What's been gwanin'? Finished uni (don't know when), worked in a chippy, worked in a Japanese restaurant, currently working in a small accountancy firm.
A lot of things changed since back then. Things I have realised. I think I've just started to learn to compromise. Especially when I've been going down a path where I just wasn't happy about where I was.
Cycling as a sport has helped me in a lot of ways in learning and developing myself. But I have realised that it has also reinforced that non-compromising behaviour, where everything on the bicycle can be upgraded, improved, made lighter. Compromise, and the competition around you will leave you to dust.
Or so I thought. I've started to try and compromise recently and trying to made do with what I have instead (which is way more than enough). Instead of finding excuses in my equipment, I've found that just baring with it has allowed me to succeed in ways I would have never imagined a few years ago. I did a few months of track cycling on my fixie bike with just trainers and pedal straps, and somehow progressed to a point where I'm keeping up with some of the fastest guys from Kings and UCL that are supposed to be far superior in the discipline than me (on paper).
This new found gung ho attitude has kinda been my downfall for this year though. I pulled my left gluteus medius over the Christmas holidays, which is a key stabilising muscle in cycling. Without it, a cyclist can't really put out any power. A few weeks later, I went to a house party and met some guys that invited me to bouldering. I had already done a few sessions around a year ago, so I thought "why not". Since then, I have probably done a month and a half of it and I intend to keep it up in the long term to build up dem gunz.
Bouldering is pretty liberating compared to cycling. There's no need to for crazy amounts of equipment. No need to spend 30 minutes of kitting up and stocking up on food, prepping drinks etc.
Instead, I turn up at Bermondsey, pay, change my jeans to some shorts or trackies and climbing shoes, chalk up and climb!
Even though I have found a new sport to fill in the forced cycling hiatus, it still feels like a fill in.
I still miss the masochistic nature of cycling... =(
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