I Want[ed] To Ride My Bicycle!!
Feb. 12th, 2012 01:12 pmIt was a bit drab and driech this morning, but not bad enough to not merit a bike ride, and by the time I'd had breakfast, I was actually looking forward to it! It would only have been the second time out this YEAR, and well, it would have been lovely to get a bit of outdoor exercise.
Then the phone rang. It was the FIL. His heating had broken down, and he'd loaned his fan heater to a younger member of the family, who of course denied all knowledge (probably chucked it in the bin when she'd finished with it...) so could J possibly...
When I chased J to the phone I found he'd already changed into the obligatory uniform of the Knights of The Road. But, dutiful son that he is, he agreed to drop everything and drive to Comet to purchase a new heater.
Alas. The moment had gone. I don't know if it's because it's a throw-back to my years with the chain-gang, when I'd be out of the house at the crack of dawn, pedalling furiously to my rendezvous with the lads (who, week-in, week-out, would give me a complete drubbing on the back roads of Ayrshire). Weekends then would be strictly compartmentalised: exercise, clean up, hearty lunch, and then the rest of the day is your own.
So I was stuck in front of the telly with the work-out video yet again...
Okay, so I should maybe have gone out on my own, but somehow I've erred from the purer faith these days and I find it very hard to cycle alone. Perhaps it's because I feel threatened in the roadside environment - I mean, who's going to scrape me off the tarmac if I get flattened by an insane motorist on the back roads? Or more importantly, record the number plate so some manner of pathetic half-hearted vengeance can be meted out in my name should the worst happen??
Anyway, I didn't go, and if I wind up at Saint Andrews next week and in the Lakes the week after, that'll be a whole month when I didn't bestride a bicycle. Which is a wee bit of a pity, though it is still winter, and it's not as if I'm not keeping fit in other ways.
Now I'm off to unravel everything with a mocha and a cake at the local cafe!! Same destination, different means of transportation!!
Then the phone rang. It was the FIL. His heating had broken down, and he'd loaned his fan heater to a younger member of the family, who of course denied all knowledge (probably chucked it in the bin when she'd finished with it...) so could J possibly...
When I chased J to the phone I found he'd already changed into the obligatory uniform of the Knights of The Road. But, dutiful son that he is, he agreed to drop everything and drive to Comet to purchase a new heater.
Alas. The moment had gone. I don't know if it's because it's a throw-back to my years with the chain-gang, when I'd be out of the house at the crack of dawn, pedalling furiously to my rendezvous with the lads (who, week-in, week-out, would give me a complete drubbing on the back roads of Ayrshire). Weekends then would be strictly compartmentalised: exercise, clean up, hearty lunch, and then the rest of the day is your own.
So I was stuck in front of the telly with the work-out video yet again...
Okay, so I should maybe have gone out on my own, but somehow I've erred from the purer faith these days and I find it very hard to cycle alone. Perhaps it's because I feel threatened in the roadside environment - I mean, who's going to scrape me off the tarmac if I get flattened by an insane motorist on the back roads? Or more importantly, record the number plate so some manner of pathetic half-hearted vengeance can be meted out in my name should the worst happen??
Anyway, I didn't go, and if I wind up at Saint Andrews next week and in the Lakes the week after, that'll be a whole month when I didn't bestride a bicycle. Which is a wee bit of a pity, though it is still winter, and it's not as if I'm not keeping fit in other ways.
Now I'm off to unravel everything with a mocha and a cake at the local cafe!! Same destination, different means of transportation!!