Greetings all and good morning from a chilly China. Nah not really it's just my living room.
Finally getting back on track after what seems like a blooming eternity, I've spent more time at the Royal Stoke than a Junior Doctor, had enough radioactivity blasted at me to make me glow in the dark and been prodded, jabbed and ruddy well pin cushioned all in the name of "getting better!!".
For the record the current distance is 1302.6Km after 49 days which means I'm some 235 Km behind schedule. So I have 2210.5Km still to ride and 63 days to do it.
The immediate target is the next tree planting which is another 104.3Km away and will represent 40% of the challenge completed. That's looking like Sunday unless I can really push it over the next 2 days.
A weeks time is when I really have to evaluate the challenge as that will be 56 days and the halfway point. That is when it's a yay or nay on extending the finishing target and whilst I'm still hopeful that the 112 day timeframe will be achievable it's obvious that any further medical issues will mean having to switch to an alternative finish.
Well there's another postcard for you to see and some information about the locale.
Stay safe, love to all
Laoniu Bay sits at the junction of Shanxi Province to the south and Inner Mongolia to the north. It is where the Great Wall meets the mighty Yellow River and then runs alongside it for the next 44mi (70km). A lone, ruined beacon tower stands at the end of the headland.
The Yellow River has an amazing journey across China. Its source is in the Bayan Har Mountains, Western China at an elevation of 15,700ft (4,800m) and it flows east until it empties in the Bohai Sea. It is the second longest river in China, after the Yanghtze, and the sixth longest in the world.
Heading east, the river runs through two large freshwater lakes, Gyaring and Ngoring. The water is crystal clear with a steady flow. It then makes two loops, first is northwest, followed by northeast, before it takes a sharp southern turn until it turns east again for its final flow into the sea.
The upper river travels through pastures, swamps, knolls and peat bog. The terrain along its banks changes from steep cliffs to deserts and grasslands. When it reaches the middle section, the river runs through the Loess Plateau, where large amounts of mud and sand end up in the river, giving it the muddy-yellow colour. Each year approximately 1.4 billion tonnes of silt are carried to the sea. In 1933, a record 3.9 billion tonnes of silt were discharged into the river from the plateau. The flow here is powerful, making it a great location for hydroelectric plants. When it reaches the lower section, the river slows down and sometimes it even dries up before reaching the sea.
The Yellow River has flooded many times, causing enormous losses of life and destruction. It has also been used as a military tactic by sabotaging canals and reservoirs or intentionally flooding warring states. Sometimes such plans backfire, as it did in 1642, when a Ming governor ordered the dikes to be broken in the hope that it would flood the rebels. Instead, it destroyed his city, causing famine and a plague that killed nearly 80% of its population.
Over the course of the last 2,500 years, it is estimated that the Yellow River has flooded nearly 1,600 times. It has also changed its course noticeably 26 times and severely at least 9 times. The most significant change was in the 12th century when instead of flowing into the Bohai Sea, as it usually does, it shifted so far south that it flowed into the Yellow Sea. It took 700 years for the Yellow River to return to its more northerly course.
Well for the moment I'm grounded. A really heavy cold combined with a gastric bug has totally levelled me. I can't even get to the front door without having to rest and anything energetic is just out of the question, even grating cheese leaves me breathless.
It took days of testing to convince the family that I didn't have Covid and even now I'm getting the "Well you might have had it before you started testing".
Tests say NO get over it.
As soon as is practicable I shall resume the challenge but it's becoming pretty obvious that I need to reset the finish date as I'm well behind and until I get back to full capacity it's not going to improve. So with that in mind I'm going to put it back 23 days until the 25th June.
Now that is a very special day for me as it's the anniversary of the passing of my best mate who also happened to be my Dad. We always do something as a family, usually a meal and a few drinks and celebrate him so it would be nice to have something else good to celebrate as well, plus he'd have loved it.
So there we go should be back in the saddle in the next 48 hours and back to optimum performance as soon as.
Stories can be anything your imagination thinks up. Why ..would the Tortoise beat the Hare if it were not to finish what you started.. gl
Well, Mark can decide if I was First or you were first to tell him to slow down and finish the race. As for motivational Speaking ..... I'd make better Wedding Singer do a cracking George Formby
So please feel free to encourage, cajole, rail or even pelt me with virtual rotten fruit
Well done..... we can't waste food on this project however deserving. cough!
Mm! Edit; Page One: this no longer the case Mark..... if so I will cease to prod the contestant and retire to my Illegal-Eagle nest. The Legal Eagle that is Essex Lad will now be your Mr Motivator. good luck.
So please feel free to encourage, cajole, rail or even pelt me with virtual rotten fruit
Well done..... we can't waste food on this project however deserving. cough!
Mm! Edit; Page One: this no longer the case Mark..... if so I will cease to prod the contestant and retire to my Illegal-Eagle nest. The Legal Eagle that is Essex Lad will now be your Mr Motivator. good luck.
Errm. Thanks? I think. Any and all motivation is fine, stick or carrot it all drives me onwards.
Had a phone call this morning at 8.00 from my GP to discuss the results of the MRI scan on my back from about 3 weeks ago.
Always a bad sign when they open by calling you by your first name rather than Mr X and so it transpired.
Long story short, there is damage to the vertebrae in the lower back with shrivelling around L4, L5 and L6 and also disk bulges around L4 and L5 which are trapping the nerve roots.
Okay that explains the numbness in the right quadracep and the persistent lower back pain, so just dose me up with the relevant pain meds and lets go eh ?
Erm NO actually. "STOP the exercise right away until Muscular Skeletal have contacted you and I do mean immediately".
I explain that I'm about to hike up Pen yr Ole Wen (I'm literally in the car park at Ogwen Cottage) and am curtly advised to "get back in my car and postpone it". Apparently "mountains will always be there".
What about my cycling challenge ? Well that's on the back burner as well, MSK will decide on whether a course of injections or a more invasive remedy is called for but if the bulges trap the nerve roots any more severely then the numb sensation could well turn into no sensation, and loss of any useful function of the right leg.
I can swim gently and "light walking". Wtf is light walking? I'm 23 stone, nothing is light about me. Also Physiotherapy will be in touch to offer guidance and advice
Sod this, I've never been any good at accepting failure, I can't swim the great wall and sure as heck can't walk it in the available time.
The doctor is going to try and chase up an appointment as urgent, whatever that means but until then I'm stopped.
The reasons for getting and staying active are still there, my angina has improved, I'm losing weight, I'm fitter and the pre diabetes programme had just begun. But, against the probabilty of losing the use of my right leg even if only temporarily it's all secondary.
So for the moment I'm in a state of limbo. Need to exercise but can't. Want to exercise but can't.
Somehow, some way and at some point I will finish this, it isn't over, no way. But I will listen to the doctor, as my wifes carer, I need to be mobile and I can't risk compromising that.
Anyway, there's much more important stuff going on in the world so until next time, take care, stay safe and love one another.
Comments
Finally getting back on track after what seems like a blooming eternity, I've spent more time at the Royal Stoke than a Junior Doctor, had enough radioactivity blasted at me to make me glow in the dark and been prodded, jabbed and ruddy well pin cushioned all in the name of "getting better!!".
For the record the current distance is 1302.6Km after 49 days which means I'm some 235 Km behind schedule. So I have 2210.5Km still to ride and 63 days to do it.
The immediate target is the next tree planting which is another 104.3Km away and will represent 40% of the challenge completed. That's looking like Sunday unless I can really push it over the next 2 days.
A weeks time is when I really have to evaluate the challenge as that will be 56 days and the halfway point. That is when it's a yay or nay on extending the finishing target and whilst I'm still hopeful that the 112 day timeframe will be achievable it's obvious that any further medical issues will mean having to switch to an alternative finish.
Well there's another postcard for you to see and some information about the locale.
Stay safe, love to all
Laoniu Bay sits at the junction of Shanxi Province to the south and Inner Mongolia to the north. It is where the Great Wall meets the mighty Yellow River and then runs alongside it for the next 44mi (70km). A lone, ruined beacon tower stands at the end of the headland.
The Yellow River has an amazing journey across China. Its source is in the Bayan Har Mountains, Western China at an elevation of 15,700ft (4,800m) and it flows east until it empties in the Bohai Sea. It is the second longest river in China, after the Yanghtze, and the sixth longest in the world.
Heading east, the river runs through two large freshwater lakes, Gyaring and Ngoring. The water is crystal clear with a steady flow. It then makes two loops, first is northwest, followed by northeast, before it takes a sharp southern turn until it turns east again for its final flow into the sea.
The upper river travels through pastures, swamps, knolls and peat bog. The terrain along its banks changes from steep cliffs to deserts and grasslands. When it reaches the middle section, the river runs through the Loess Plateau, where large amounts of mud and sand end up in the river, giving it the muddy-yellow colour. Each year approximately 1.4 billion tonnes of silt are carried to the sea. In 1933, a record 3.9 billion tonnes of silt were discharged into the river from the plateau. The flow here is powerful, making it a great location for hydroelectric plants. When it reaches the lower section, the river slows down and sometimes it even dries up before reaching the sea.
The Yellow River has flooded many times, causing enormous losses of life and destruction. It has also been used as a military tactic by sabotaging canals and reservoirs or intentionally flooding warring states. Sometimes such plans backfire, as it did in 1642, when a Ming governor ordered the dikes to be broken in the hope that it would flood the rebels. Instead, it destroyed his city, causing famine and a plague that killed nearly 80% of its population.
Over the course of the last 2,500 years, it is estimated that the Yellow River has flooded nearly 1,600 times. It has also changed its course noticeably 26 times and severely at least 9 times. The most significant change was in the 12th century when instead of flowing into the Bohai Sea, as it usually does, it shifted so far south that it flowed into the Yellow Sea. It took 700 years for the Yellow River to return to its more northerly course.
It took days of testing to convince the family that I didn't have Covid and even now I'm getting the "Well you might have had it before you started testing".
Tests say NO get over it.
As soon as is practicable I shall resume the challenge but it's becoming pretty obvious that I need to reset the finish date as I'm well behind and until I get back to full capacity it's not going to improve. So with that in mind I'm going to put it back 23 days until the 25th June.
Now that is a very special day for me as it's the anniversary of the passing of my best mate who also happened to be my Dad. We always do something as a family, usually a meal and a few drinks and celebrate him so it would be nice to have something else good to celebrate as well, plus he'd have loved it.
So there we go should be back in the saddle in the next 48 hours and back to optimum performance as soon as.
Mark
@goldon Look back at your comments on this thread. I'm not sure I see a future in motivational speaking...
The Legal Eagle that is Essex Lad will now be your Mr Motivator. good luck.
Always a bad sign when they open by calling you by your first name rather than Mr X and so it transpired.
Long story short, there is damage to the vertebrae in the lower back with shrivelling around L4, L5 and L6 and also disk bulges around L4 and L5 which are trapping the nerve roots.
Okay that explains the numbness in the right quadracep and the persistent lower back pain, so just dose me up with the relevant pain meds and lets go eh ?
Erm NO actually. "STOP the exercise right away until Muscular Skeletal have contacted you and I do mean immediately".
I explain that I'm about to hike up Pen yr Ole Wen (I'm literally in the car park at Ogwen Cottage) and am curtly advised to "get back in my car and postpone it". Apparently "mountains will always be there".
What about my cycling challenge ? Well that's on the back burner as well, MSK will decide on whether a course of injections or a more invasive remedy is called for but if the bulges trap the nerve roots any more severely then the numb sensation could well turn into no sensation, and loss of any useful function of the right leg.
I can swim gently and "light walking". Wtf is light walking? I'm 23 stone, nothing is light about me. Also Physiotherapy will be in touch to offer guidance and advice
Sod this, I've never been any good at accepting failure, I can't swim the great wall and sure as heck can't walk it in the available time.
The doctor is going to try and chase up an appointment as urgent, whatever that means but until then I'm stopped.
The reasons for getting and staying active are still there, my angina has improved, I'm losing weight, I'm fitter and the pre diabetes programme had just begun. But, against the probabilty of losing the use of my right leg even if only temporarily it's all secondary.
So for the moment I'm in a state of limbo. Need to exercise but can't. Want to exercise but can't.
Somehow, some way and at some point I will finish this, it isn't over, no way. But I will listen to the doctor, as my wifes carer, I need to be mobile and I can't risk compromising that.
Anyway, there's much more important stuff going on in the world so until next time, take care, stay safe and love one another.
Mark
The mountains will indeed always be there. As will the Wall.
What is more important is that you can continue to look at them for a long time to come. Sincerely hope you can come back to this challenge.
Phil
That's not good at all. Take care Mark.
Hope and expect you to get back on it quicker than most in a similar position.
Stay Resilient Mark and wish you well, think of you!
You can still eat healthily , all the best mate