December 2017 Update

A quiet month on the cycling front as you’d expect for the time of year. It’s been a bit busier on the socialising front with a few birthdays; the normal Christmas meet up with my brother and sister, and the Christmas festivities.

Family picture
Garry (missing a front tooth) with his brother Eamonn and sister Mary
trip to london

At the beginning of the month, I was at a loose end, so I decided to cycle to London, as one does! And in the process make a video of it.

The ride up was good with no dramas, and by the time I got to London, it was already starting to get dark! That’s the problem with cycling or doing anything at this time of year there’s just not enough hours of daylight!

But at least we’re over the worst now as we’ve had the shortest day and the days are now getting longer! Not that you can notice it yet, but they are!

december festivities

The first birthday of the month was Julie’s mum, it was her eightieth, so there was a party held for her with all her friends, which I fitted in with just fine!

Family group
Julie with her mum, dad and Julies mums brother and sister in-law

The following weekend It was my birthday which was a quiet affair with work in the day and down the pub in the evening followed by fish and chips on the way home! A normal Friday basically, just as I like it! We did, however, go out for a meal in Brighton with Vicky and Paul.

Christmas decorations
Christmas decorations in Brighton

Three days after my birthday it was my daughter Vicky’s thirtieth, where we once again went out for a meal.

I’ve also decided that this will be my last birthday I’m not going to get any older I’m staying at this age, things are bad enough as it is without ageing anymore! What with my sciatica and bad skin, I’ve also now been told that I’ve got severe osteoarthritis in my right hip, my lumbar spine and also my sacroiliac, whatever that is! I’ve got an appointment with the hospital at the end of January to see what they’re going to do if anything at all!

christmas

Christmas came and went thankfully, with the afternoon/evening being good, it was spent round Julies with both her family and mine. But the morning was a bit of a waste! Normally I would have gone out for a ride to see friends and down the pub at lunchtime but the weather was just awful, and even the pub never opened this year!

In fact, the weather throughout the Christmas break has been pretty awful with strong winds and heavy rain; we even had some snow albeit very briefly! I did at least manage to get out once on the bike and went for a 40-mile ride around the Southdowns, which at times was a little hairy as there was still snow and ice on the roads there!

Icy road
The icy road leading up to Goodwood

At least with the weather being so bad over Christmas, it has given me some time to look at trips that I could do next year, although I’ll wait until the end of January once I’ve been to the hospital about my hip and back before I book anything!

2 Replies to “December 2017 Update”

  1. Hey man thats a good account – even on a bad day you notch up 40 miles. I’ve got to say your brother looks fitter than you do. Perhaps you’d do better switching to bed and breakfast rather than camping. I’ve just got a second hand Dawes but it’s really sluggish – like pushing steam roller. I know what you mean about ageing. If only we could ride off in the sunset. I am reduced to doing virtual cycle trips round Paris. Your London video was good.

    1. I’m the prettier one though!
      Bed and breakfasts are the one that I never seem to do! I prefer a hotel as they have a bar and generally you can get breakfast earlier in the morning, rather than having to wait around for the landlady to get up!
      That’s good that you’ve got another bike, no matter how slow it is.
      I told you that you was a lot healthier than me!

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