Peel Tower, Holcombe Hill
The beauty of cycle commuting to work is I have been fitting my 60 mins of aerobic exercise into a work day. I tend to do 3 long days or 4 nights per week so the "shift" is either 10 or 14 hrs long. When I'm not at work I am either looking after my little girl or out with my wife on the days she in not working. However, things have recently changed and it is easy to tell the difference with a distinct lack of energy and a slight drop in mood.
You see I have just started work at a site nearer to home (3.5 miles instead of 6.3) with less hills to get there as well. The upshot is an extra 30 mins in bed of a morning but the downside is after 5 trips of the new commute I don't really feel like I have done any exercise (hence the drop in energy/mood). I arrive at work fresh as a daisy but feeling ready to up the pace rather than stop. My nearest and dearest tells me to get out of bed earlier and do a longer route but I am not a morning person and the extra 30 mins is really nice so this is not a realistic option. I am happy to take a longer route home but after 14 hrs and the possibility of doing it all again the next day I doubt I will be doing this every shift.
I need to start doing some longer runs in prep for the Pennine Cycleway next year so I am going to start trying to fit in some road cycling when the Golden Child is in nursery of a morning. While she generally goes for just 2.5 hrs this is enough to get out and about for 20-25 miles or so. I am starting tomorrow and will be heading via Bury up to Peel Tower at Holcombe Hill and back.
So I hope to feel energised at the end of it rather than just knackered. If it goes alright I will be doing a 44 mile return route from Morpeth to Amble along the Coast and Castles route at the weekend (visiting family up north).
The way shifts for Christmas are going plus December family commitments this is the most extra I am likely to get this year. I do have an invite for a local ride with Coco who lives nearby so will have to really put aside some time in the New Year.
Watch out Coco…!
Hi there, Darrell! Yes, we must do a local ride, now that it seems we won't need ice skates for much longer. I'll be in touch via email, looking at next weekend perhaps? Or February.
ReplyDeleteTake care on the ice (have seen your more recent post - I've cycled in only today after a couple of weeks, a bit tricky!).