"Lockdown" Exercise last weekend (with Katya)

We just took a short spin out along the Waddesdon Greenway and back.
We left a bit after 8 am in order to avoid most folks (who were still in bed at that time on a Sunday morning).
Anyway, I will let the pictures tell the story ...

Not many folks about - which is good

... Checking it Twice - Lockdown Cycle Camping Planning

...
Section 2 (the camping stuff) is starting to sound a bit like "taking everything except the kitchen sink".

Time for a quick check to see what that lot weighs!
I nipped out to the garage, and, using a scale designed for weighing holiday suitcases, started weighing stuff.

Tent (the small, single-skin "fishing shelter"), including carry bag - 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs)
Airbed - 2 kg (4.4 lbs)
Holdall (the strong bag I intend to put all the stuff in, and then strap it to my luggage rack) - 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs)
Lightweight groundsheet/poncho 400g (a bit under 1 lb)

So the "camping" stuff comes in at 5.2 kg (12.5 lbs) not including the chair.
The chair is 3.9 kg (8 1/2 lbs).

There is also LOADS of room in the holdall for other kit - cooking gear, clothes food, etc. etc.

Making a List, Checking it Twice - preparing for "Lockdown Cycle Camping"

Planning.
Planning.
Planning.

A good plan, plus some improvisation, gives one a fair chance at success.
A bad plan (or no plan), and you are just making a rod for your own back.

So here is the first draft of my plan, specifically the equipment list.
(it will be revised as I think of things, but best to get down an outline first, rather than trying to get it perfect in one go).

There are several sections to the list:

1. the bike
2. camping gear (tent etc)
3. eating gear (and food)
4. water
5. clothing
6. entertainment/relaxation
7. special items

Lockdown Cycle Camping Trip Next Week (involving my Back Garden, because all the campsites are closed!)

Talk about "the title says it all"!

I have vacation time booked next week, and I was hoping to go cycle camping in the South Downs
(a hilly bit, in the South of England).

BUT

Well. you know, real-world stuff and all that.
All the campsites are shut by Government decree.

So I will just have to pretend:

1. load up my bike with camping stuff 
2. cycle about a bit
3. pitch my tent at the "simulated" campsite
4. cook up some food with the campstove I will have just cycled about with
5. sleep overnight in the tent.
6. repeat steps 1 - 5 as required.

His and Hers Vivoactive HR watches - how are we getting on?

Update 5 April 2020:
Anna's Vivoactive HR watch is still going strong, although the battery life is dropping off, and it needs charging perhaps twice a week now, rather than the once a week it was before.
My Vivoactive HR watch is still soldering on, cracked screen and all.
Yeah, it has lost some functionality, but it still does most of what I want.

Lockdown and future planning

Hi folks.
I, like a lot of you, am on "Lockdown".

I am actually a minor key worker, so I still go to work.
(I am at the practical end of logistics - I actually move things from A to B by vehicle, and it is not a job that can be done from home. And, like I said, I am officially a key worker providing an officially essential service - indeed, for the corp I work for, our most important contract is probably the one we have with the Government!)

However, I do not try to "stretch the point" or abuse my position.
I go to work the short way.
I come home the short way, stopping only for a bit of shopping once or twice a week.

Recap of 2019

A couple of weeks into 2020, so it is a bit overdue that I review last year.

One thing that stands out is just how high I seem to have set my personal bar for "success",
Last year, I turned 55, and "only" jogged several 13 milers ("half marathon" distance), and "only" rode one 100 mile (160 km) and one 125 mile (200 km) distance.

Taking a step back, and viewing this from the perspective of my workmates, of the 120-ish of us, I am the ONLY one to have cycled anywhere near those distances in one day!
A few of my work colleagues are occasional runners, including a little guy that runs 3 hr marathons (!), even though he is in his late 50's, so my running performance at work is merely "better than most" rather than "exceptional"!