Caffeine: Rocket Fuel For Cycling

It has been six months now since I gave up drinking coffee with caffeine and gave up tea. This was done partly because caffeine made me hyper and didn't help at all with getting sleep, something which has been an issue for quite a while in the UK. Also Galia can't drink coffee with caffeine so now it saves having to make to batches of different coffee in the coffee percolator which was inconvenient.

Fatigued After  a Hard 80 Kilometres

In the meantime, it has been a couple of seasons on my bicycle racking up literally thousands of miles on the road getting fit and losing weight. On the occasion where I ride over 100km in one session, which is quite common, fatigue and lack of concentration hits hard in the last 20 km despite loading up on home made energy snacks and drinks.So, with no caffeine in my system on the rides this is a major benefit that I have discovered to avoid hitting the wall on the end of long rides.

It all started in a village called Roza, around 12 kilometres from Yambol. I decided to stop there for a break after riding around 75 kilometres prior to arriving on the way back to Yambol. I must admit, the weather was hot and I was pushing it throughout the ride up unit that point so it was a very tired and fatigued man who sat down outside the cafe on the outskirts of Roza with a strong cup of caffeinated coffee in front of him.

I was fully aware of the benefits of taking caffeine after starving yourself from it in my previous life as a teacher to gain more concentration facility in exams. I was also fully aware of the use in sport especially cycling where caffeine is taken on the last part of the race to give an energy boost. However knowing about it is one thing, but trying it is something I had never ever done.

One Coffee in Roza

So, here was the first test of caffeine to get me over the last hill and into Yambol hopefully without a struggle with tired legs and fatigue.

Did it work? Well I was shocked, the amount of energy it gave me was amazing, honking up that last hill throughout without any fatigue in my legs and full of determined concentration. Then powering my way forcefully on the last 6 kilometres as if I hadn't done any mileage prior to this stretch. I just couldn't believe that a simple cup of coffee could have such an affect on my energy.

Thee caffeine revelation was something quite new to me, I know the exaggerated effect was due to starving myself of caffeine prior to the intake. It really can be described as rocket fuel.

So, it is my routine now to only drink take caffeine on the final leg of long bike rides, something I have done a few times now and works very well. As long as I don't do more than two 100+ km rides per week, the withdrawal  of caffeine should be enough to stimulate to the full effect.

Don't underestimate the power of caffeine, it was a revelation to find out first hand.

Keeping Fit in Bulgaria

It has been said that moving to Bulgaria and having loads of free time due to retirement can lead to becoming an alcoholic.  Many expatriates could quite easily fall into that trap with the cheap alcohol widely available here and lots of free time.

CYCLING

So, what can you do day to day to keep yourself occupied being without funds from my small teachers' pension to splash out on regular travelling and holidaying. This is a problem I foresaw prior to settling down here and made provisions for this which are now being practiced. I do not have a farm to manage this time round so spare time is plentiful.

FISHING

Also, how do I to ensure I will still alive to get my UK State Pension in 7 years? (You say that I look after my health out of spite not allowing the UK to reward me with the National Insurance I  have paid into my pension working for over 33 years there.)

My answer involves Jogging, cycling, walking, and to keep mentally healthy fishing and practice the piano, (after laying this dormant of over 20 years.) In addition to this writing, which will increase as the days get shorter. In the winter months which are fast approaching, there is a local Gym where I will work out if the weather prevents outdoor pursuits. I have already done the research on this on times and costs the latter nominal.

So all is now in place. The problem is keeping fit is like a drug; if I miss a day or two I get quite agitated with my mind filled full of regret by not plunging into it. Nice to have a routine to follow and set goals on each activity seeing progress. My heartrate has now fallen to less than 50 beats per minute resting which gives peace of mind on my health as a result.

Cycle Accident - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

It has been just over six weeks since my bicycle accident and is something that plagues me on a daily basis.

Still with pain in my right knee which is due to be scanned in a couple of weeks, I hurts to think of myself on a bicycle. This is not from the thought of physical capability but from the fear and trepidation of not being up to it mentally.

In recent weeks I have felt isolated not being able to talk about the accident or cycling which had always been a big part of my life both in practice and verbal promotion. Each time I was drawn into conversation about cycling and the accident in particular I had to stop in my tracks or break down in tears without any warning. So, what I do is avoid the topic completely and not get trapped on the subject when it comes along.

Sleep is another factor, or should I say the lack of it. Getting to sleep is a problem as my mind wanders into many areas, including reflections on the accident focusing of the sequential events of that ill fated morning. From the joy of a lovely morning in second wind on quiet roads looking forward to the undulating road across the other side of Kingsbury Road, to the sound of the van crashing into the car, then the deflected car speeding towards me and the head on impact into me. The lying in the street realising I was injured and daren't move, which felt like a lifetime of waiting. People around me staring, then the police, the paramedics and total confusion. Trying to be polite and not cause people trouble joking but from shock.

The journey to hospital in the ambulance with sirens running, the rest was a blur until I found myself outside the hospital with some surgeons trousers on and broken cycling SPD shoes faced with getting public transport home. All I remember about that was deciding whether I should actually go to work at that point, even though I was in severe pain! Why? I did go to work the next day and that was a bad decision

Even now I feel it hard to write about this and I have butterflies in my stomach thinking about how I can cope it I cannot mentally get back on a cycle again. Depressive thoughts.

I need therapy and counselling I feel. Being a very strong mentally disciplined person I felt I could get through this myself by now by pushing myself hard to make out there is nothing wrong with me, but I can't. The though of buying another bicycle usually excites me immensely, but it doesn't for the first time in my life and I have no incentive to look. This is very worrying and out of character for me as anyone who knows me would tel you.

Right now I just want to stay in my flat and not talk to anyone, not text or ring friends and feel like a recluse. At work I get angry, whereas that is completely the opposite of my history of working practice as a teacher/trainer. 

Seeing other cyclists on the road make me feel quite numb and I am not sure what to make of them. There is a no thought of emotion seeing cyclists. Why?

Lastly, the planned cycle rides and events I had booked up and planned will not be ridden as it stands. I really don't know how I can live without those normally exciting goals in front of me!

In London Dead or Alive? Who Cares?

Everyday I live and work in London and see things that should shock but don't.

Cycling to work through Harlesden one morning, I see someone lying in the middle of the road, I think to myself that he was dead. Drivers were driving past not stopping but swerving to avoid running over him. Pedestrians walking past staring, but that's all. It was unreal as I approached the body,  I parked my bike and tried to drag him out of the middle of the road. It was a late to middle-aged Afro-Caribbean man wearing old clothing and he stunk of stale beer. There was no reaction to anything I did as his trousers began peeling down to the extent of embarrassment as I pulled him along on to the pavement. There were blood stains from a head injury left in the wake of the dragging. Someone seeing me struggling, stopped to help after firstly hiding his manhood by pulling his trousers up again.

Eventually amidst the stream of traffic rubber-necking a car finally had the grace to stop in front of us with his hazard lights on to stop traffic behind and rang for an ambulance. The body was eventually propped against a shop window out of the road and on the pavement, Moments later the ambulance sirens could be heard in the distance and that's where I left the scene with blood on my hands, still unsure whether he was alive.

An uncaring, selfish and disjointed community were evident with this occurrence. This is not the world I want to be part of. What hope is there for people living in this area? What have they to look forward to?

The worst bit? I am not shocked.......Why?

Jogging and Cycling in Towns and Villages Respectively

Having taken up jogging in Bulgaria over the last month, there are many reasons behind this. Before starting can I mention that normally I am an avid cyclist, if ever a few kilograms wanted to be lost from a fit, but aging man, a couple of weeks cycling over long distances usually did the job. I just love cycling, even in mid-winter in sub-zero temperatures (see 365 Bulgarian Adventures.) So why jog instead of cycle?

During the week I am in Yambol and the many cyclists that wheel and hobble along the cobblestone street is a refreshing sight. Every cycle I see my mind says 'one less car', but the cycling is down more to cost than environmental conscience. Most of the bicycles I see are not roadworthy and those that are ride the wrong way up roads, on pavements and carry vast amounts of luggage making the bicycle too unstable to ride so it is pushed. The average speed limit to cyclists in Yambol is just generally just slightly faster than walking pace. If yo add the horrendous potholes that have really got worse and worse this winter as each day goes by, going any faster, without brakes on their bikes, makes absolute sense.(see Roma Riders)

With all this in mind, my bikes is sitting in the garage as my style of cycling is very different from Bulgarian cycling. First and foremost I do it for pleasure and health, I don't think this aspect is even consider for one moment by most Bulgarians. Riding a bike is done only because a car can't be afforded! I cycle like I am on a time trial most of the time, this can't be done in Yambol, nowadays there is too much traffic, too many bad roads making it far too dangerous to travel at speed in such environments. If I have a hybrid mountain bike it would be fine but I have a light and fast touring bike designed for speed on good roads, I can't do that here. I have another bike, a pure road bike in Skalitsa as the road there are excellent for touring and road riding, this is where my cycling usually takes place.

So, the jogging has taken over form cycling in Yambol. I once competed the London Marathon a long time ago, but that is ancient history now as I tramp the back roads of Yambol. Even on the road it is like a cross country event with the torn and uneven road surfaces. I think I must be the only person in Yambol who goes out jogging. I have never seen anyone jogging here since I been here, even in the warmer months. Bulgarian drivers just don't know how to react when passing a jogger, they always pause as they are not sure whether to give me a wide berth or run me over - they certainly have been close to that. Yet if I was on a bike they would give the greatest respect when passing.

Dogs haven't a clue what to do when I pass them. The ones that are chained up bark to the hilt, well that's what they are there for. The wild, free dogs bark when I approach but that stops suddenly when I pass, they also have not seen anything like this going on. It's almost if they are saying that it's their job to run on Yambol roads not mine!

Loosing weight is my prime objective here, plus I've had a few warning signs from my heart telling me to work it a bit more. Also in view of reading Malcolm and Ciejay's Blog, it probably makes me even more determined to keep it up.

Galia did a half marathon here in Yambol quite a few years ago, it was a one off event for charity so she tells me. Pity it's not an annual event, but then jogging is not at all a Bulgarian thing!