A horrible word, a word which implies that no forward movement or development has occurred. In certain areas of my life that rings 100% true, in others, it could not be further from the truth.
During my last blog post I mentioned the frenetic nature of life at home. Little in the way of riding except for 24/12 and a trip to Brechfa but one hell of a journey through one of the most stressful things you can willingly enter into.
Moving house.. the minute our offer on a house both myself and Kate fell in love with on first sight was accepted a tension introduced itself across my shoulders which failed to dissipate until the key was being turned in the lock for the first time. Lessons I've learned from the whole experience is that Solicitors and Estate Agents will never form the backbone of my Christmas Card list and that if you want something doing you may as well do it yourself, regardless of how much money you're paying someone to do it for you.
24/12 went well, conditions were generally horrendous and our planned meet up with a few friends failed to go ahead when Plymouth became an island the night before the race started. We finished 8th in the Male Pairs for the 12 hour race and, despite having a real shortage of miles in my legs I got through unscathed due to 98% determination and 2% fitness.
Since then there has been another complete lack of riding, my beloved Scandal sits awaiting the post ride fettle it desperately needs in a new over sized shed at the bottom of our new over sized garden and I swear I can feel my legs shrinking by the day. Any saddle arse interaction has come in the form of a 10 mile daily commute, something that has failed to occur this week after a trajectory error with a chisel saw me pay 2 visits to the local A&E on Sunday to have my thumb glued.
The safety course rattles on, I'm adding the finishing touches to my final project but shutting down my laptop after a long day at work to reopen another for yet more typing takes its toll.
On a positive note, my 15 month exile to South Yorkshire is coming to an end after I landed a dream job close to home, it's a big thing for me, I worked damned hard in amongst the cloud of stuff filling my head to do my homework on the Company and how I could make a positive impact. I'm determined to repay the job offer through total commitment, it's not until you lose your family for a period of time that you realise how much you need them in your life on a daily basis.
I feel as though the summer has been a tunnel, I've stumbled through the dark and a spot of light in front of me is growing daily, the course and working away from home will finish in the same week. I consider this the bottom of the dip, I want to get back out on the trails of home with long term friends without guilt of ignoring my family. Next year is taking shape in my head, this one has been consigned to the drawer marked 'experience'.
Stagnation? maybe to an extent, but any ship exiting the doldrums will soon feel the wind filling its sails and progress towards its goal being made
