One Hundred And One Things

Readers of el_staplador have been bored to tears by my incessant rambling about my new toy, seen above. It is a Trailmate de Soto tricycle; it has no gears and is bloody hard work to ride, and, occasionally, terrifying.

I have started riding it the six miles to work (also the six miles back again). I have something of a love-hate relationship with it. At times it is only bloody-mindedness and the knowledge that I'm saving myself six quid a day that keeps me going. Yesterday I didn't ride it because - well, did you see the weather? (For such as didn't, it was tipping it down, and windy with it - one of my colleagues had a tree branch come down in front of her car.)

What I did do yesterday, which I haven't done for ages, was to spend 50 minutes on Wii Fit. And I remembered why I haven't been on it recently. Boredom, dear internet, boredom. I enjoy it for the first week or so, then I remember how to beat all the activities, the irritating tunes get stuck in my head, and I give up again.

And so I've decided to do something that I'd previously ruled out: I'm going to include physical activity done outside Wii Fit. (I hadn't, for example, been recording the time I spent swimming - though I've not done much of that recently, either.) I asked myself why I had ruled it out - and the answer is, it feels like cheating. A little rational reflection confirmed that this is completely ridiculous - five minutes triking is far harder work than five minutes flapping my arms around pretending to be a chicken.

I suppose that I am worried about over-reporting myself. This is also silly - Wii Fit over-reports anyway. But that's my brain for you (my unfortunate pilgrimage partner used to say that I had a 'Protestant walk ethic'). I've made the following compromise:

On days when I ride to and from work (and I'm unlikely to ride only one way, being reluctant to leave the thing locked to a station cycle stand overnight) I'll record one hour's activity on Wii Fit. This is definitely under-reporting, but even so I reckon I'll easily make the four hundred hours. I don't stand a hope of completing this goal otherwise - and what is it about but getting more exercise and becoming more aware of my body?


(This is me on a trike a few years ago, on honeymoon in France)

I have another definite goal in mind with all this getting fit. I've booked two weeks off work in August, when I'm going to walk the Offa's Dyke path. The recommended pattern takes twelve days. I'm thinking of taking a rest day in Knighton (approximately half way, and a few miles from the house where I grew up) but even so I couldn't do such a long way in my current state. So there; that's something to work towards.

I'm also well aware that I have a couple of days to write up on the Canterbury pilgrimage - I've collected another one and a half walkers, and have been going rather slowly as a result. More on that later.