Idiot Cyclist Abroad - Part 2 - The Cyclone

This entry I wrote whilst in the Maldives, but have posted when I got back. I hope you enjoy.

Many people have told me how their relationship with their wife and their obsession with sport can sometimes be in conflict, or strained as their other half just doesn't understand it.  For me, that's not a problem as my wife is very understanding.  Just the week before coming away on holiday I was with her in the local bike shop and I was preparing to broach the subject of purchasing a road bike.

I nervously stand by a bike, £650 on the price tag and ask "Do you like this?".  Joanne looks at it and replies "No not really", my heart sinks this is going to be tougher than I first think. She then points to a nice carbon framed bike at twice the price and says "Darling I like this one, it would suit you, maybe we can save up for it after our holidays".  Maybe its not as hard after all.  No conflict here I think to myself, although its probably got something to do with getting me out of the house every Sunday morning after providing her with breakfast in bed rather than supporting me that's doing the trick.

Its of no great surprise then that I have been able to put in three training sessions a week in at the gym whilst holidaying on our island paradise.  Its even better that she explains to my eldest why I need to do it. He laughs at me and says mum explained when I return.  They look at one another and grin, I have no idea what passed between them.

Today our paradise has been hit by a tropical cyclone and its rained and rained.  Can't really complain its the first day of bad weather since we got here.  Joanne says to me "honey you off to the gym today" to which I say yes and head out.

Unlike other days the gym is packed, one of the few places on the island that is dry.  So I set up the program on my bike and I'm off.  After a few minutes, three German couples enter the gym,  all in their mid twenties at a guess, the lads obviously work out, the girls are tiny and slight of build.

One of the girls takes the bike next to mine and the boyfriend, being an expert at the gym, comes over to get her going. Now these bikes need to be pedalled to turn them on and I say  "start".  He replies "No! Need set programme".  I say "Start, it will turn on, then you set programme" we both repeat ourselves several more times before the girlfriend either gives up or gets bored and starts pedalling. At this point the control panel lights up, she gives me a knowing smile and her boyfriend shouts "stop, I set for you".  She stops pedalling and the bike turns off. At this point she shouts at him in German, he shrugs his shoulders and walks away and she starts again and sets her programme. See sports do cause a strain with some couples.

One of the other guys sets some weights and heaves them into the air with a huge scream in the process, to the delight of his girlfriend who claps. He puts them down and she moves over to the same weights.  She is tiny but does a lift and jerk in a split second,  her boyfriend swearing at her and marching off somewhere else.  She then starts doing reps with the same weights making him look a bigger weakling than before.

During all of this, I am spinning away at 120 spm laughing at these girls and guys.  The muscalar guys prancing around like peacocks showing off to the girls.  The girls demonstrating both superior intelligence and strength making them look both idiotic and weak at the same time.

My hour workout, including my high cadence intervals are over in no time.  Its true though about strained relationships and also true that sometimes the funniest things happen in bad weather.

I'm so glad my wife is so supportive even if its just so she can have a quiet life.