Week 9 Spin 2

[gary_bart]

32 minutes this time, with a few alarms for foot numbness midway, in spite of keeping that effort level as flat as possible. By lots of meddling with posture, and general wriggling around as I spun, I somehow managed to get back the feeling in the foot that lost it. If that's the case, I need to keep on, just to discover how to switch a foot back on when its skin goes alien.

Apart from the bits of numbness, there's nothing much to report. Calorie estimate was again about 500 (I had to push a bit in my cool down to bring that up, though). Possibly the next thing I need to do is to maybe spin for say 15 or 20 minutes, then get off, and take a break, dangling from something. (There are quite a few things one could hang from in the gym, so I could just try them all). On my post spin walk I've taken to hanging from the trees for a while. It seems to give some relief, but I need to be very careful moving about afterwards. Possibly the big easing in pressure makes the disk swell a bit, and it's not strong enough to maintain that kind of fluid level under pressure? What's probably needed is as gradual as possible a transition from dangling to on the feet again.

Actually all of the above is a bit moot. I have to drive about 700 km tomorrow to my brother's to go and help out there while he recovers from a successful cancer op. On the one hand it's a lovely place. We're only about 20 km from the Kruger Park. On the other hand the crime levels there are utterly beyond insane, so you sleep with one eye open. (The fact that the place is also full of poisonous snakes isn't actually a big worry. I've seen literally dozens of snakes there, and they've always been busy fleeing in terror, because a human being has appeared on the scene).

How bad is the crime? Well on a nationwide basis it would have to be above average, and yesterday the crime stats were out. Nearly 18 000 murders. Now we also have some of the worst drivers in the world outside of the Middle East (whose roads are statistically a whole new nightmare all of their own - even without alcohol to help things along). The effect of having so many bad drivers is that every year 14 000 people die on our roads (which is bad, REALLY bad). But don't let anyone tell you SA roads are dangerous; you've got more chance of being murdered than of dying in an accident in SA. (Sorry for the black humour. The tone of the last sentence is meant to be somewhere between mock-dismissive and reassuring, BTW).

[Irishprincess Graduate]

Blimey Gary you are facing a challenge with the drive and the area! Is the 18,000 murders in a year? If so that's incredible.

Great news about your brother. What are you planning for your W9S3?

[gary_bart in reply to Irishprincess]

The 18 000 murders are nationwide (it's something like a 5% increase, year on year, too, which is very alarming). The area has had its share of violent crime. I can't think of anyone I know who was murdered up there (here, my next door neighbour was murdered, though), but I know people who've been pistol whipped. (Turns one's face into a blue lump, so it's a pretty horrible thing to have to endure).

As for the drive, I just always assume that everyone else on the road is complete idiot, and then try to keep guessing what the stupidest thing someone could do would be, and prepare to avoid that.

Yes, it really is great news about my brother. When I first heard he had cancer I felt sick. Not so terribly sad, really, but physically ill. Weird feeling. Now we are allowed to hope for a few more years again.

W9R3? They have a contraption you can use to for "spinning" with a mountain bike, there, but his bike doesn't have normal pedals, so I might have to ask around the district and see if I can borrow a bicycle off someone. (It's that kind of place). I have my aquajogger, so I could aquajog for 30 minutes with the terrapins in the muddy dam, too. I'll have to see when I get there. The old spinning bike from way back when might even still be there. When he was a kid my brother had a momentary lapse of concentration whilst riding a motorbike behind a friend, who stopped suddenly because he'd forgotten something. Result: A completely broken leg, lots of blood everywhere, the possibility of operations, and then eventually just leaving the leg set as it was, and lots and lots of spinning to get it all to knit nicely.

[Irishprincess Graduate in reply to gary_bart]

That's a scary number. I did visit J'burg once on business years ago and the company didn't let me go anywhere on my own. I remember there was a plaque in the lift going up to the hotel saying "please leave your firearms at reception"! I was a bit shocked and I worked in Belfast at the height of the troubles! Having said that it was a great city and I still talk about the prawns I ate there. The biggest and best ever!

I drive like you do too. Assume everyone is an idiot and you should be ok. Someone gave me that advice when I first learned to drive and I've never forgotten it.

Good luck for the drive and the last spin!

[Sandraj39 Graduate]

Wow! Some rather alarming statistics there gary, but good news that your brother is doing well and I wish him all the best during a tricky time. Great that he has family support. Lots of luck with your last (!) Spin of the programme before graduation and hope that long drive doesn't aggravate your back. I have had to take a couple of extra days rest due to a virus, but will hopefully do w9r2 on Friday. Nearly there!

[gary_bart in reply to Sandraj39]

Thanks Sandra. I don't mind having to put up with him for a few more years.

Tomorrow is going to be a bit of a trial (might even be more of one, because our neighbours have decided tonight is party time, which may mean I have to drive with just one eye at a time). The idea is to stop more frequently than usual, and just walk around the car a few times occasionally.

Hope you're nice and strong for Friday so you can graduate with a blast. My graduation spin will at least be one with a view. The last time I was up there, any exercise equipment lived on their front verandah, so I'll be able to look out onto trees in most directions. It'll be almost like running outside. And my warm up will have Boxers and Corgis in it to help out. (And at the end, two pet cows to not help out - my sister-in-law is a little bit mad, you see).

[Sandraj39 Graduate]

Oops, have just edited my reply - its w9r2 on Friday, not run3! Little bit of wishful thinking there, I'm afraid. Spinning on a verandah with a great view sounds fab! Good luck.

[gary_bart in reply to Sandraj39]

Oh well it's the same run you'll be doing for your graduation party, and then probably a few days later again, when the running starts just going on and on forever.