I Might Have To Step In

A flu-filled L drags herself to the gym and manages to survive the experience. If L is unfit to swim on Saturday I might have to don the wetsuit and step in. Yikes. I also manage not to die this morning, in a much more life threatening pursuit, cycling to work.

I think perhaps I may have kick-started a bit of fitness madness at work. My fellow cyclists haven’t really been pulling their weight recently. However this week, one colleague has now cycled three days in a row despite complaining of a bad back. He’s had to take to spending his lunchtimes lying on the floor plugged into his ipod to ease the pain but I think he’s enjoying being back on the bike.

Another colleague has been cycling between work and his new girlfriend's house every day, which is greater distance than his usual commute. On top of this he’s been running in the evenings and the early mornings. His new girlfriend will be wondering why he keeps coming round, if he hasn’t got any energy left for her.

The Government will be pleased though with the resultant increase in cycle journeys, and I can give them some even better news. Governments love statistics, because you can say anything with statistics. So here’s one for them, done by own very unscientific research. The number of girls doing the Derby to Nottingham commute on their bikes is up 100%. Wow.

Well actually, a massive increase is it not. As I surveyed, at great inconvenience to myself, the number of Lycra clad lovelies astride their racing bikes today the final total came to four, when it's usually only two. They’ve all obviously believed the hype, that according to BBC, women with big strong thighs don’t get heart disease and we're all the better off for it.

After a trip to the pool, its dog class where someone has a new puppy, which is related to Doggo. His elder brother is the father. He's sired no end of puppies, obviously a bit of a ‘Jack the dog’, unlike Doggo. MD on the other hand...