The Snug

I passed the stone mark!

People here probably don't know it (and why would they?) but after a two and a half year break I got on my bike and started cycling to work again around 6 weeks ago. It's not been easy - the route home is all uphill and my bike's not very well (needing new wheels, bottom bracket and gearsets), but this morning I realised how much it had paid off when I weighed myself.

A stone. Gone. In 6 weeks. 4 inches off the waist, only leaving my 6 to go. And I've not changed what I eat. I do actually eat reasonably healthily, but like many other Northern peeps from my generation, the concept of "finish what's on your plate!" leaves me with an inbuilt inability to throw away food once I'm feeling a bit full.

And what's more, it's saving me money and time. It used to cost me £40+ a month and ten hours a week to get to work nd back, but now I'm spending nothing and taking 15 minutes less than the bus

I've realised what a pleasure cycling is again, too. I went through a period between ages 8 and 21 when you would barely find me off a bike. I'm not quite up to that level of obsession again but the prospect of going to Canada for a week in a fortnight is spoiled with a little niggle in the back of my head:

"What are you going to do without a bike?"