It's been an interesting start to the year...

 Well, interesting is one way of putting it...

The year actually got off to a hectic start. A bit of cycling, some walking followed by some drinking, lots of bicycle maintenance, NSRI duties on the Pink Buoys around Sedgefield, to name a few things.

My bike riding is going from strength to strength, I think. When I can get on the bike. Which is not as much as I would have wanted. But then, life has a habit of getting in the way of the more enjoyable things. I've been averaging about 200km a week between the road and mountain bikes, which isn't bad considering where I was sitting just four years ago. On the couch.

In Cape town, I had been well on my way to being a fat bastard. I'd ballooned to 106kg, my heaviest weight ever. And I was tired of it. So I bought a bike. Cycling, as big as it is in Cape Town, was not the best place to do it though. Unless you got in the car and headed for the Durbanville Hills, you were going to be riding mostly in traffic. Not pleasant, I can assure you, even though Capetonians are quite considerate of cyclists for the most part.

Then we moved to Sedgefield, three and a half years ago. I sold the hardtail bike, upgraded to a "couch", a Trek Top Fuel5 dual suspension and never looked back. To date I have logged over 10,000km on this bike.

Then just over two years ago, I was looking for a new challenge in cycling. I bought another bike. A road bike. Talk about a totally different experience, a dimensional change from mountain bikes. These things are built for the speed junkies, so long as you can handle the jolting on our crappy South African roads. And, in addition to the mileage on the MTB, I've put on almost 10,000km on this bike too. There is something exhilarating to be said for doing 80kmph down a hill with nothing but the side of a matchbox of rubber and some lycra between you and a nasty road rash.

The difference in experiences between the bikes is like the proverbial chalk and cheese. The MTB is used for building strength and handlebar control, while the road bike is more for speed and endurance. I love them both, for those exact reasons.

Our athletics/walking/running club, Sedgefield Striders, reopened in mid-January as is the norm after the December holidays. It's true what they say about this club...it's a drinking club with an athletics problem. But what a great bunch of people. Always ready for a laugh, friendly, helpful and considerate. And on the first Wednesday of the month we usually get our biggest turnouts because that is Braai Night. The club supplies the fires and the members bring their own food and utensils. On top of which, our parent club, the Sedgefield Sports Club, has a cash bar where the cheapest booze in Sedgefield is available. A win/win combination on a Wednesday.

The school year also got off to a start in mid-January. "The school year? I thought you were retired?" I hear you say. Yes, I thought so too, until eighteen months ago when my brother decided to take a jump off a ladder and take his own life, leaving me to look after his then 10yr old, now 11yr old, son. That's another sad story though. The boy's mother deserted them about 7yrs ago and my brother did what he could to raise the lad, but in my opinion failed dismally.

The boy's discipline has improved a lot, but was abysmal at the time. He had pretty much been left to his own devices, constantly eating what he could get his hands on (just about everything bad), playing PG18+ Xbox games, bingeing on TV shows and movies (also mostly PG18+), and doing just about what he wanted to. He was 87kg in body weight, which is more than I weigh currently.

On that, I mentioned I weighed 106kg in Cape Town. I'm down to 83kg. "Hmmmm", you might think. "23kg...that's not bad." Actually, it's mind-blowing when you think of it another way. 23kg is FORTY SIX (yes, 46) blocks of butter. Put those next to each other and see what you think then.

But, back to the boy... He has dropped something like 18kg in weight, is cycling quite strongly, and is getting out a whole lot more than he used to. I took away the PG18+ games and movies, installed parental controls on his phone and tablet (including restricting his daily usage of both to a fraction of what he was used to) and have succeeded in a large part with installing discipline in the lad. I know there are times he hates me for it, but that's because he hadn't been subjected to much of it a couple of years ago. I'm okay with being the "bad uncle" because it's for his own good. One day he'll hopefully realise it.

He's doing okay at school, but is lazy when it comes to putting in additional effort on projects and tests. It's going to bite him in the ass if he doesn't buck up before the upcoming exams, and he has been told so on numerous occasions. Again, one day he'll hopefully see why I have been driving him to studying harder. Again, it's for his own good...not mine.

Stand by for another episode soon. Look after yourselves out there, folks...