THE GOOD BUCK

I’ll not lie, I did not see this coming. I stopped looking at motorbikes, yay! Then I started looking at smart bike trainers. Where did that come from? I was hot on the trail of some decent bargain second hand ones. Used is a bit of a gamble, but the reviews said one of them was built like a tank. The latest model of it has wifi connection, which I would like, but that one is over £500 second hand. Then one of my Bluesky chums recommended the JetBlack Victory. Never heard of it. I read DC Rainmaker’s review and it sounds fantastic, he said it is basically the only choice for a sub £1000 trainer, and isn’t far off the spec of the £1k+ ones. He said the only problem is getting one, as demand is outstripping supply. It’s £400 brand new and has the wifi connection! It’s supposed to be silent and really good at the smart trainer thing, with smooth transitions. My Elite one makes a nasty grinding noise, is noisy, and when it hits a hill goes from spinning to standing on the pedals immediately. It’s brutal. OK, so I’ve just switched my obsessing. Wendy called it. But a smart trainer is a slippery slope. If you’re running and cycling… I’ve joined the gym and I’m going for a swim in the morning. And I’m bidding on a tri bike. AAARRGGGHHHH! I’m back at triathlon. I totally did not see that coming. I was looking at some half distance races. The Outlaw one is in May (too soon) with another in July in Norfolk (I think) which I was considering, but it’s £240! For a half! I’ve spotted one not much further than the Outlaw (Nottingham) at Rutland Water. It’s a half, a lake swim, pretty flat and fast bike leg, tarmac run. It sounds great. And it’s £159. If I don’t drown tomorrow I’ll sign up. I’m quite buzzing off it. Next day… I forced myself to go for a swim this morning. I managed 50 minutes in the pool, with a rest most every 50 meters. I watched (and bookmarked) a rather excellent swimming video last night. I’ll try and apply it. Today was mainly about focusing on slapping my leading hand (not windmilling, leaving the front hand stretched far out until the other hand passes it) and breathing. As I focused on one aspect I lost the other. I was breathless at first, until I remembered you rotate and breathe in, as soon as your face is underwater you start breathing out. The front hand slap made me realise how often I was wasting a stroke by letting my arm just flop backwards as I was breathing. Lots of things to work on, but there were brief moments when it felt like it was working. While I was at the leisure centre anyway, I did some gym work. 30 minutes (15k) on the bike trainer, then straight into 4 miles at sub 8.30 […]

I ended my last blog by saying that I was going to get help for my bike addiction. It wasn’t a joke. Before I’d even collected my latest bike I wanted to get back to window shopping motorbikes. I love looking at them, weighing the pros and cons, and generally enjoying the thrill of the chase. The trouble is, while 98% of them I can dismiss as ugly, meh, too dear, etc, etc, there is a consistent 2% that pop up and are ridiculously good bargains. I know I’m not going to see that bike for that price again. Then I have to try and hold out and prevaricate for the few days until it sells. Or, like the CB550/Four, I will end up buying it. The only way to avoid the trap is to not look. But when I’m bored I love to look. For a long time it was a joy for me to be able to buy all the bikes I’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford, but this latest purchase, while it is a bargain, and a lovely bike, was done with regret. I felt bad that I’d given in to a symptom of my condition. If I’m too self aware to enjoy the buzz of the acquisition of new bikes, it’s time to quit. Since arranging to buy this bike I’ve shut the search pages I had open. I am genuinely tired of the cycle. I’ve also found a free online BPD course. It’s called a Dialectical Behavior Therapy. It seems to be about mindfulness and being in the moment. I can only try. My running has taken a bit of a hit this week. I had to call in work and tell them I couldn’t come in at ungodly o’clock on Saturday morning, as I had to run Wendy into the hospital with bad chest pains. The doctors said she was OK, but it was not a good time. On Sunday I was picking my new motorbike up. Today, Monday, I had to drop the van off, jog the 3 miles home, then take Wendy back to the hospital for an angiogram (whatever it’s called. Where they fill you full of dye then X-ray your heart and arteries.) It’s supposed to be the gold standard test. It will reveal any constriction or blockages in the veins. She’s getting the results within a fortnight, so hopefully then they can treat her accordingly and all the nasty chest pains will go away. And the concomitant risk of instant death. So, not much running. Tuesday’s are my rest day, but I’m in at 07.20 for a twelve and a half hour shift, so I wouldn’t have been running. Again. Today I did a few tests on the CB550/Four. Apart from the low beam bulb the electrics all work. When I picked up the bike it was only running on two cylinders. The seller claimed the others kicked in when it warmed up. I checked for spark on the […]

The world is reeling from the bin fire that is the ongoing debacle of President Musk’s AmeriKKKa and social media is just one long doomscroll, so I’ve decided to try to not get dragged into foreign politics, about which I can do nothing, and concentrate on the good things. As I said on the socials, it’s not that I don’t care, consider my pearls clutched, it’s just that I don’t want to drown in impotent despair. So, good things: I think I’m finally free of the enervation of the covids. That was pretty bad for quite a long time. I was running scared of triggering it again. I just couldn’t face it. So that is excellent. I’ve regained my running mojo. That was MIA for a long time, even before the plague stopped me from running. I’ve been back to running for 3 weeks now and it’s not a chore, it’s something I want to do. Up until 3 weeks ago I had done 2 runs at the beginning of December and nothing for 6 weeks. Yesterday I did a 20 mile run and kept it under 8.30 m/m average pace. Only by 9 seconds, but I did it. I was a bit disappointed in myself that I couldn’t keep it at 8.10, but then the other runners on Bluesky said they were impressed with my pace and distance, so I had to get over myself. If you slag off your own achievements, however sincerely, you risk insulting those who are currently achieving less. It’s something I really have to remember. Talking of learned responses, in conversation last week Wendy casually threw in that she’d said to another BPD person “but you’ve got empathy”. Which is to say, I do not. She didn’t mean any harm by it, and thought I knew. I knew I didn’t care, I hadn’t realised it was because I had no empathy. She’s right, of course, now I review it. I recently offered to give someone a lift home on the day their dad had died and it wasn’t until Wendy said that I realised they would be upset. It’s better that I know, but it was a bit of a bombshell. That’s proper sociopath stuff. Not good. I digress, good things. Tomorrow I start my 12 week Advanced Marathoning plan. 8 miles general aerobic then 10x 100m strides. It’s a tough plan, but, if you don’t break, it’s effective. Predictably there’s been bike drama and stress. I’ve still not finished the last job on the Harley yet, but I’ve been window shopping bikes. Apparently this is the time of year for bargains, after xmas, when the credit card bill comes in. Anyway, even if I wasn’t buying I love looking. Which invariably leads to me buying. *sigh* I’ve seen a 1979 Honda CB550/Four, running but needs the carbs sorting by the sound of it, looks to be in really good condition, advertised for £1,500! I offered £1,400 and he’s accepted. I’m picking it up […]

I’ve reviewed my running statistics and until the 16th of January I’d done 37 runs in seven and a half months. Two runs since the start of December. I was slack, then I lost my mojo, then got covid, then I was scared of triggering long covid for a while. Very poor. Anyway, on the 16th I started back running. First week I started sensibly. 5 miles, 5 miles, 10k, then a bit much with a Half. The next week I did an 8, a 6 into storm winds that near killed me, then a 16 mile long run. I felt weak the day after both long runs. I don’t know if that’s because I’m dieting or if I’m triggering the long covid weakness, or a bit of both. It’s not been great but it’s not terrible either, so I’m good to train. I worked out it’s 12 weeks on Sunday until the Blackpool marathon so I dug out my Advanced Marathoning book for the 12 week plan. The plan is structured, with different runs at different paces, all a percentage of my Lactate Threshold. To ascertain that I had to try and do a flat out 10 miles. I did it today. I had no idea what pace I should be aiming for so I just legged it for the first mile, which was a not too shabby 7.03, but I just couldn’t hold that pace. I did well to finish the distance without quitting. I came in at 7.26 m/m average. I could have probably shaved a few seconds off that per mile if I hadn’t gone out too fast, but I had no way of knowing. My best LT was a 6.42 m/m pace, so after over half a year of hardly running at all that is surprisingly not terrible. Now I can set my zones and crack on with the training plan next week. Also in running I scored a bargain this week. My music earpieces were a bit cheapo. Bluetooth, but the balance is way off, the left is whispering while the right is too loud. I finally bit the bullet and bought the posh Shokz ones that all the cool kids have. They were bloody steep. £119 for the basic set or £179 for the bells and whistles, tons of bass, Tory ones. I got the basic ones. £119 is a ridiculous amount. I ordered them from Amazon, as it was the same price as the Shokz site and next day delivery. While I was waiting for the delivery I went back to the Shokz website to get a screenshot to post to social media. They suddenly reduced them. £94 for standard, £127 for Tory. With a 10% first purchase discount (only available on the dear ones) I got the £179 earpieces for £116! I returned the Amazon ones for a refund. Still a lot, but a bargain that I got the Tory ones for less than I’d paid for the standard the day […]

We’ve just had a week long freeze in the weather. Worse, it snowed at the start of it, so it the pavements and the back roads around our house remained frozen into rutted ice sheets. The first day, when it was fresh snow, I was forced to ride in on my pushbike. I just couldn’t risk the motorbike. I made it in, but it was well scary. I was off the next day. I had been looking at a decent E bike, quite wide tyres, but it was in Scotland. Then I spotted a local E bike, £50 cheaper, 7 hours less driving, and with 4″ wide tyres! It’s a BEAST! I was so confident riding it that I got cocky and went over the park and over a hill. Unfortunately the kids had made an ice slide of the path on the hill and it had been snowed over. I came straight off. But after that I was zipping back and to to work (avoiding the hill) without a worry. It’s a weird sensation, you set the level of assist, start pedaling, then the motor accelerates the bike away. The downside is after only about 15 miles the battery was nearly drained. It says you can freeze the battery to reset it’s capacity to hold a charge. I’ll give it a go. But the only time I’m going to be using it is when it’s too snowy/ icy to use my motorbike to get to work. That’s less than a 6 miles round trip, so the battery is sufficient, really. A new battery is £180, and I’m not going to be using the bike, so it’s kind of pointless. The main thing though is that I can relax now. Up until now I’ve been getting anxious every time the temperature drops in case I smash up my motorbike or break bones on my pushbike. Now I don’t care. The E bike charges over snow and rutted ice with barely a wobble. Cool. My bits for the Harley finally arrived today. I fitted the new petcock/ filter and the new detent clip. Then I set the gears to the exact setting. I rebuilt the primary side and gave it a go. I’ve got neutral and I can shift through the gears! That job is done and dusted. I think the petcock/ filter must have been at least partially to blame for my final problem. It just felt so much better. An instant, lively response from the throttle. It still dies as soon as you take choke off (on tickover) but I think I can just adjust the intake screw on the carb, and the tickover speed to sort it. That is, as far as I know, the very last job. Then I can MOT it and ride the bloody thing. I hope I like it, lol. Later, Buck.