Reflection

It's a few months now since I completed my JOGLE, I was asked for some advice this morning on tackling it by a colleague who was considering giving it a go.

On reflection the best advice I could give them was that 80 percent of it is mental effort, can you keep going when your mind and body say it's enough, can you keep going when the fun seems to have disapeared, can you keep going when your wet cold and tired?

How do you practice for the times when you want to quit, well heres some advice on that subject.  When you are out doing your cycling or whatever exercise and you get to the point where you think "thats enough" change your mind and keep going, get your mind used to saying "NO" to yourself.

Play your own tricks..  say to yourself come on lets do a few more miles.  If your cycling on your route and there's an easier way to go that avoids that "Big Hill" or cuts a few miles off, make yourself do the hill and if you really want to push get to the top turn round and go back up again, train for the worst terrain not the best.

If the weather outside is cold raining hard thats the time to head out, when everything else is telling you to sit back and watch TV, when your partner laughs and says your mad that's the time to get on your bike, after all for a normal every day person to want to cycle from the top to bottom of Britain there must be something a little mad about you, I think it's just being British.

Get used to your own mental company, talk to yourself with that innervoice, tell your self jokes - make plans,  "BE YOUR OWN PERSONAL MOTIVATOR".

You can never be fit enough, I am not what anyone would describe as a fit person, I am a big heavy guy not a natural cyclist, be realistic about the distances you can cover!

Never be worried about asking for help, trust me the world is full of people who will go out of their way to be kind to someone they can see needs them, I wasn't sure of that before my trip now I am convinced of it.

I am now fully recovered from my trip and the injuries I sustained and I am beginning to think about my next one, it's going to be longer this time I am sure of that and I already have a good idea about it.

Incidentally, I went out last night it was raining heavily, foggy I headed for the hill I don't like I hit puddles, I couldn't see the road at one point, my eyes were stinging from the rain and it was a little scary with cars flying past, but I felt fantastic at the end of it!

If you want someone to talk to about your plans you can email me with pleasure.

darknewt@systems-engineer.info