Was babysitting for some friends yesterday and after leaving there house in the evening was cycling into town to go to the pub quiz as usual on a Sunday. Wasn't half a kilometre from their house when I came a cropper cycling over some rough ground near a building site. It's just covered with a load of gravel and over the weeks since it's been there, the gravel is moving more and more out onto the path as people cycle and walk over it rather than walk the longer way round over the path. Exactly what I was doing I have to admit but I hadn't realised so much of the gravel had moved over the past week, since the last time I was there. I had just reached the path and was turning slightly to get round the corner when the wheels skidded on that loose gravel on the path and off I went.
Gave my head a bit of a bang (or at least, my helmet gave my head a bit of a bang - very glad I was wearing it) but the scariest part was that the wind was completely knocked out of me and it took me a few seconds to be able to breathe properly. I have a bad cut on my left hand and a very bad graze on my right arm, just below my elbow, as well as a few smaller cuts and grazes, not to mention bruising all up and down that arm. Couple of small bruises on my legs, too, but they're from the bike I think. I'm feeling very stiff and quite sore and generally very sorry for myself.
A few people stopped to help me and one man insisted on waiting with me until I had phoned my friends. That was nice of him. I think he could see that I was a bit more shocked and shaken than I realised. One of my friends came running up with a first-aid kit and then walked me back to their house, where they very nicely cleaned and disinfected and plastered my wounds. I was kind of okay until I rang them actually, but then hearing someone on the other end of the phone sounding concerned sort of made me fall apart a bit so by the time I got back to their house I wasn't even really capable of washing my hands and arm myself and was just sort of stupidly standing there holding out my arms. Luckily, since they have a kid, they took it all in stride and just took over and did everything. They even drove me home and will bring my bike back to me during the week. I remarked to my friend as she was dropping me home that it's not that I couldn't have managed to patch myself up, but it was very nice that someone else was there to do it for me.
Honestly, I had a similar kind of accident when I was 12: the first day I was allowed to cycle to school on my own, I got too close to the curb on the way home and off I went. And when I was doing my semester in Germany I remember borrowing a bike to cycle through the nearby woods and something coming loose from the bike so that the bike, that part (maybe the gear lever or the brake handle?) and me all went in different directions. Didn't get hurt that time though, as far as I remember. So, I haven't had too many accidents in my time. Although given that I also didn't cycle more than three or four time from the time I was about 20 until the year before last, I'm not sure that my record is actually as good as I think it is.
Oh well. I'm still a bit headachey but I also haven't taken any painkillers. Don't have any paracetemol and apparently, if there's a risk of concussion, you're not supposed to take ibuprofen or aspirin, both of which, of course, I do have. I don't think I have a concussion but better safe than sorry. Interestingly, I found out the German word for concussion and, if it was translated literally, it'd be "brain jolt" - what a great language German is. Does exactly what it says on the tin.
I meant to go and lie down this afternoon but by now it's just after seven o'clock so I think I'll just stick it out for another hour and then go to bed for the evening. I'm going to get up early and go to the doctor in the morning, just to get checked. I'm not exactly having difficulty breathing but I'm not really 100% normal either - don't think I broke any ribs but I may have bruised one, I suppose. There's not bruise on my right side but it's very, very tender to the touch. Then I'll have to find some time to stop into the opticians as my glasses also went flying went I banged my head and seemed to have acquired a couple of small scratches on the left lens. Time to find out if that insurance I bought is worth anything.
Despite all of that, I did head out this morning with friends as planned and we got the tram out to Kaiserswerth and then walked back. This is the same walk I did in January and it took me three hours then. This morning I used my mapmywalk app and discovered that what I thought was about 10km would actually be closer to 12 or 13. Unfortunately I don't know exactly because my battery ran out just before we hit the 10km mark. But, we got to 9.63km in 2 hours and 6 minutes so I definitely would have been home in less than three hours. Haven't managed to do enough to improve my time back down to two hours but will be really happy to do the mini-marathon next week in less than two and a half if I can.
Showing posts with label Cycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cycling. Show all posts
Monday, May 25, 2015
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Dublin mini-marathon
Lots going on and lots I want to write about but it's too much, I'm overwhelmed again and it's stopping me from writing anything at all. So I'm going to ignore most of it for now and at least get a few small things down.
In January I signed up to do the Dublin Women's Mini-Marathon - it's a standard 10k through the streets of Dublin with the only discernible difference to any of the 10k events I've heard of here being that you don't have to run it. They have runners, fast joggers, slow joggers and walkers. I did it once before (a long time ago, I think perhaps 1999 or 2000) and didn't really train much at all and was able to do it in 2 hours almost to the second.
Of course, I'm far heavier (although I was overweight at that time as well) and definitely far less fit now so I really need to get some training done. I did a 10km walk in January and have tried to be better at walking places, or at least cycling since then but it has been a bit hit and miss. As an aside, work is absolutely shit and has been since mid-March, which doesn't help. Anyway, after saying to myself a couple of weeks ago that it was now eight weeks to go, need to get my act together and then doing nothing. And then last week thinking, oops, only seven weeks to go, better get my act together and still doing nothing. Well, now it's only six weeks to go so if I don't get a move on, I might not be able to make it at all. That 10km walk in January was just about doable but I did stop three times for seven minutes each time and there'll be none of that on the day.
So this evening, after spending the day in work (spending more of it on the internet than actually working - that's the kind of stupid thing I'm doing at the moment), I planned to cycle home and then go straight out for an hour-long walk. According to the training app thingy from the mini-marathon site, this week I should be up to three x 1 hour walks at a moderate pace, 1 day of other exercise and then a 7km walk at the weekend. I could tell that I wouldn't go for a walk if I came home though so instead I cycled in the other direction from home. I kept going for about 20 minutes, getting turned around twice, so lots of cycling round in circles while I tried to figure out where I actually was and eventually made it out to the river down by the trade fair grounds, approximately where I wanted to be. In all I cycled 11.23km and that took me 52 minutes 14 seconds (probably spent about 3 or 4 minutes on the two times I was trying to figure out where I was and various waits at traffic lights). So that's something at least.
My plan now is to get up early tomorrow and go for an hour's walk before work. If I get up and leave about half-seven, or any time up to eight o'clock really, it'd be fine. That gives me time to walk for an hour, come back, do some stretching and maybe even get the hoovering done (haven't done it for three weeks - my apartment is a disgusting mess at the moment). But we'll see. I'd be more than happy with a walk and getting to work on time.
In January I signed up to do the Dublin Women's Mini-Marathon - it's a standard 10k through the streets of Dublin with the only discernible difference to any of the 10k events I've heard of here being that you don't have to run it. They have runners, fast joggers, slow joggers and walkers. I did it once before (a long time ago, I think perhaps 1999 or 2000) and didn't really train much at all and was able to do it in 2 hours almost to the second.
Of course, I'm far heavier (although I was overweight at that time as well) and definitely far less fit now so I really need to get some training done. I did a 10km walk in January and have tried to be better at walking places, or at least cycling since then but it has been a bit hit and miss. As an aside, work is absolutely shit and has been since mid-March, which doesn't help. Anyway, after saying to myself a couple of weeks ago that it was now eight weeks to go, need to get my act together and then doing nothing. And then last week thinking, oops, only seven weeks to go, better get my act together and still doing nothing. Well, now it's only six weeks to go so if I don't get a move on, I might not be able to make it at all. That 10km walk in January was just about doable but I did stop three times for seven minutes each time and there'll be none of that on the day.
So this evening, after spending the day in work (spending more of it on the internet than actually working - that's the kind of stupid thing I'm doing at the moment), I planned to cycle home and then go straight out for an hour-long walk. According to the training app thingy from the mini-marathon site, this week I should be up to three x 1 hour walks at a moderate pace, 1 day of other exercise and then a 7km walk at the weekend. I could tell that I wouldn't go for a walk if I came home though so instead I cycled in the other direction from home. I kept going for about 20 minutes, getting turned around twice, so lots of cycling round in circles while I tried to figure out where I actually was and eventually made it out to the river down by the trade fair grounds, approximately where I wanted to be. In all I cycled 11.23km and that took me 52 minutes 14 seconds (probably spent about 3 or 4 minutes on the two times I was trying to figure out where I was and various waits at traffic lights). So that's something at least.
My plan now is to get up early tomorrow and go for an hour's walk before work. If I get up and leave about half-seven, or any time up to eight o'clock really, it'd be fine. That gives me time to walk for an hour, come back, do some stretching and maybe even get the hoovering done (haven't done it for three weeks - my apartment is a disgusting mess at the moment). But we'll see. I'd be more than happy with a walk and getting to work on time.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Kaiserswerth
This morning, after only procrastinating a little bit, I got up on the bike and headed off to Kaiserswerth, a small town on the outskirts of Dusseldorf. Wasn't at all sure I'd make it but I was nearly the whole way there before I started to feel like I could really do with a break. It's a nice cycle along the river.
Once I made it as far as the castle ruins, I did get off the bike and take a break. Rested against a wall for a few minutes, had a quick wander around and then sat for a while and ate an apple. After a bit less than half-an-hour (it's a bit cold today - other days I could imagine hanging around for longer, soaking up the sun and reading or something) I decided to head back. The wind had picked up and move a bit so that what came at me from the side on my way there was now coming at me full on from the front. And I had put on my jacket while sitting and decided to leave it on as rain looked not too far off. All of a sudden I was barely able keep moving at all. Such a difference. I struggled on for ten or fifteen minutes, not making much headway and even being passed out by one jogger! So I decided that the resistance my rather capey jacket was creating might have something to do with it, even though it didn't really seem to be billowing too much. It was still far more difficult than the outward journey but taking off the jacket definitely helped. And the rain stayed more or less away - just a drizzle really and not all the way home. I was going to take a photo of my bike but in the end didn't bring my camera as I didn't want to chance stopping to get lots of photos becoming an excuse to keep stopping while I was on the road.
It took me nearly an hour to get there and just exactly an hour to get back. Which is kind of slow. On the other hand, if you had told me I'd be able to cycle for two hours at all, or that I'd make it 22km (nearly 14 miles), I probably wouldn't have believed it. And I'm getting a bit better at judging stopping and starting while taking account of the back pedal brakes. I think I'll leave the bike where it is for a couple of days but I have a few things to do on Wednesday both before and after work that would be made slightly easier if I use the bike, I think, so I'll plan on taking it out then. I can feel it in my legs and arms a bit at the moment but it's my bum I think I need to worry about recovering by then!
Once I made it as far as the castle ruins, I did get off the bike and take a break. Rested against a wall for a few minutes, had a quick wander around and then sat for a while and ate an apple. After a bit less than half-an-hour (it's a bit cold today - other days I could imagine hanging around for longer, soaking up the sun and reading or something) I decided to head back. The wind had picked up and move a bit so that what came at me from the side on my way there was now coming at me full on from the front. And I had put on my jacket while sitting and decided to leave it on as rain looked not too far off. All of a sudden I was barely able keep moving at all. Such a difference. I struggled on for ten or fifteen minutes, not making much headway and even being passed out by one jogger! So I decided that the resistance my rather capey jacket was creating might have something to do with it, even though it didn't really seem to be billowing too much. It was still far more difficult than the outward journey but taking off the jacket definitely helped. And the rain stayed more or less away - just a drizzle really and not all the way home. I was going to take a photo of my bike but in the end didn't bring my camera as I didn't want to chance stopping to get lots of photos becoming an excuse to keep stopping while I was on the road.
It took me nearly an hour to get there and just exactly an hour to get back. Which is kind of slow. On the other hand, if you had told me I'd be able to cycle for two hours at all, or that I'd make it 22km (nearly 14 miles), I probably wouldn't have believed it. And I'm getting a bit better at judging stopping and starting while taking account of the back pedal brakes. I think I'll leave the bike where it is for a couple of days but I have a few things to do on Wednesday both before and after work that would be made slightly easier if I use the bike, I think, so I'll plan on taking it out then. I can feel it in my legs and arms a bit at the moment but it's my bum I think I need to worry about recovering by then!
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Will I never learn?
Came down with an ear infection on Friday a week ago, complete with vertigo and feeling like I was going to throw up on and off though the afternoon as well as a killer headache. I left work early and came home to bed (but did take advantage of being back so early to stop into one of the shops on my road to buy a couple of cheap frames for the posters I ordered from allposters recently and didn't feel a bit guilty about it either).
On Saturday I had quite a few things to do so I dragged myself out of bed and set off to do things. Had to collect my new orthotics and a couple of other things. Given that it was Saturday morning I also decided to stop at the market to buy some salad for the week and while there was tempted into buying loads of tomatoes, thinking to myself that rather than just bottling, with the attendant faffing around skinning and hulling and all that, that I would make roasted tomato passata, which would be absolutely doable even while not feeling too good. Unfortunately, I underestimated how bad I was feeling because although I did get quite a bit done on Saturday, Sunday was a wash-out. I didn't even manage to get the washing up done and then, since the washing up wasn't done nor the kitchen cleaned, I couldn't exactly start working on the tomatoes. Basically, I stayed in bed almost all day. Got up very late afternoon, had a shower and got dressed and headed out to the quiz, which somehow seemed like a good idea although I kind of struggled to make it to the end of it. The thing I find with ear infections is that if you don't have severe vertigo it's really easy to underestimate how sick you actually are. I ended up not going to work on Monday and Tuesday and, although I was feeling much better and thought I'd get to use that time to at least catch up with washing-up and cleaning, I did nothing at all. Slept a lot and read a small amount.
So with choir after work on Wednesday and very busy days in work on Thursday and yesterday, I've ended up having a week where I nearly stopped going into the kitchen because the dishes were starting to look a bit scary and I just didn't have the time or energy to even think about dealing with them. And a large bag of tomatoes still sitting on the floor in the hallway. Sigh. At least the weather took a turn for the worse this week and it was cool enough that I think some of them should still be salvageable.
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get everything done this weekend, as I'm still a bit tired and, to be completely honest, really struggling with not falling into a hole of depression but so far I'm doing alright. I'm just waiting for my third washing machine full of clothes to be done and I've done two sinkfuls of dishes and just have a few cups left. So nearly back to something approaching normal But will I ever learn that when I'm sick, I really need to not do things like buy kilos of tomatoes, thinking I'll have the energy to process them! Not to mention the salad that has been sitting in the fridge since last Saturday and that I haven't even looked at since!
To finish on a slightly more positive note, I sent off my application for doing the translator's exam in October this week so that's something.
Edited to add one more positive thing: I did get a pump last week and this evening, having promised a friend to check on her cat while she's away, I took the bike out, cycled part of the way there (had walked halfway before I got the nerve up to get on the bike!) and all the way back. I'm still way too nervous, especially with traffic and trying to be careful of tramlines but it's a start. I can feel the stress in my shoulders and neck still, though - definitely have to work on it some more.
Edited to add one more positive thing: I did get a pump last week and this evening, having promised a friend to check on her cat while she's away, I took the bike out, cycled part of the way there (had walked halfway before I got the nerve up to get on the bike!) and all the way back. I'm still way too nervous, especially with traffic and trying to be careful of tramlines but it's a start. I can feel the stress in my shoulders and neck still, though - definitely have to work on it some more.
Sunday, June 01, 2014
How to lock your bike properly
Saw this earlier on LPA Rebuild and thought it was worth sharing. I haven't been out on the bike this year yet and really want to save up and get myself a ladies version of the bike I have so that I'm more likely to not be put off going for a cycle. I just wish the guy in this video had explained why he's so scathing about combination locks since that's what I have. Mind you, I also have a bike that cost me 20 euro and am using a lock that cost slightly more than that so going by his rule of thumb, I'm not doing too badly. Heehee.
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