Archive for the ‘general’ Category

Podge v COPD Week 3

Posted: May 11, 2020 in COPD, COPD - Codgers Old Puffing Disease, Cycling, general, Health, Rome-2-Home, training
Tags: , , ,
0

This past week has seen somewhat improvement in miles covered though not as great an improvement as I would have preferred as I did feel more than a little lethargic towards the end of the week, or was I just feeling lazy 🙄? That said however, I am still making good progress towards my virtual goals as the graphs below indicate.

The target for completing the three biggest challenges is by the end of the year though obviously if I can complete them earlier I will. The shortest challenge is only 149 miles with only 35 miles left to complete so that will be checked off during the coming week after which I’ll add another shorter trip. The idea of the shorter challenges is that they give me quick results alongside the longer ones and as such maintain motivation. Well, that’s what my mind tells me. 😋

On the physical attributes front, this week my weight has dropped back down to just below my starting weight of 93.4 kg: It’s moving in the right direction but a long way from my target of 83.5 but, I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again. Body fat is going down, water composition is going up so hopefully, I’m doing something right: I’m guessing the reduction in anti-viral medication consumption is helping a little 😂.

Yesterday, I managed 27 miles so things are getting better. Earlier in the year I struggled to a 3 mile ride. So, my new weekly mileage target is 70 miles a week, up from 30.

All rides on Bkool and reported through Strava.

All virtual challenges are tracked through  ‘My Virtual Mission‘ and challenges entered through The Conqueror Virtual Challenge site.

All rides are done my garage as my GP has banged me up for a minimum of 12 weeks due to me having Codgers Old Puffing Disease 😢

Wish me luck.
Go Podge, Go. 🚴‍♂️

Podge v COPD Week 2

Posted: May 4, 2020 in COPD, COPD - Codgers Old Puffing Disease, Cycling, general, Health, Rome-2-Home, training
Tags: , ,
0

The end of week 2 of my Rome-2-Home virtual cycling challenge (week-4 of my 12 week isolation) I have managed to cover just 121 of 1198 miles. This virtual ride is being undertaken using MyVirtualChallenge and tracking a total of 4-challenges, these being: Lands End to John O’Groats, Rome-2-Home, Great Ocean Road and 2020 miles in a year. The image is a bit blurry so for next week I’ll try to create my own version.

I am rather pleased to report that last weeks mileage is an increase on the previous weeks and hopefully this will be the trend moving forward. Considering poor Podges lungs are less than 50% effective plus an arthritic hip and A-Fib, I may not be quite the athlete but I reckon I aint doing so bad 😋

I did promise that as part of my parallel campaign to lose weight, I would also include some additional stats below. Unfortunately, this week hasn’t been so rewarding (in weight loss) as I would have hoped as, despite cycling 67+ miles I seem ti have put on weight. Poor Podge is so sad. 😦 

  • Weight: 93.8 Kg (+0.4kg 😞 )
    • Goal: 83.5 
  • BMI: 30..7 (+0.3 😞 )
    • Goal: 24 
  • Body Fat: 45.3% (+0.5 😞 )
    • Goal: 34% 
  • Body Water: 39.4% (-0.1 😞 )
    • Goal: 55% 

Having reviewed last weeks performance, I can only conclude that my weight gain is attributable to the antiviral medication 😷 that I’m taking; That’s wine, beer and gin but not all at once of course 😋. So, moving forward, both Podge and Tubbs (aka Mrs Me) will only drink every other day thus reducing our intake by 50% and stop eating (nearly) all the stuff we like.

Podge is not only sad but be he’s also such a bad lad.

All rides are completed using Bkool and reported through Strava

Go Podge, Go.

Oh To Be Noble

Posted: August 20, 2015 in general
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

i watched, the other day, a programme entitled “Who Do You Think You Are”: The remit being to look back through the ancestor of notable celebrities. The star in question last week was Paul Hollywood who was taken on a journey back in time though concentrating on his Grandfather who had spent a significant time seeing active service during WWII. while this may not have been such a notable find, the journey he took proved to be [obviously] emotional for Paul.

This got me thinking:

I’ve watched a number of these ‘journeys’ many of which have revealed some amazing stories and notable ancestors. Yet through my Family Tree, all I had unearthed my 8 times great grandfather who was reported for carring a corpse! through Garstang in 1624 plus another (uncles great, great grandmother) who died in a lunatic asylum. But, I continued to dig and research and at last I found a 4th Baron (mind you, he was deemed guilty of treason and sentenced to death but was finally reprieved but lost his fortunes and title 😦 ). Yippee, at last, someone of note with entries in Wikipedia. From here, Wikipedia kind of eased the journey and I continued through the line until I found a link to the Duke of York.

Now obviously, this doesn’t mean I’m of noble birth, although many people say I’m a bit special – not sure what they mean by that though but, how cool to have baron, a viscount, even a duke in the family tree. Even more cool that they would appear to have been scurrilous scoundrels leading to time spent in The Tower and even possible execution.

Okay, okay, the nearest noble person, Baron William Widrington (4th), would appear to be my uncle 8 times removed but he appears to be in my tree and that will do for me. I do however need to check all links to make sure they’re sound (confidence is low) but for the time being, I’ll take what’s there and bask. 🙂

What next?

Well, my next task will be to find more detail on the grave robber and the lunatic asylum – these, for some strange reason, seem to have a significant draw on my interest; and, confidence in the two is much higher.

In the meantime, if I find any more nobleness or even saints in the tree, be assured, I will tell all.

Seek Podge, Seek & Research

Mrs Me Tries a New Tack

Posted: March 29, 2015 in general
Tags: , , ,
1

OK, I know I said that my next post was to be about Devils Island or Crossing the Line but the weekend saw an incident that wasn’t that worrying but the subsequent comment was priceless.

Walking back through Newbury, Mrs Me and and I were laden with shopping backs containing easter stuff, food studs, Mrs Me purchases, as always, and drugs for Podge (all legal of course). As we approached the car across the car park I heard a sudden yell and a crash: as I looked around I saw Mrs Me hitting the ground with a real thump and the shopping being scattered asunder. People came from all corners to check that Mrs Me was OK, offering to help carry her shopping to her car but, in her normal stoic way, she declared herself fine, thanked those who came to help and we made our way to the car.

Mrs Me seemed ok thought battered but, having satisfied myself that there was nothing broken except pride, we fired up Mrs Me’s Ford Asbo and headed for home.

I asked how she was, “I’m fine” she said; “My feet just slid out from beneath me. My shoes must have slippery soles”. then after a short pause she declared:

I think I need some new shoes, when are we next going to Russell & Bromley.

That’s one tack I haven’t been hit by before. 🙂

Mrs Me is obviously ok…….

#30 Memories of the Amazon

Posted: March 29, 2015 in Cruising, general, P&O, Travel, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

This trip to the Amazon was to be my third, the 2nd for Mrs Me, but the shortest. On previous trips, we’d sailed (on a cruise ship of course, I’m not that adventurous) up the Amazon (calling at Macapa) all the way to Manaus visiting Parintins and Santarem en route plus an overnight trip to Ariau Amazon Towers [some love it, some hate: – we love it], a kind of jungle lodge on stilts. This however the itinerary this year would be just Macapa and Santarem, to see the meeting of the waters and do a spot of piranha fishing. We were however due to do a ‘sail by’ of Devils Island as we came out of the Amazon (future Post).

The following is effectively a re-post [with slight alterations] of an earlier one in February but this time with pictures (displayed randomly) 🙂

As always, visiting the Amazon was to be the highlight of our trip, this time consisting of two days sailing along the mighty Amazon River and a day spent ashore at in the town of Santarem, located as it is, on the Tapajós River.

As we crossed the sandbar into ‘effectively’ the Mouth of the Amazon, we were still 60+ nautical miles away from the nearest lands! Yet even here, the water had turned into the muddy brown colour for which the river is well known.

Our first port of call, which was actually a 2-hour stop in the middle of the river, was at Macapa: This was to allow immigration officials and river pilots to join us, for the duration, to help navigate the river – sounds to me like a cool 3-day jolly if you ask me. Once on board, we set off and through the course of the first day, the Amazon unveiled its beauty for all to see: we passed isolated dwellings, little more than huts; sometimes built on stilts to lift them above the flood level, where the inhabitants would wave at us or even try to chase us in their little, woefully underpowered, boats. I have no idea whet would have done if they’d caught up with us (perhaps they were pirate scouts), but they never did, though it was quite amusing to watch them bob about somewhat precariously in the wake of our ship 🙂.

Day-2 brought us into Santarem and as we drew towards our mooring yours truly was dispatched by Mrs. Me to report back on our progress and to let her know, supported of course by her morning cup of team, when it was a suitable time for her to arise and view the town. When she did eventually surface, the temperature on our balcony, as indicated by my Garmin, was 97.7f: in anybody’s book, that is hot and for which I received my first thick ear of the day, for not warning her. But, arise she had to, as we were booked to take a boat trip to see the meeting of the waters, view locals wildlife and do a spot of piranha fishing.

The ‘Meeting of the Waters’ is an anomaly where the muddy brown waters of the Amazon River and the brilliant blue waters of the Tapajós River meet but don’t actually mix for a couple of miles and as such the two waters can be seen side by side as you sail along. This phenomena is similar to the more well knownMeeting of the Water where the mighty Amazon and the River Negro where the two waters, one sandy brown (The Amazon) and one almost black coloured (river Negro)

IMG_2073

After this we went to a smaller tributary to view the wildlife, you know the sort, cows, sheep, chickens, water buffalo, iguanas, sloths, vultures, etc., etc. Oh, we also saw some more local dwellings on stilts. After a while we stopped and started fishing for Piranha. Mrs. Me took her place on the boat between my and another gentleman and inevitably, after the other gentleman and I had pre-baited [her] swim, Mrs. Me hooked a Piranha and, accompanied by all sorts of squeaks & squeals, she eventually brought the poor creature on board for us all to look at.  Despite me wanting get a picture of Mrs. Me kissing the Piranha, the fish was having none of it and stayed firmly with the hook and line; probably a wise choice as she would have probably have just eaten it.

Go on, kiss it1

Go on, kiss it1

Go on, kiss it1
Pickfords, Amazon Style

My next post, probably, will be about our sail-by of Devils Island and/or the crossing the line party [similar to last years Crossing the Line party but different boat, different crew & older passengers].

 

Older Entries
Newer Entries