Nearly there....

[mk one]

Great view, did you see any rabbits?

Riding is more about mental fitness, so if your not feeling right then just rest up, it wont be long before your feeling more up for it, of course it will probably be raining by then :| :xmas-cool:

Have you been out on mountain bikes lately? if you can ride a 180mph sportsbike you should be fine rolling around on an mtb

 

[al-onestare]

Re: Re:

^^^^^^
There's another video compilation on YouTube called "Fat people on motorcycles" - oh my goodness, is that a ZX6R under there :shock:


[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr2NTql7knk&t=29s[/youtube]

My recovery from six months of Chemotherapy is a bit inconsistent, so I don’t know from one day to the next how I may feel. My Macmillan Nurse said that this is entirely normal, and told me not to plan ahead - just do whatever I can from day to day.

With that in mind, I thought that I would be up for a ride out on the Kawasaki yesterday. I set off due South down the A34 with the idea that I could get down to the coast. It soon became apparent however that I wasn’t comfortable riding the bike, and I was struggling to relax and put into action all the advice that I have been given. Considering I managed 50 miles in one outing last week, I did feel a bit miffed. I do have to listen to my poor little body though, and if the strength and stamina isn’t there, I just have to accept it.

Anyway, I pulled off at Whitchurch and headed across country towards Kingsclere. I stopped at White Hill near Watership Down to eat my sandwich – this picture is sort of overlooking the edge of the Sydmonton Court Estate, which is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s gaff.


White Hill B3051_5 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Pip

I've peddled up and bombed down there many, many times back in the day. Looking spot on in the sun as ever.

 

[Pipmeister]

Great view, did you see any rabbits?

Riding is more about mental fitness, so if your not feeling right then just rest up, it wont be long before your feeling more up for it, of course it will probably be raining by then :| :xmas-cool:

Have you been out on mountain bikes lately? if you can ride a 180mph sportsbike you should be fine rolling around on an mtb

No rabbits hopping about – just one roadkill. Crickey, you wouldn’t want to hit one with a motorcycle tyre at speed :shock: .

I haven’t been out properly on an MTB in ages – just to the local Hospital, and the post box and stuff. It’s interesting what you said here though.

Going back a few months, ever since my terminal diagnosis I have often been asked by Oncology and Macmillan, “How do you feel at the moment, and how have you been since we last spoke.” & “How are your energy levels at the moment.” – stuff like that. Bear in mind I was also told to make a Will, and then I had that meeting to agree a ReSPECT end of life care Form regarding how I wanted the arrangements to be organised towards the end. This was countersigned by a Palliative Care Consultant and my assigned Palliative Care Macmillan Nurse. These people almost made me think that I was further down the road than I probably actually am.

Anyway getting to the point, I naively thought that if start noticing that I am not able to ride a MTB in the manner that I enjoy anymore, then surely I can sit on a motorbike and twist the throttle and get pulled along. It would appear that I was mistaken on two accounts. Firstly, I’m not quite at death’s door just yet, and secondly, riding a motorbike takes quite a lot of concentration, physical effort and skill.

I am trying think back to when I had a motorbike before, but in those days I had a very different outlook on life. I may have mentioned before that I had an extremely hedonistic existence; I was partying hard, and burning the candle at both ends – then setting fire to the middle :facepalm: . Getting on a motorbike back then was just something I did, and I didn’t think about the risk - just like err “everything else” that I was doing at the time.

Now though, I am probably guilty of thinking too hard regarding how to ride a motorbike – I just need to relax so I can enjoy it. Goodness knows what was going on in my head on Tuesday, which brings me to another point that my Macmillan Nurse ‘warned’ me about during our last video call. She said to be aware of how I may feel mentally now that the Chemotherapy treatment is finished (for the time being). She said that many patients can get into a state where they are hanging in some sort of limbo. After the routine for 6 months of Chemotherapy to make us “better”, what are we waiting for now..... how long until I notice something untoward?

I need to get all of that stuff out of my head, and just enjoy this glorious weather.

Blimey, I’m not sure where all that came from…. I could have just said, Yeah I’ve popped out on a Mountainbike here and there.

On a more positive note, I did take a ride out today along the A4 until I came across a traffic accident where the Police had blocked the road in both directions. I cut back round past our former M.P. Richard Benyon’s very posh gaff and through Bradfield – where he went to College. I just read that he was the richest M.P. in Parliament – really?, flippin heck!

Anyway, I felt entirely different from Tuesday - relaxed and in control - I may pop out again this afternoon to keep the momentum up .

Pip

 

[The History Man]

All this meta cognition is a good thing. I know what you mean about being far more mindful of risk taking behaviour as we mature. Try having a pillion. That sharpens the mind too.

Just keep on keeping on. It’s all you can do. Make hay, or lemonade.. Roll with the punches, decide what’s important and make sure those that you love and care for know it.

Apparent big storms arrive overnight tonight so get out there.

Edit: this just came up on my playlist

https://youtu.be/e5MAg_yWsq8

Bit too prog for you?

 

[mk one]

The storm has just arrived here, just as i put my bike away from a ride out.

And Pip, you hit the nail on the head so to speak, enjoy yourself. A lot of people try to ride their bike how the bike looks like it should be ridden, if that makes sense, often forgetting to savor and enjoy the moment. Do that and you will find your confidence build up in no time, also you speed, which you need to keep an eye on especially on sportsbikes. I often came into 30 zones and greatly reduced my speed to a crawl, only to look at the speedo and still be doing prison speeds :shock:

 

[al-onestare]

All this meta cognition is a good thing. I know what you mean about being far more mindful of risk taking behaviour as we mature. Try having a pillion. That sharpens the mind too.

Just keep on keeping on. It’s all you can do. Make hay, or lemonade.. Roll with the punches, decide what’s important and make sure those that you love and care for know it.

Apparent big storms arrive overnight tonight so get out there.

Edit: this just came up on my playlist

https://youtu.be/e5MAg_yWsq8

Bit too prog for you?

I don't usually agree with THM but he's spot on here Pip, just do what you do. Overthinking this is likely more detrimental. Be you, do what makes you happy.

 

[Pipmeister]

Re:

Okay, after a period of my strength and stamina taking some sort of unpredictable rollercoaster ride, I am currently feeling much improved. Let’s hope that’s the end of feeling washed out like that.

Yesterday I set off for a varied motorcycle ride, that took in some Motorway, some A roads, some B roads and a bit of urban. Two members on here have been giving me some helpful advice with regards to improving my riding…. err skills? Anyway, I seemed to be able to put it all together yesterday, and felt in control and relaxed on the bike.

I knew that some motorcyclists use earplugs, but never gave it a thought to use them myself. With the advice to try them out and the advantages of using them, I set off for Marlborough in a much quieter and calmer environment. I had to keep an eye on how fast I was going, as without the constant grinding white noise of the wind, your speed just creeps up without you noticing .

When I got there, I chatted with a couple of very old boys who turned up on a Kawasaki 1400 GTR and a Yamaha TDM 900. They were touring, and while one of them was chatting on his phone, he stopped to ask me, “What’s this place called?” “Marlborough, I relied – famous for its college… the Duchess of Cambridge went there. It’s just up the road there if you want to see it” :roll: . I don’t know why I find that a bit odd, but I do.

This is the High Street where I parked up next to a new BMW R Nine T, which is very Retro. I brought my own sandwich, and didn’t need to pop into Rick Stein’s place.

Marlborough 030720_1 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Pip

 

[The History Man]

Very nice record shop just off there.

Good to see you’re feeling better.

 

[mk one]

Its great to hear your feeling better mate, out and about and able to enjoy it once more. Rest is a wonderful thing.

Glad the weather held out for you too, bit windy here lately, which can be a bit noticeable on a bike, especially one with a full fairing. Just make sure you anticipate gusts suddenly pushing you across the road.

Another small point i noticed is you always park your bike nose in, you should always make sure your front tyre is up against the kerb to stop the bike rolling forward. Better still is to get into the habit of backing your bike in or anytime you park on a slope, no matter how small an angle, including road camber, always point your front uphill. The bike only has to roll forward a little and the sidestand will flick up and the bike will fall over, not good, even worse if parked in a row of other domino's, i mean bikes :shock:

 

[Pipmeister]

Re:

Cheers Mark.

The wind does scare me a bit on the Motorway, although yesterday I was going faster than I should have been - like I mentioned, those ear plugs made me do it .

I see what you mean about parking the bike uphill - the picture in Marlborough High Street is making me cringe now as it is just waiting to nudge forward and go over :facepalm: . Last week when I stopped at White Hill, I remember thinking that I should nudge the bike up to the kerb stone. I can see that parking the other way round is a much better idea - and less faffing about trying to reverse out when you leave.

Pip.