Over these 12 days in Joburg I've got to know one of the bikes in the gym pretty well, we've shared about 6 hours together. The saddle is bigger than my head, it points to the left a bit so you feel crooked on the bike, the pedals are too wide apart so it feels like riding a horse, you can't get out the saddle as you fall off, and all of the readings (speed, pulse, cadence) are completely random! It was very scary the first time when you know you're trying hard and your pulse is about 168 (much higher for me at altitude is anaerobic) and suddenly the stupid machine shows 180!! I only see that at the top of very steep climbs, so halfway through a session is bad news. It got worse, then I saw 185, 190... I thought to myself, wait a minute, I don't feel that bad.... aha! maybe I'm getting fitter and can push myself.... then I look at the reading again. 165. Wow, look at that recovery I thought, pretty good. 210!!! What?!?!?! I'm going to die, take it easy, take it easy... keep breathing, nice and deep. 164. Better. 130. Hang on I thought to myself, these readings are nonsense. Ignore. Once I came to that conclusion the bike never scared the living daylights out of me again as I stopped using the pulse facility. Anyway, the saddle on my Litespeed is straight, the Garmin never gets my pulse wrong, six hours of thrashing myself actually gets me somewhere and when I get out the saddle I really fly.
Nathan's flyer.
I'm looking forward to riding it again on Sunday ;-)
Nathan Evington
28/02/77 - 03/11/07
About Nathan
Nathan, was a big chap in more ways than one. He was always to be found at the centre of the action, telling it exactly as it was – loudly!
In fact, Nathan was in such a hurry to make his impact on the world, he arrived on a cold February morning 8 weeks early. He was so premature that he spent his first month in hospital, and at the time was one of the youngest babies in Hedon Road hospital to survive!
Cycling played a huge part in Nathan’s life. He loved the film American Flyers and watched it many times. In it, there is a scene where the main character does the "torture test" which involved running on a treadmill for as long as possible before ending the test by hitting the "chicken" switch. After Nathan’s diagnosis of cardiomyopathy in 2004, he was actually quite excited to discover that he would be required to do his own "torture test" and spent a good deal of time psyching himself up for a good performance. In fact, he was so determined that it was ultimately the doctor, his Mum and the technician who had to drag him off, as Nathan refused to give in himself.
Cycling also revealed Nathan’s talent for remembering facts and figures. He was our very own walking cycling encyclopaedia. He loved to test his friends and show off his knowledge, and he was always the person you would want on your pub quiz team.
Nathan was determined to live life to the full, and unbeknown to his Mum he began playing in a football team a few years ago. The cat was out of the bag when a new football trophy took pride of place on the mantelpiece one evening. Nathan was very proud of himself and his team-mates, although I am reliably informed that Nathan was valued more for his enthusiastic participation, rather than his football talents – which led to his shots on goal just missing the target – 100% of the time!
Nathan was the life and soul of any party and loved to dance. He would always take to the dance floor first, and was quite happy to dance alone. However, his infectious enthusiasm always encouraged others to join him.
Nathan was a kind man, and always generous to a fault – on the benefit of his Mum and brother. He had a very special sense of humour – one he shared with his brother – and left his mark on everyone he met.
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I have a week in a hotel to look forward to the week after next, but will have my bike with me so I'm hoping I'll have time in the evenings to sneak out for a couple of hours. It's the right time of the year for it... Just hope I don't get training course "homework" to do! I already thought a week in the gym sounded like torture!
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