Tour de España

Our pastor at church lent me a book recently about maintaining a healthy body. For 'healthy body' read 'fitter body than yours, my friend'. So I took a look at it and was fairly happy with how much I already knew. After all, I am a science teacher and like to play a bit of tennis. Mind you, I haven't managed to play much since coming out of Africa and my fitness was pretty poor. As I turned the pages it was put into perspective how much I had chosen to ignore. A few long looks in the mirror and I was inspired...to change! Any little health niggles I have could only be attributed to poor eating, lack of exercise, slovenly posture or old age!

No longer satisfied with watching the cycling, I have obtained a bike and now go out every other morning on it. The first time I tried to cycle out of Alfaz I had to stop three times in the first 4km and turned around at the roundabout below La Nucia. The next time I made the same journey without stopping and was quite pleased. After that there was no holding back. I went all the way up to La Nucia and then down towards the coast and back up to Alfaz.

This morning was beautiful. I was out for about 2 hours and cycled up through La Nucia, over the top of Polop but decided that to go on up to Guadalest was a bit much at this stage without telling the family where I had gone. So I dropped down to Xirles, went through some rough back roads and came out in Callosa d'en Sarria where we have been looking at Finca properties for fun. The country roads around there are great and the mountains spectacular. I was feeling really pleased with myself and day dreaming a little on my way back up to La Nucia on the return home when from out of nowhere two cyclists raced past me up the hill and called out a cheerie "Bon dia!" (which is Valenciano for beunos dias). Oh well, I comforted myself with the knowledge that they must have just set out, while I was two hours into my workout...but come the tour de España, I'll be ready for them!