Take your time and enjoy the ride

"Take your time and enjoy the ride" - This is advice both TJ and CH  have given me.  And its the right advice for where I am in terms of the bike journey. But today, Mario (the bike mechanic at Penny Farthing Cycles) gave it to me also.  As I've previously mentioned, I love that man! (in a love your bike mechanic way ;-)).

Today I took my bike in for a silver service - bit like a bike wof.  If I was mechanically orientated (but I am not) I should be able to do this stuff myself.  One day I probably will.  But today I had the silver service.  That's what its called; where all the deailers, gear grease, break fluids or whatever are checked.  So, Mario did all that, changed my tryres to racing tyres, and affixed my computer ;-) ;-) (2 smiles)!

When I dropped off my bike this morning, Mario (Mario who sold me my shoes) came out to serve me from his workshop when it was me. I went over what I wanted done today, and then explained that I had stuffed my cleats because I find it hard riding up some hills due to my fitness.  I didn't say my weight to him.  His immediate response was "it doesn't matter, the more time you spend in the saddle, the fitter you will get.  Keep riding and then you will get fitter"  He was so nice and genuine about it.  Then when I picked up my bike tonight, viola, he has solved my "problem".  He has fiited new Look cleats with little covers!  So if I have to walk (and that's still a reality) then I fit the covers and walk.  Brillant.  Again, he explained how the covers work in such a nice way.    And then he made quite a point of telling me to take my time on the ride, and to enjoy myself.  I thought that was cool.

Another good workout today.  Hutt girl was in the house, and man was she PUMPED.  There were quite a few newbies in the room, including a guy called "undy" or at least phonetically that's his name.  So that gave her a bit of "new material" to work with. Hutt girl did quite a Hutt LM thing and selected the playlist from the room.  Sometimes that works really well, and today it did.  There was a good grunty no 7 that has references to cows in it.  So, Hutt girls calls out "watch out for the cows".  I can visually related to that doing a lo of riding on "country roads". I liked that track. I'm surprised the instructor from the "mighty Waikato" cow country has never played it! - or at least I don't recall so.

I sort of defeated my workout today though.  A guy at work was celebrating the muslim festival so there was banana cake for morning tea, and in the afternoon there were giant jaffas becasue someone was leaving for Auckland - I ate 4 - the food table being in close proximity to my desk.  There's usually always food on the table - and I can usually resist, but I didn't today.  Hello, I did enjoy the cake and the jaffas.  I sort of am a little anxious.  I'm hoping to hear whether my contract is extended.  Hopefully I'll know tomorrow. 

But either way (whether the contract is extended or not) as Mario  (and T) would say "it's all good".  If it gets extended then sweet.  If it doesn't then I'm free to ride the road...

Total cost at PF today $299.00

I haven't acknowledged the final split up of Westlife.  Not on my i-pod thing, but a track that always makes me smile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1LEISP6e9c