Finding the road less travelled

Recently I took a bike ride along the Monsal trial in Derbyshire, it was sunny and a great day out. A popular route with walkers, runners and cyclists – hardly off the beaten track I know but; it was new to me, so I barely noticed the 16 miles we’d ridden as I explored and enjoyed the scenary.

Sometimes our fitness routines can get stuck in a rut or they get cancelled altogether and we have to find something else to do.
This of course has been the case for all of us over the past 2 years, as gyms & classes were shut down, finding new ways to exercise during the lockdowns and restrictions became a necessity and we know that is the mother of invention. So having walked all the familiar paths and trails a number of times, my bubble and myself set about trying to find new places to discover on our weekly hikes, within our immediate area.

We were very successful in finding new turf, there were incidents & accidents and fun along the way, once my companion and myself were talking so much, we didn’t take proper notice of exactly where we were, finding ourselves in a wood, beyond dusk, with two very vivid imaginations, citing teen horror flicks as we bumbled our way back to familiar surroundings!

I certainly felt the benefits of all that leg stretching and fresh air, vowing to keep it going but how many of us have really continued with our lockdown walks/bike rides?

Perhaps it’s time to find new tracks again, especially now the weather is milder, to keep our fitness varied and avoid boredom and more to the point, that when we explore new places we don’t notice so much the time, distance or how many steps we’ve taken and although the motivation to get out ’n about is to stay fit & healthy, it almost becomes a side element to all the entertainment being had.

– This article has been published in the May edition of Life Magazines – http://www.lifemagazines.co.uk