Second ride in 2019 – looking ahead

M1 motorway from a Busway bridge

Today I had my second ride in 2019 – looking ahead.  I think I’d better explain the title before I ramble on too far.  When I run and, to a certain extent cycle, I often get some really good ideas.  So one of the effects of exercise is to get my brain working a little more.

Here’s just a few things running through my mind:

• My shopkeeper project.  With the current changing High Street scene in our towns, I am thinking of documenting the shopkeepers of Dunstable. Already many have closed up shop for the last time and many of those remaining are under pressure.  Wouldn’t it be nice, for future reference, to document the shops and other businesses in the town centre.  The end product could be either a website or a book.  I’m thinking of involving any local photographers who might like Be interested, a web designer and so on.  Wouldn’t mind getting the support of the Town Council first.
• Turning our shed into a gym.  Currently it has gardening stuff in there, not too much.  Plus a few spiders.  Might be a fun, economical project.  Should certainly make it more easy to have a fitness session every day and also a little “me” time
• Art.  How do I carve out some time to practice drawing more?  Having failed my art O’Level in the 1970s I believe I can be better than that.  I like people and the thought of capturing a likeness is what I’d like to do.  BUT it is pointless unless I can capture something of someone’s personality, character, mood and so on.  Here’s a sketch I did of Tom Pilston as I knew him in the 1980s.  He became a very notable and talented photographer working for the Independent and others.

• All in all I cycled for about 30 minutes and did 7.4 miles over the flat Busway.  I stayed in the same gear and made an effort to get some huff and puff!
• I thought of the Irish author I assisted in his book about UK transport which included a section on the Luton & Dunstable Busway.  I must get in touch with him, to ask how it turned out.
•  I thought of this blog.  I think as I cycle more this year, I ought to be revitalising the blog.  It should happen naturally. I was greatly encouraged by Halfbike contacting me today, as they’d seen my previous review and asked if I ever did get to ride one.
• I thought about our finances.  We are currently overspending.  Do we cut down on our expenditure, which will gradually happen anyway as our daughters become more independent, or do we simply take more out of savings?  We also need to buy a car.  Rachel’s Toyota needs replacing and it seems we need two cars, even though we are retired and live in a town.  At first I thought we could simply buy a cheap car for £1,000 to tide us over.  Going this low is taking a huge risk as we could either buy a great car that will keep going for many more years, or it could be an expensive mistake.  Currently I like the idea of a Honda Civic, a 10 year old model when Honda started to shed its blue rinse image.
• We have a 2019 wall planner.  We need to make sure we get the right things in the plan.  Visits to my mother.  Visits to far flung relatives and friends.  Plus I need to plan our holiday – I have always wanted to go to Andorra and this could be the year we do this.  Currently thinking of taking a car, via the Portsmouth to Santander ferry and go from there.  I mooted the idea of camping to Rachel but she has vetoed any thoughts of my “one man, two close friends” tent from my youth. Can’t think why.