Blogging for the Environment

Things might not be appearing in quite the correct order at the moment because I've rushed in today's entry because today, October 15th, is Blog Action Day. So today everyone is supposed to blog on a common theme and this year's selected theme is the environment.

So what to say? Well, I support the principal of most environment issues. So I'm with Al Gore on that, even if he doesn't always get his facts right. Whatever effect we are having on the climate and some say we are having no effect, most environmental measures make sense to me. Why bury rubbish, or even worse, burn it, when you can recycle and reuse it. Common sense surely. Why tarmac over the countryside for more roads? Wouldn't we rather have the countryside instead? After all, more cars on the road just means more fumes in the air for us all to breathe in.

So I try and do my bit, recycle, turn off lights etc and then there's my environmentally friendly madness, known as cycling. Despite the fact that this country does practically nothing to encourage cycling, let alone make it safe, I try and cycle the 15 miles to work 2-3 times a week. Motivation to do this isn't difficult, not for environmental reasons but purely because I hate queuing, anywhere, ever and driving to work involves at lot of queuing in traffic jams. So when I don't cycle, I try and use the bus too. It is a bonus that this brings environmental benefits too.

As I mentioned last Wednesday, since I started cycling 18 months ago, I have cycled 3000 miles. That's 3000 miles I haven't put on my car. Unfortunately rather than pumping exhaust fumes into the atmosphere I get to breathe in everyone else's but I guess you can't have everything.

At 7 miles per litre of fuel (32mpg) that's over 428 litres of fuel, which at 95p a litre is £406. So quite a money-spinner. Alternatively it's the equivalent of 100 return bus journeys on the Red Arrow, at £5 return that’s £500. Which is even better.

Better still is that this has had a staggering effect on my fitness. I've tried all sorts of ways of getting fit and previously running was the only one that seemed to have any great positive return, that was until I discovered cycling. Which takes everything to a whole new level.

Problem is you end up doing mad things like the Duathlon I did yesterday. 5km run, 20km bike, 5km. Crazy but all very environmentally friendly and strangely fun too.

If none of that inspires you to get on your bike then there's one more thing. As a cyclist you also get the dubious pleasure of legitimately wearing lycra. This has a strange and beneficial effect (for me) on my partner. Now if that's not a reason to get on your bike, I don't know what is, plus you get to help save the environment at the same time!

Medieval Leg Press

I consider getting up for the CTC bike ride but at 6.30 it's raining heavy. Although by 9am it's sunny. Too late now though. L looks a bit rough this morning but she still lets me test the strength of her hangover.

We all go off to the Gym. That's Daughter, L, Me and Doggo. I do a warm up on the treadmill which seems to misread my distance. When I've finished and it's reduced me to a sweaty wreck, it says I've only done 1km. Despite the fact it keeps flashing up my time for the previous kms. Must be programmed by the same people who put the mile markers out for Tuesdays 10k. Then I look for a device to build my legs up in readiness for the Hathersage Tri. I try to lift legs weights but my knees feel like they are going to pop out of their joints. So I move on to some medieval torture device called a leg press. It's evil but seems to the trick.

Then I go for a swim. It's quiet but there are four women split over the two lanes. As soon as I arrive, one of the two in my lane got out and the other moved lanes. Then by the time I've done my first two lengths the rest of them get out too. Feel very pleased with my self. So it's just me now and lots of kids swinging on the lane ropes. The attendants just smile at them, now if they'd be swimming the wrong way on the one-way system they'd have been given a right bollocking.

Doggo sits patiently in the car. Eventually he gets his reward and we take him on Colwick Park. We figure it's best to drive him somewhere so that he doesn't get chance to pull on the lead. He rolls in some really foul stuff, duck poo I think, which I have to try and wash off him when we get home but he hides in a corner to make it as difficult as possible.

We offer Daughter a belated birthday night out but she doesn't seem keen so, I cook and we stay in with Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, instead.

Alcohol Units = 29. Not too bad

Bike units = 490km. That's the most I've ever done in a month by some distance.