I want to thank Strava today for their wonderful app, which I have used to motivate me to get back on my bike after 21 years of raising 5 babies to teenagers. I got back on my bike in 2008, and I’ve been cycling with Strava for over two years now.
Last year, I was told by my GP, after several blood tests, that I was at high risk of type 2 diabetes and so I made some radical changes to my diet and started this blog to motivate myself. I gave up chocolate completely, stopped my yougurt habit, and eliminated fruit juice. I still have an occasional fruit juice detox day, but now I drink mostly water.Keeping my fitness levels high is something which has always been important to me. As a mum, I used to swim to stay fit, and do the housework. I taught all my children to ride bikes but I couldn’t ride alongside them because there was often a baby in tow. Swimming alongside them was easier because of the fast and slow swimming lanes. Still we had a couple of years of riding together, and now my son is a keen cyclist which makes me happy. It’s wonderful to hand a legacy of something health promoting to your children. And as my son is studying medicine, I’m pleased he has a hobby which will motivate him to stay healthy. He told me about the Strava app, and I’ve never looked back.It’s great to be back on my bike these past few years, as a friend Mercy gave me my first bike at the age of 9 or 10, and I used to call it my Trusty steed and ride it around the village where I grew up in Ham Richmond, Surrey. It stood in for the horse I never owned.
Anyway, there is still time to fulfill my dream of owning a horse. For now I’m happy to be able to cycle around the beautiful south Glos’ countryside in the spring sunshine we are enjoying.
At the time of writing, we are still allowed to exercise outdoors here in South Glos’ and I must say, I’m feeling very grateful for being able to exercise. When you reach your fifties it can be quite isolating and lonely. Luckily I’m a writer and so I’m used to spending time alone. I love gardening, but there isn’t a great deal to do at this time of year in the garden. I have a gardening blog which you can find athttps://hermionelaakeloveslavender.wordpress.com/if you are interested. I’ll be writing a short blog there soon as the gardening season runs from March to November in my house.
Another family hobby was gardening. We planted mostly trees together, and I built several ponds. More about my current garden on the other blog.Bye for now dear readers. Stay healthy!
All my love, Hermione
hermionelaake 