fredag den 26. juni 2020

Min cykel - My Bike

Countdown: Summer vacation begins in 1 day.


     For snart mange år siden var der en sang, der hed "Jeg er så glad for min cykel" og det var Uglemor enig i. Men de seneste år har cyklen og uglemor ikke været så gode venner. Bakkerne er bare vokset og vokset. Hun har kunnet cykle til stationen, i cirkus, på indkøb, kort sagt til alt det nødvendige, men det var bare ikke sjovt.

     Så her sidst i maj, den 28. for at være præcis, blev det Uglemor for meget. En måneds total inaktivitet, mestendels tilbragt i sengen på grund af bivirkninger efter en af de mange undersøgelse, havde sat for mange spor på uglekroppen. Nu skulle det være. Frem med cyklen, cykle 1½ km ud af landevejen og hjem igen, næste dag 2 km hver vej og så videre, indtil Uglemor en uge senere cyklede på indkøb igen. Og det blev hun stædigt ved med. Ikke hver dag, men næsten. Godt 5 kilometer ud og lige så langt hjem. Vejen til byen og alt muligt andet går gennem skoven, så der kan ikke køres rigtig stærkt, som på landevejen, ikke mindst fordi folk rider, lufter hunde, går ture og leger i skoven, så man må være i det mindste lidt forsigtig.
    Ved siden af har Uglemor så - meget lidt - deltaget i et online træningsprogram.
det har været sejt, men pludselig, i søndags var det ikke så hårdt at cykle. Uglemor måtte ikke enten skifte ned i 1. gear eller stå af, hvis hun ikke ramte bakken med præcis en rigtige hastighed og vinkel, det betød bare lidt ekstra arbejde. Der var tid til at kigge ordentligt på blomsterne, høre fuglesangen og beundre folks heste. Det skete ikke gradvist, men BUM, fra den ene dag til den anden.

 -- 🚲 --

Many years ago MotherOwl heard a song called: "I am so happy with my bike" and MotherOwl agreed. But in recent years the bike and MotherOwl  have not been such good friends. The hills have just grown and grown. She has been able to bike to the station, to the circus, shopping, in short for everything needed, but it just wasn't fun.

This past May, the 28th to be exact, it became too much for MotherOwl. One month's total inactivity, mostly spent in bed due to side effects after one of the many examinations, had left too many traces on the Owl body. Now was the time! She dusted off her trusty old bike,rode 1½ km down the road and back again, next day 2 km, and so on until a week later MotherOwl once again went shopping by bike. And she persisted. Not every day, but almost. A bit over 5 kilometres out and just as far back home again. It was still not fun! The road to town  and to almost everywhere else goes through the forest, so that MotherOwl can not go as fast as on the roads, not least because people ride, walk their dogs, stroll, do Nordic walking, picnic, and play in the forest - MotherOwl has to be at least a little careful.

Alongside this, MotherOwl has - very indigently - been participating in an online training program.

It's been tough! But suddenly, last Sunday, it wasn't that hard to ride a bike. MotherOwl didn't have to either shift into 1st gear or get off if she didn't hit the hill at exactly the right speed and angle, it just meant a little extra work. It didn't happen gradually, but BAM from one day to the next.

     Denne graf viser minutter pr. kilometer. De meget høje (under linjen - aksen er er vendt om) værdier skyldes at Uglemor har haft en bakke jordbær i den ene hånd, en æske flødeskumskager i rygsækken eller taget bare mange små stop for at plukke farveplanter.
     De seneste dage har Uglemor ikke følt, at hun anstrengte sig, og alligevel har tiden,  modvind, varme og last uanset, været under den magiske grænse på 20 minutter hver vej, der giver Uglemor en respektabel gennemsnitsfart på over 16 km/timen. Husk på skovveje, heste osv. På asfaltvej svarer det til lidt over 20. 
 -- 🚲 --
 
This graph shows the minutes per kilometre for June. The very low (or rather high, I turned around the axis) values are due to the fact that MotherOwl - homewards bound - was transporting a crate of strawberries in one hand, a box of cakes in her backpack or just due to many small stops to pick plants for dye.

The last couple of days (each day is at least two dots - one out, one home), MotherOwl has not felt taxed, and yet, every time, despite headwind, heat or cargo, she has been below the magical limit of 20 minutes each way, which gives her a respectable average speed of over 16 km/h. Keep in mind forest roads, horses, etc. On tarmac road it equals over just 20.

3 kommentarer:

  1. Huge congratulations.
    My balance is suspect so I think/believe cycling is beyond me. I try to walk - and need to walk further.

    SvarSlet
    Svar
    1. Thanks, Compromised balance sounds bad, have you considered a three wheeled bike, either one for seniors, or one with a big cargo crate in front? I see many elderly people going around on such ones around here, and would buy one myself if need arose - I'd like one with large cargo capacity.

      Slet
  2. Excellent! When the children were younger, we all had bikes and would go across the highway and do things there. It's been too long, maybe i need to look into a bike again.

    SvarSlet

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