don't have to run about to avoid predators or work too hard at making a living.  Although it may not seem it at times.
 
With all the benefits exercise does bring with it, I've really got to get out there and be doing something.  Only thing is to avoid dogs who want to join me or leave little parcels of smelly stuff, kids who think it's fun to taunt a fat man running and the weather.  Which is always unpredictable.

Exercise makes you eat - the alternative...

The problem with doing exercise is it makes me want to eat.  Then usually the idea of doing the exercise in the first place is to reduce the extra pounds around my girth.  Not to mention the doughnuts either.  I just don't know what it is.  My appetite becomes even more voracious.  It's not like I'm eating good quality healthy food either.  Take yesterday for instance.  I got on my bike and had a 6 mile round drip ride, to a supermarket.  Got there, bought various items and ended up having a meal for one Indian, chicken madras, rice, nan bread etc followed by a couple of slices of battenburge cake (very nice to) and a few strawberries.  The Indian really wasn't up to much, which is the way it goes with ready made meals from supermarkets.  I looked at it before throwing the thing in the microwave and wondered how come the pieces of chicken looked so palid, like they hadn't even been cooked in the sauce?  It was obvious, they hadn't, the sauce and the chicken had just been dropped into the container, probably by a machine which didn't care a great deal about it.  Mind, I must say the sauce was OK, I've had controlled flatulence all day long.  Controlled meant running off away from people to have a good fart somewhere less populated.  That will teach me.  Big not to self.  When having an Indian make sure it is on a Friday or Saturday.  In fact any night where the next day I'm not going to need human contact.  So with the cake, Indian and strawberries I doubt if the 6 mile bike ride actually burnt off as much as I consumed. 

Alternatively it could be some reluctant part of my personality or brain which is subconsciously saying "you don't want to lose weight, be slim, fit, healthy or a stud muffin.  It's hard work.  Live with yourself.  Get over it."  It's not a loud voice which says this, it's like a whisper I can barely hear, well, if I heard it then I would be suffering from not just weight gain but some mental disorder as well.  Hell, one problem at a time is enough, I don't need two.  When I think back to the days when I used to run miles, maybe 4 or 5 times a week.  I was skinny.  Now I understand why.  Then I didn't eat much either.  On account of not having much money and a poorly paid job.  When you look at third world developing countries being fat is something they generally don't have any issues with, on account of not many of them being fat.  I could go and get my jaws wired up, or even stomach surgery, but I'm not as grossly fat as that.  Just enough to be disturbed by it.  Maybe I should start taking some of those berries they advertise.  The ones which cost an arm and a leg.  It makes sense, if you spend a lot of money on dried up health food berries you won't have so much to spend on food and then you will also want the berries to work, on account of their cost so in turn don't eat so much.  Hypnosis.  This is what I should consider.  I once saw a show where they hypnotist made his subject jump up out of the seat as though it was on fire whenever he heard a certain word.  There must be a suggestion which can be made to make me feel I don't have to eat so much.  I know "you're fat, stop eating that doughnut" I'm sure it will work.  Unless of course my subconscious mind decides to jump in there and negotiate.  It's enought to drive one crazy.

Well if it comes to it, I'll just have to give up exercising.  Put the bike on ebay, avoid the pub, all Chinese restaurants and find another highly addictive passtime.  But as I sit here, I can't think of anything I'd like to do.  Maybe I should have a cheese and pickle sandwich, it'll get the little grey cells working.

What to look for in purchasing a bicycle

The search for a bicycle took on new bounds yesterday.  I hit the local store with the intention of not just looking but scrutinising what was available.  Trying to understand exactly what today's bicycles are all about in comparison to the old ones.  Generally they look more rugged but this could be one of those ploys to make you believe they will actually last longer.  It's not really the case.  Saying this, the most startling thing is the change in technology, in gears and brakes.  The old style cycles always had cantilever brakes.  These just pulled a cable which then applied brake pads to the rim of the wheels.  Wheels could lock if depressed hard enough and in poor conditions the breaks would less effective, or completely ineffective.  It is a lot more common nowadays to see bicycles with disk brakes.  I thought these were for cars.  Nope, not just for cars, very much for bicycles as well.  I have never ridden a bicycle with disk brakse, so I don't know how they feel, but there does seem to be some value in having them.  Especially hydraulic disk brakes which will have give a greater loading to the pads.  Very interesting.  The number of gears cycles have is also extraordinary.  My old racer used to have 5 or was it 10 gears, now gears range right up to 27.  I'm sure that doesn't include a reverse.  Well there are some things which don't change.  I was also amazed to see some bicycles had suspension built into the frames.  Which seems a bit needless I thought.  However, if you go mountain biking (MTB) then it may be useful.

I was reading the first mountain bikes were put together by blokes who just wanted to coast down a mountain track.  They got some heavy frame bike and would then bolt on Motorcycle wheels.   We're now talking big chunky things, to give them more grip.  The reality in the UK is there are very few mountains about.  Certainly in England, but I suppose if you want to do a little bike rambling through woods and parks it's a similar thing.  Not quite the same scale, but similar.  Of course it would also mean putting up with being chased by dogs as they had their walkies.  The MTB wheels although excellent for grip are actually slower for cycling on roads, whilst suspension on a bike would be advantageous for rough terrain or pot holes in roads it is an additional item which can go wrong.  This makes me think of the Volkswagen Beetle for some reason.  An odd lovable car where we all think of Herbie (I'm sure it's time they had a remake) which unlike other cars was air cooled.  Which probably contributed to the different sound the engine made.  However, by having air cooling it meant there was an additional item not to worry about.  The bloody radiator, because it didn't exist.  So I am pondering on a style of bike which is between both a road bike and a MTB, but looks like an MTB.  This is called the hybrid, most of which have little suspension on them.  This would be suitable for roads and as a possibility for cycling to the Fish Factory.  The only way it would pay for itslelf.

So as I walked round the store I took notes, wrote down what bikes caught my eye and some of their specs.  I was a little dismayed none of the store staff approached me to see if I needed any help.  Sod em I thought.  I also took photos of the bikes so as to prompt my memory when it comes to making a decision.  This stage is very much the fact finding.  I've been checking all the bikes I liked on Google to see if I could find reviews on them.  One of them made by a company called Voodoo is brand new to the market and has very few reviews.  It looks good but how far do you trust something which doesn't have any track record at all.  I want reliability as much as anything else.  The other most noticeable thing was to find nearly every bicycle didn't have the extra bits on it.  The bits which are equally important, no pump, no bike stand, no mud guards, no water bottle with cage,  no lights etc..  All these other items have to be purchased separately.  Some of which can be pretty expensive in themselves.  Mud guards for instance can cost nearly 30 quid.  A decent lock to keep the bike chained up could easily topple the same price and some going as high as 50 quid.  It seemed like some kind of madness as I looked at these things. It became really no surprise as I looked at further bicycles on the Internet to see they had broken the four figure level on price.  Wonderful, surely it would be better to go and by a Beetle I thought at least then you could put shopping in it.  Whoever is willing to part with such money were either very serious about bicycles, had more money than brains or has never worried about costs anyway.  Russian oligarchs come to mind, but I have never seen any of them pictured riding a bicycle to work if they work at all.  Although the odd politician has, mind they don't do much work either. 

So the thought process has began.  Do I or don't I?  Where's Lance Armstrong when you need him?