Last year I did C25k, 3 runs per week and ended up with a calf injury anyway shortly after getting back to 5km.  This year I decided to only run once per week and worked out my own progression, and it only took 3 or 4 weeks to be running continuously (now up to about 7km).  I have been doing a lot more yoga this year which I think has helped stretch out the calves, but for me the recovery between runs seems to be as important as what you actually do during the runs.

I’m fine – I’m living in the house I bought 20 years ago on a significantly lower salary than I have now. A combination of overpayments over the years and a decent savings habits means that when my fix ends in September I’m just going to pay it off as my cash savings exceed the outstanding balance.

I’m glad I never got tempted by stretching myself for a bigger house than I actually need.

I’m in a similar-ish position – 2 years left on the term when this fixed deal expires in September and it’s tempting to just pay it off rather than remortgaging. I do have the cash to cover it but it would leave me with a fairly slim emergency fund. The killer for me is the fees for remortgaging – the fee free/low fee deals have higher rates and I’m not sure I can be bothered paying a fee for the ability to have a slightly bigger emergency fund when it will build up again fairly quickly once I’m no longer paying £1k per month on the mortgage. Taking out a 0% on purchases credit card which I can use in that period if necessary is probably all I need to cover the gap.

Not the specific ones you asked about but we’ve crossed between Belgium and the Netherlands a couple of times this week and seen absolutely nothing.

I can confirm it’s quite busy on the kwaremont!

I wouldn’t be surprised. When our 2020 ferry was cancelled (for the trip we’re currently on) we were meant to have a credit. We only found out they’d randomly rebooked us on a different ferry when they emailed to say it was cancelled. We did at least then get a refund rather than another credit.

I wouldn’t be surprised at this rate.

Our update – we couldn’t get through yesterday (we’re on holiday and didn’t want to spend all day on hold!). When we got through today the best they could do was a ferry 3 days later than we booked. As we have jobs to get back for we ended up cancelling and booking on dfds to Newcastle. Less convenient but at least we have confidence it will sail.

We’ve got a text about it now, looks like an extra nights holiday for us…

I think we will probably move to the day after if given the choice (makes us a bit late back for work on the Monday but our jobs are flexible enough to be able to do it if we can get home for mid morning) and we could head to Maastricht to see the start of Amstel Gold on the Sunday before heading back. But we’ll see. Just arriving in Rotterdam now, then heading down to Flanders.

Hot_fiat is that definite? We are currently on the pride of Rotterdam (just passing immingham…) and booked to come back on the pride of hull on the 9th. When we checked in they gave us the return portion of the ticket with no comment.

Pretty sure it would. We’ve got a Rotterdam to Hull booked for 10th April and not sure if it’ll be running or not. It is running at the moment but unsure if the Sunday crossing will change to a Saturday.

Rotterdam-Hull on 10 April is pride of Rotterdam so should be running (we are booked on the pride of hull on the 9th which is more iffy and wondering whether we’ll end up on a different route or moved to the sundy).

It looks like our outbound leg on Wednesday will be fine as it is pride of Rotterdam, the timing of this all happening was crap for us because on our ticket we didn’t get any refund if we cancelled less than 14 days in advance, so have had to hold tight and wait to see what happens. We could have changed it to other dates (we were planning another trip later in the year anyway) but didn’t want to risk them going pop/pulling the route further down the line.

When I did it recently he knew. It was a very strange day – various other people had announced they were leaving earlier in the day and we had internal meetings about how we’d cover for them which I kept very quiet in because I knew that I was waiting for an offer elsewhere. I obviously didn’t want to say anything until it arrived but also didn’t want to commit my future to my current role. Finally the offer arrived and I was about to call my boss when he phoned me about something else. I kicked off with “I was about to phone you, actually” and got “not you too?”. Yup.

5 more days to work til I’m out of here.

Drove from Glasgow to Yorkshire last night (transiting through as the only flights we could get for an essential journey were via Scottish airports). No sign of any enforcement on either side of the border but roads pretty quiet.

Weighing in with my perspective – I’m currently abroad and travelled out here last week. I live in England. My dad lives out here and since March there have been virtually no direct flights. Direct flights resumed on about 1 November and I was booked for the 7th. That got cancelled due to lockdown, but I managed to find an alternative route out here. Some may query the legality of it, but my dad lives alone and hasn’t seen any of his family since February so I was willing to give it a go on the basis that it was actually possible for the first time in months. We didn’t leave the house for anything other than solo exercise in the week or so before we came out here, and we will do the same on our return (although there’s no formal quarantine requirement at the moment as case levels out here are much lower than at home). I’m actually working from “home” today (although I am taking some time as holiday while I’m out here). I did worry about the flight, but I’m doing everything I can to manage the risk.

Mainly. We both WFH. The only bike ride I’ve done with someone other than a member of my household was one with another couple in mid July, where we stayed outside and distanced the whole time. I’ve eaten out a few times but again only with OH apart from one day where we met my sister outside at a cafe. We’ve holidayed but in the UK within 2 hours of home.

The only people who’ve been inside my house are one other couple (actually in his role as a bike mechanic picking up something I wanted him to work on but they’re also friends so he and his OH came over and we had a longer chat) and the guy who came to service the burglar alarm.

A couple of minor non-compliances – an afternoon partly indoors with two other households at my grandmother’s house (but all being careful as she’s 95). I gave my nephews a lift somewhere as a favour to my sister. And a few (single figures) hugs with family.

I’ve owned one. Bought when I was 25, still living in it at 42. Not too long left on the mortgage now.

I’ve sold two others. First was my parents house – they emigrated and I lived in it until it was sold, then bought my own place. I also sold my grandfather’s house in my role as executor. Dealing with the process in chain free situations has rather put me off doing it with my own house and a chain!

I’ve only ridden with someone else once since lockdown – that was with my OH on Sunday because it was my birthday so we spent the day together. We live together so could have gone out together at any point but didn’t.

Mind you, all my rides in the month or so before lockdown were solo too so maybe i’m just antisocial rather than being concerned about my health…

I am due to organise a TT in early august and am fairly sure that I will cancel. Although the racing part is low risk, I don’t want to put volunteers at risk, and for a 50 miler it’s a significant commitment for people who help out. Not to mention that last year I got a fair amount of hassle from locals about people parking in their village near HQ. No-one parked illegally, the start itself was outside the village and no one was racing through the village so last year I was happy to deal with it as mainly nimbyism but in the current circumstances I’m not prepared to risk the club/sport’s reputation.

Particularly if there is no HQ and all the riders pee in bushes…

I have assiomas and all the data comes through to Garmin connect.

I went into the dales on the road bike yesterday and it was quieter than I expected. Parked cars in lay-bys but their occupants seemed to have gone for walks rather than milling around congregating. The busiest place was eccup reservoir on the way back into Leeds.

We’ve had takeaway more than normal (we’d usually eat out more though).

A rainbow jersey signed by Alejandro Valverde

Commercial solicitor. I can work from home fine but after the initial rush of people asking what their contracts say about this situation I suspect that a lot of projects will be put on hold meaning that they don’t need anyone to advise on them.

More interestingly my firm was acquired about 10 days ago and we’re currently going through tupe/redundancy consultations and face to face meetings about integration. That process will become rather more challenging if people aren’t in the office – a lot of the support staff being made redundant don’t have remote access/laptops and need to finish/hand over work before they leave.

Just checked AXA and they say

“In general, travel insurers compensate for cancellations only under certain circumstances:

1. The FCO advises against travel to the booked destination.
2. The insurance policy includes Travel Disruption Cover*.
3. The holidaymaker has already contacted their airline or travel provider to change dates or arrange a refund.
These three conditions must be met for the policy to kick in.

* In the case of novel coronavirus, we have decided to lift that condition for the next two months. Even if your AXA policy doesn’t include Travel Disruption Cover, you can claim for cancellation if the FCO advises against travel to your precise destination. Our extension of cover is valid for trips due to depart on or before 30 April.”

So our trip to Belgium at the start of April is covered (to be fair at the moment Belgium looks to be less affected than some other countries anyway). My main issue is whether the tour of Flanders/Paris Roubaix actually happen!

Much to our surprise my 10 year old nephew not only claims to still believe but has been telling everyone how he woke up in the middle of the night with an empty stocking, looked away for a moment and then it was full. He’s possibly doing it for the benefit of his younger brother, for the presents or genuinely does believe. But this year there has been far less of the normal writing letters to santa and putting reindeer food out so it isn’t as full on as it has been.

And it’s in the fridge…

Personalised ones to the OH from labour and Brexit party. Nothing for me.

Others – labour, lib dem, green. More labour than anything else. The conservative candidate in this seat was suspended for anti semitism so we haven’t had anything from them. As such I think we’ll be a relatively safe labour seat (we already were with Tories 2nd on about 50% of the labour vote and none of the others getting above about 2000, and the Tories have shot themselves in the foot with the issue that could have won them votes here with a big Jewish community, although the labour guy is actually Jewish anyway).

At work we have a communal area with the lockers and a sink, then three wetroom style rooms each with a bench which is sheltered from the shower by a screen (the floor by the bench still sometimes gets wet if the drains are playing up so it pays to use it…). Two standard with overhead shower and hose, one disabled. That’s unisex and the provision for the building, although admittedly it’s not a huge building.

The showers/benches themselves are good, but the communal area leaves a bit to be desired – nowhere to dry stuff other than putting it in your locker, so it doesn’t dry too well. When they first opened the building the only way to dry your hair was to bring your own hairdryer and plug it in to a plug socket on the other side of the area to the mirror, meaning that anyone coming in from outside had to step over the hairdryer cable. They have now fitted some permanent hardwired hairdryers/straighteners but still not as well located for the mirror as they could be. No loo either – if you get to work and need the loo you need to go into the main bit of the building (different entrance) and up the stairs to the office area as there’s nothing down by the showers.

Other slight gripe is that now they’ve put the straighteners in there are lots of people who wander in on their way into work to touch up their hair, which can make the communal area quite crowded!

Yup, a friend is making a conscious effort. She doesn’t drive anyway, but is also trying to use public transport for European business trips rather than flying. Yorkshire to Maastricht by train went smoothly, but she missed her ferry trying to get to Dublin in a similar manner thanks to northern cancellations. She’s flying home.

I had a sip last night. Making a risotto so got a single serve bottle of white, put about 2/3 of it in the pan and drank the rest. That actually felt enough for me to my surprise.

I made it 🙂 Haven’t really posted on here as it ended up being a bit of a non-event. Much easier than I expected it to be (my OH doesn’t really drink and I only ever really have a couple over the weekend). No real need to search out non-alcoholic alternatives, just breaking the routine that Friday night is wine night. it’s coincided with a month of focussing a bit more on healthy eating and training, so although I’ve lost a couple of kg I’m not really blaming the alcohol. Mid month I did start feeling much better but since then I’ve picked up a bit of a bug and it hasn’t been as noticeable.

Might give alcohol a miss tonight too – I’m leading a ride at 9am tomorrow morning, but I’m going on holiday next weekend so I’m sure some wine will be consumed while I’m there.

A trip to Oudenaarde taking in Koppenberg Cross on Friday?

I’m on a Neo so no calibration worries

Sneaky D cat win for me last night. I’ve always been hovering round the border between C and D, but my previous turbo was a bit more generous with the power figures than the Neo, plus I’ve put on a couple of kilos. Add to that a lack of racing over the last year or so, and Zwiftpower had me as a D so why not take advantage of it 😉 3 laps of Gotham Grind – supposedly flat but with a 10% kick which got me on every lap! I realised that I mainly seem to ride New York on workouts so didn’t have a good feel for the ups and downs of the course.

Anyway, I went off hard and got into a group of mainly Cs. I held onto them until the first time up the 10% when that group splintered, then stayed with the back half of it until about the second time up it when I realised I was working a bit too hard to get round the full distance so backed off a little, rode solo for a while then jumped onto a pair who were just behind me until the third time up the kick. At that point my legs died and I soloed into the finish as best I could. 4th D on companion app but 1st on Zwiftpower 🙂 Average power bang on 2.5, and I wouldn’t have been last in C.

I was absolutely broken at the end, but a good workout and I think I’m safe in Cat D for a short while longer.

I haven’t tried the Direto but switched from a Qubo to a Neo and the Qubo was definitely a little flattering in its estimation of my ability. The Neo is far nicer to ride though so I’ll forgive it!

We did my grandfather’s DIY. It helped a bit that my sister and I (both executors) were also his only descendants over the age of 18 and the main beneficiaries (there was also a bit to her kids), and she’d had power of attorney for the previous year so we knew where all the bank accounts etc were already and could be fairly confident that we knew of any debts.

It took maybe 9 months start to finish (including sale of the house). It’s also possible to get the grant DIY then get legal advice on any complicated issues rather than getting a solicitor to do it all.

[slight disclosure – I am actually a solicitor anyway, but have ever done any probate work so I’m not sure it helped that much other than having easy access to people in my office who could certify documents and do swears]

Ha ha, I clicked on the thread as I’ve just been in a very chatty bus queue waiting for the 36 back to Leeds. Maybe there’s something going on in Harrogate 😉

Doesn’t answer the actual question, mind you!

I don’t think I’ll manage to finish the power up tour – rode some of the course in real life today though 🙂

Looks like I did similar to dirty rider today! First was the za (women’s) race round the volcano. Stuck with the front group for about half of it then came in 7th.

About 50 minutes off the bike and then back on for the power up event. I wasn’t intending to race this but got pulled along a bit at the start. Unknown for me I was actually sitting 3rd in the ladies (B) category and the race had commentary from Nathan Guerra so he focussed on me for a bit.

I’ve been on zwift for years (there was only one route when I signed up!) But have drifted away from it a bit – doing ZA has got me enjoying it again though. A neo and finally sorting out my ant dropout issues have also helped…

We are doing Flanders and Roubaix next year – Airbnb in Ronse booked for 10 days – on the rvv route and about 10 minutes on the train to oudenaarde. Then drive over to Flanders on the 2nd weekend. We’ll be going on the hull Zeebrugge ferry.

Daern – we may be in the same club. I hear rumours that we are considering another change of supplier… I do try to get club kit as I race, but minimum order quantities from some suppliers mean that getting skinsuits can be a bit of a hassle if not enough people want them.

I do try to wear club kit if i’m doing club related stuff – not just club rides or races but stuff like riding out to help at an event.