Well, that was a hell of a month, Christmas and new years, visiting family and revising for exams, all conspired to undo the last 8 months of training. I have just sat the mid-term exams for my final year and the studying and revision was quite intensive. The net result was that I got on the digital scales yesterday morning and it wasnt good! 16 stone 7 and a half – AAARRRGGGHHH!
That’s over 100 kgs, I was down to 15 stone 5 last year – frankly it’s not a surprise, having spent most of my time either studying, eating or travelling the exercise regime has completely dissolved, plus I have severe hypothyroidism, meaning I put on weight just looking at food. With all the revision and travelling I have been doing I have been a bit neglectful of taking my daily medication which also has not helped. So, basically I am looking a bit rough!
However all exams are done till May now and I can now find my way back into my training for the next few months. I have already started in the pool and done a swift couple of hundred meters, fortunately I seemed to be able cope with this without collapse, so maybe all is not lost.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, Christmas bought me a lovely bicycle servicing tool kit, which includes a set of thin cone spanner’s, meaning I can adjust my troublesome back wheel with having to take it out the frame every time. I also picked up a treadmill, but because I am a poor student it was second-hand, which has brought its own challenge. The speed sensor is broken, so the readout constantly shows zero. Not a problem in itself, but because it thinks you are not using the treadmill it powers off after 5 minutes. I can feel a spot of fixing coming on!
In a spot of new years eve excitement, I went off to visit my sister across the other side of the country with a car load of family when we found ourselves stranded, young ones in tow in need of toilets and shelter. We bumped into (almost literally as he walked round the corner) a large shaved headed gentleman looking all the world like a biker.
With no other option, we asked the chap if he could help. Much to our surprise, rather than just pointing us in the direction of the nearest public toilet he took us in and provided us with tea and biscuits and the use of his house. I don’t believe in guardian angels, but the way this chap took us in and looked after us till we were sorted was above and beyond the call – and the whole family are exceedingly grateful to him. I spent the entire time talking motorcycles to him as it turns out he owns the exact same model of Kawasaki I started out on many years ago. It was only as we were getting geared up to go again I found out that he was an off duty Metropolitan Police officer!
We dropped a thank-you card through his door the following day, but I would just like to add a further thank you for coming to our rescue that day!
Now back to the training ………………….. [no really!]
Did you get a sticker?
Good luck with the training!
Sadly no sticker!
I am sure the training will get back on track, exams and christmas do not make for a good training aid!
Quite ‘technical’ – possibly interesting – article about bridges?
http://londonist.com/2012/01/will-someone-please-explain-whats-wrong-with-the-hammersmith-flyover.php
Ah yes, this type of bridge is where it all started for me. Many years ago I began undertaking investigation works to just this type of bridge. I worked for about 5 years carrying out inspection and monitoring of ‘post-tesnioned’ bridges.
Traditional reinforced concrete uses the compresive strength of concrete in conjunction with embedded steel reinforcing bars in tension. Concrete being strong in compression tends to crack and fail under any serious tensile loading, hence the use of steel bars to take the tensile forces. Post-tensioned bridges replace the steel bars with strands of steel wire grouped in ducts contained within the concrete.
Unfortunately steel rusts, no matter how had we try to engineer out corrosion it tends to sneak in. Steel framed bridges are fairly simple to monitor with corrosion being visable, reinforced concrete bridges are a different kettle of fish. Ensuring the condition of any embedded steel is a complex business and requires the use of specialist kit and experinced engineering staff. I spent many a cold night dangling off bridges doing just this.
Sadly i have never worked on this particular bridge, but I am sure that its being managed appropriately, unfortunately it not always easy to convince the people wanting to use the structure of this.