yep, it may look nice outside but that wind is cruel and cold!

If Corona wasn't excuse enough to not be gallivanting, the wind is certainly not encouraging trips outside today!

So part two of lockdown week one - a funny few days to say the least. I've been out 3 times in the 4 days, 1 shopping trip to restock some essentials and two exercise sessions, Thursday and yesterday, which to be honest isn't a deal different to what I'd normally be doing. But the devil is in the detail.

Queuing to get into the shops, in the dry weather we have had, isn't such an issue (although there were reports of an hour wait to get into the nearest big supermarket) but only having half the tills manned was causing long delays in getting people through the stores. And whilst most people were stoicly abiding by 2m advice, others were ignorantly not. I think shopping trips will need to be a bit more ordered for me in the coming weeks.

And so to my exercise sessions - the dictate says we should exercise but only one session a day - it doesn't give any further restriction other than we should start and finish from your current domicile. Well I can comply with that, on Thursday that meant a ride across to Wales, a stop in Caerwent for my sandwich then a loop around the empty lanes before heading back to Brizzle. Yesterday was a different direction out across the Cotswolds with a stop near Cricklade before a bouncy route back with some assistance from the Gale!

So okay, I know on the face of it that looks to be stretching things a little but in SD terms I don't think it is. Why so long and far? well my 'sport' involves rides of 150-200km which can last 6-7 hours, these 'exercise' sessions allow me to maintain my fitness at pre C19 levels. They are also essential for both my mental and physical health - long periods of being inactive and even walking are not good for my post DVT leg, regular long cycle rides reduce the potential for swelling and further 'episodes'.

My shopping trip (normally @ 30 mins) took 1.5hrs and I was in close proximity to @ 150 people in the stores and on the journey to and fro. By comparison, my rides had a duration of @ 5.5 hrs each with no more than 50 well distanced passes and at no time was i in close proximity to another human being. In short I'm exercising, I'm Social distancing and I'm self isolating, the roads are probably safer than they have been in at least 30 years with the huge reduction in traffic so my chances of needing health services as a result of riding are much reduced too.

Until such time that either a) I show symptoms or b) the rules are changed, I will continue to SI whilst I do my exercise sessions away from centres of high population and potential close contact with others.

What else then? Well the hot news from Maddy central is the release of Only Five Minutes yesterday in its complete, expanded , single volume form. in case you missed it here are the details;

The full edition has @ a dozen extra chapters compared to the 4 'parts' so unless you want to miss out on some of the juiciest bits or wait 3 years, you need to get the full version! This wasn't an intentional marketing ploy but rather, when I finished part 4 I realised it lacked some content and so I set about filling the gaps. I hope you all enjoy reading it, please do leave reviews/comments and/or PM me (especially if you see something wrong!)

It's certainly a relief to have finished it, RL certainly played a large part in the tardiness, lack of environment, muse and just enthusiasm all playing their roles with gusto. Hopefully the next volume won't be so blighted, words might not have been typed yet but planning and plot for the next volume are already underway, I'd like to think the first results will see the light of day by the end of April but don't try holding me to that!

Today though, apart from listening to the wind howling past the window its been maintenance time. Yup, my bikes take some abuse and today was a planned serious maintenance session. A new chain before that became an issue, a new cassette to match and a new rear gear mechanism as the 20 year old original had started having some issues. Hopefully the £35 spent on parts and the hour fitting and adjusting will set the bike fair for some time ahead and not having to shell out for labour - always a bonus!

And so to todays chapter, With a bump we have the conclusion of the shopping trip and the lead into the next race, Gaby can do shopping but she excels at racing!

That's about it for today, more on Wednesday