On yer bike

Personal human powered vehicle

We met with an old friend of Konna's recently, who started working for Finland's central bank the week before Lehman Brother's hit the blender (talk about in at the deep end!).  Amongst other things we found out that the couple are on a sport and work-out kick at the momement, training for the 'Tour de Helsinki' (140km) and the Swedish Vätternrundan (300km).  Apart from being impressed, this reminded me I used to cycle a lot (maybe 100km a week), and did the London-Brighton a few times (only a measly 87km) and had at the time wanted to do something bigger... but never did anything about it. Having dragged my bike here (at great expense) I really should make more use of it.

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I can really do without extra reminders of the fairly large round number of years that my birth anniversary reaches this year. But free health checks are not to be sneezed at I suppose, even if they are age related.

The capable, and English speaking, student nurse took me through the blood test results ("Well done, they are very good" she congratulated, like I had been practising for them), went through some lifestyle risk questionnaires (fairly low), checked my blood pressure and body fat ratio. Slightly high BP, and (unsurprisingly) I need to exercise more and lose some weight. "I used to cycle a lot" I said "but now hardly at all". "Well it's a good form of exercise.  It's also good to have a target to motivate yourself."

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We scored free tickets for the excitingly named Go!Expo - the annual sport and outdoors exhibition in Helsinki.  Apart from avoiding the golf area, dodging people practicing casting fishing rods (indoors), being somewhat freaked by the gun display on the hunting stand, and tripping over several dozen display tents, I was mainly lusting over exotic carbon-fibre bicycles and collecting information for cycling holidays in Åland and Gotland. And then there was the stand for the 'Tour de Helsinki' in September. 

Hmm, do I feel an idea creaking into existence?