24.06.2024 Another 20km on the e-bike.

 ~o~

  Monday 24th 56F/11C [6.30] Heavy overcast. Full sun from 9am and 21C/70F promised.

 Up at 4.30. I was wide awake before that. My arm is improving. Still swollen and slightly tender. No tiredness or breathlessness moving about indoors. I can even manage the stairs.

 I have almost finished my very first liter of low fat, 0.4% organic Mini-milk. After decades of consuming only organic light milk at 1.5% fat. I have milk on my porridge oats in the morning. Also instead of active yogurt on a banana at lunch time. I haven't noticed any difference in taste so far.

 I have completely cut out the chocolate biscuits with coffee after dinner. No more daily handful of crisps with my bread rolls for lunch. No more oven ready chips. I have no sugar in tea or coffee and haven't for probably half a century. No milk in tea and I usually have black coffee. The only time there was sugar in the house was for making Xmas cake. 

 I have cut down on butter on my bread rolls, or toast, to a mere scrape. Marmalade reduced to an egg spoon instead of a heaped teaspoon. My bread and bread rolls have always been whole grain. White bread disappeared from my diet forty years ago. A small tin of beer with dinner has been reduced from around 5 times a week to less than three. I don't usually consume any other kind of alcohol.

 7.10 The sun broke through. I have been sorting my six kinds of tablets into a daily dispenser. An expensive plastic strip with seven hinged flaps over pockets. Garbage design. Bought from the pharmacy for about £6 equivalent in olde money. The hinges don't last a week without becoming repeatedly unhinged. A bit like me really. I'd better have a walk before I start waffling and/or ranting again.

 My two kinds of tomato plants were simply grown from crushed, fresh cherry tomatoes out in the greenhouse. They were well watered during the initial growth phase. Now cutting back to only when necessary. 

 My advisor suggests I let them fight it out to find the strongest plants. Currently 35cm high above the soil in the almost, bucket sized pots. They are below the doubled shade nets. So  protected from direct sunshine. Raised off the floor to keep any ants, slugs and beetles at bay.

 7.45 Back from a shortened walk. My right leg was strangely wobbly. Perhaps the result of yesterday's ride. I was too warm in a thin jumper and light cotton jacket. The traffic was unusually heavy. I brought both wheely bins back at the same time. Aided by the gentle incline down to the house.

 11.00 67F/19C. I fell asleep for an hour to catch up. Not very clever! I ought to shop. Very tempted to go to the next village north by bike. Still 80% battery charge left after two rides. Sport and Turbo modes will take me anywhere. They have different supermarket chains with a wider choice. The panniers can cope.

 13.15 I returned from a 20km ride to the next shopping village to the north and back again. Never breathless but my legs were feeling strangely tired today. The Books B67 continues to cause pain. I no longer have any padded vinyl saddles to try. 

 The roads and cycle paths are affected by continuing district heating expansion. I have an appointment for further poking and prodding at the hospital later in the year. It seems they have discovered that I have oversized arteries dotted about my person. It must be all that cycling and hard physical work over the decades.  

 17.00 70F/21C. The first really warm and sunny day. It is expected to reach a high of 26C/79F on Thursday. The greenhouse, end doors have been open to keep it cooler out there. Usually below 80F/27C. The greenhouse sheltered doors and windows to the house remain shut. The indoors has been hovering around 69-70F/20-21C for some time.

 Dinner was mackerel on toast with halved, organic "cocktail" tomatoes. Whatever that means.

 

  ~o~