It's the bike's fault!

This darn bike of mine. Got me into a right trouble yesterday, and I ended up with scratches up and down my arms and round my legs, not so many as to be dreadfully damaging to my person, but sufficient to sting when I was in the shower this morning. 

So what had happened? Well, for the last two mornings I have made it a habit of having a ten minute cycle, just a potter, nothing strenuous. Being an indoor bike I don't actually go anywhere of course, which is a good thing because I would probably overdo the exercise that cycling out and about would give me, so I would end up all stiff and sore. This is not happening with my exercise bike, even my nether regions are not suffering unduly, possibly helped by having a gel seat to sit upon, the purchase of which was separate to the bike, but after reading the reviews about the bike I was encouraged to believe that the saddle of the bike would bring a pain to my nether regions from which they would probably never recover. The gel seat is not much better though, but I have not had a painfulness of my bottom yet, perhaps because I have not launched myself into a fury of pedalling which would be foolishness in the extreme, me being a lady who has a lot of years behind her. 

Just after breakfast and before the day takes hold, that is when I jump climb up on the bike. I sit upright with my back straight, and let my legs start gently pedalling. The bike is at the least endurance level. I then start counting rotations of my feet, at the same time I do some waving in the air of my arms which are supposed to be upper body exercises. For about one hundred rotations I do this. But I not out of puff. It is all done very gently. Then I normally pedal gently for another 100 rotations. Then for the next 100 I go ever so slightly faster, but not enough to make my heart beat harder. Too soon to do that, I think. Then yesterday I did 'ever so fast' for 20 rotations, 'slow and easy' for then next 10, then repeated this sequence for another 100 rotations in total. Took about 7 minutes. Getting off, I felt real good. No sweats. No rapid heart beat. Just stretched out body. All that sweaty and raised heart beat stuff can wait for later. 

And that is why I blame the bike for getting me all scratched up. Because my body took on an enthusiasm to get outside into the sunshine. Taking the ladder and wheelbarrow with me, round the back of the house we went to start tacking the wall of brambles which have grown alongside the fence between the front garden and the back paddocks. Up the ladder my legs went, quite easily. And neither did they complain about the length of time they were required to stay there up on that ladder. So I took advantage of their compliance and attacked the brambles with much enthusiasm. 

However, it is usual for my legs to start complaining after about twenty minutes of such work, so that after about half an hour I potter off back indoors to do a less energetic task such as work on my computer. Not so yesterday, I kept on working, and of course the more I cut back the hedge the more the hedge fought back, hence the scratches. My legs refused to complain. Wahooooo! ANNNNNDDDD I went back out to do another session in the afternoon! Wahooo twice!!!

That is why I blame the bike for the scratches. That early morning ride must have got the blood zooming around my bod so my legs did not suffer so much, and that seemed to last all day. Plus I feel lighter. So just off to do today's exercise. I find it quite a ladylike occupation to exercise while sitting down. Soon, perhaps, I might start getting the heart rate up, but not yet, slowly does it. No use rushing into things, only to have the original enthusiasm fade away. I must do the cycling because I don't want to have legs which are eventually going to fetch up with purple blotches all over them. My legs have got a lot of miles left in them, and a lot of years to tread through yet. Two days of being on the bike and they have improved. I find a relief in that. Rumbling round the edges of my mind was the thought that perhaps I would become more and more immobile. It was not a good thought. 

So I don't mind that I got scratched by the brambles yesterday because I can do. The bike cost about £120. I bought it from Amazon. I would recommend it. I would show you a photo of it, but my camera does not like me after having had a mad moment of pressing buttons which I should have left alone. I have used it on its factory settings since I bought it, but now it is all confused and won't do the things it used to do. So I shall have to read the manual, which I needed to do anyway because it was bought to take videos and product photography as well as photos of life here. 

But I have kept you long enough. I need to ride my bike before my day begins so I must away. Hope you have a lovely day, and that I have encouraged you to believe that life does not end when one is in one's mid sixties and beyond..........

Vx