Troubles in expat land
A bit of a problem today – the old PC (the one the children seem to spend all day downloading viruses onto) – has given up the ghost. That must be the third of our bits of bad luck, after the swimming pool liner and the tractor.
Still I suppose I should be pleased that this problem will cost less than 1000 euros to sort out, unlike the other two. In truth I’m not at all pleased, but there’s not a lot I can do except rush out and buy a new one.
The queue to use my computer now stretches to the door, and the children have started trying to reserve time-slots well in advance: “Dad, can I have the computer for 11 minutes at 6.43 so I can research the origins of the Greek alphabet”, and so on.
Unfortunately they can’t even hope I’ll pop out on the bike for a couple of hours. I did yesterday – and managed an extraordinary average speed I might add – but now the bike too is in for urgent treatment. Well, a slight adjustment of the gears really, but it means I’m bikeless for two days. so we’re all stuck in the house with one computer for the four of us – how funny is that.
Let’s cheer ourselves up. Here’s a picture of my bike – a super spiffing Specialized Allez Elite. Well it’s not mine it’s someone elses – a picture of mine would show how little time I spend cleaning it. How did they get the bike in the picture to stand up like that, on a white floor and without a wall to lean on, I wonder? And the bike in the picture also seems to have toe-clips – not a common sight.
Earlier today I even resorted to having a turn on Mrs B’s indoor training bike. Having made fun of it for the last few months, it’s actually quite good. Of course I had to pretend that an hour on the training bike was barely worth troubling myself for, but I think the pretence failed when I got off all wobbly and red in the face after about 30 kilometres.
Apparently (so the bike computer tells me) I used up 800 calories in the hour. so presumably on a three hour ride in the country I am using almost 2500 calories. That’s a lot! If I remember correctly that amounts to about seven Mars bars or 20 slices of bread and butter. No wonder I’m hungry afterwards.
For my outdoor ride yesterday, I’d stuck a chocolate energy bar in my pocket before setting off – mostly of course because it looks all professional, cycling along eating energy bars. In fact it’s quite complicated unwrapping them with one hand and your teeth but I’m learning. Anyway I took one bite and then spat it out, which didn’t look at all professional or impressive.
When I took a closer look to see what it tasted so bad, it turned out to be a year past its ‘best by’ date. Did we have it in the cupboard that long or did the shop sell it to us already a year out of date, I wonder?