And the beat goes on.....

The ribs were just about mended, and I was looking forward to a ride, when bang!  I squatted to pick something up and there was a big pop in my left knee, next day it was twice the size of the right. Some wasted physio visits, and four weeks later I'm told that I've torn the meniscus (cartilage) and will need surgery.

Not one to waste my time, I had another, pre-planned, hernia repair (third time lucky) this week. Then, on the 19th March, I'm having the knee arthroscopy.  All being well I'll be ready to start moderate exercise mid-April so I'll focus on building my new bikes when I've stopped hobbling.

On a more positive note, my riders are all going well (despite the bad winter) and I've just about learned to say "no" to more work - that's definitely progress.

Oh, and my missus, Julia, won her age group in the National Duathlon Championship and has qualified for the World's.

Will I ever get there?

Things have not gone exactly as planned in the last few months, apart from losing a few kilos.

Like many others, I've had a fair share of illness and then, on Christmas Day, I slipped on ice and damaged some ribs.  I was carrying a chocolate log at the time and my effort to save it caused me to fall awkwardly.  The good news is that the cake was saved but, unfortunately, it didn't last as long as the injury has.  My son Tim made a fitting comment; "At least you took a bullet for the cake!".  And it was a nice cake.

I'm hoping that there will be a coming together of better weather and a mended back quite soon.

In the meantime I'm working on some new bikes to inspire me.

More to follow.

(Semi) Retirement

Well..... I reached 65 years of age in September and I've decided to find some time for myself.
As far as the Full-Cycle business goes I've closed down my unit in Sub-4 Ltd, which means that I'll no longer be doing biomechanical & physiological assessments or bikefitting.  So what will I be doing?

I'll still be coaching, but limiting the number to ten riders - who are now signed up. They're a very diverse group which makes it more enjoyable and satisfying for me.
I'll also be dealing with the many follow-ups I get from past assessments, and I've had a few approaches to do consultancy work.
But the thing I really want to do is ride my bike more than the once in ten days which has been the norm for the last few years.  I figure if I don't get into some kind of shape now I never will.
So thank you to all my previous assessment clients.  My SRM ergometer has gone to a local sports scientist, who will do physiological testing for my riders,  and I'll try to find the right place to refer any new enquiries for biomechanics and bikefitting.
Ironically, this is the first time I've worked on my website since I started Full-Cycle.  I've had a 'website coming soon' notice there since the early days.  I paid someone to build a site for me but I didn't like it and I just haven't had time to do any more on it.  Now that I (may) have time I'll try to do something better than these temporary pages.  After a lifetime in cycling and more than 20 years coaching I have quite a few interesting tales to tell and I hope to be able to use this blog to pass them on.