“Daisy, Daisy” ...

 

... “You’ll look sweet, upon the seat of a bicycle made for two”

(Harry Dacre 1892)

 In all honesty, the real name of my tandem pilot isn’t Daisy. It is just a stage name that he has adopted!

And before going any further, I’ll kick things off with some needless digression...

Daisy Bell (actual name of song) was the first to be recorded using computer speech synthesis (back in 1961).  That’s right, isn’t it, Alexa?

And if the last sentence is lost on you, just ask your children!

More relevantly...

The reason for the opening picture is a (then) prospective tandem ride (a weekly activity).

Use of a tandem is an example of an adaptation that my injury has necessitated (by virtue of being now, visually impaired). 

No bad thing though - this activity is a source much enjoyment (not to mention, exhaustion!).

Since my accident, we have put in a lot of tandem miles, and on one occasion rode about 150 (very hilly) miles in a single day!

The opening picture was indeed taken at lunchtime on that day.

 And here is another picture of me, later during that ride...

There is no reason for its inclusion, save that it massages my ego - I think that it makes me look like a seasoned and conditioned athlete.  

They say that “the camera never lies”, but it might have been a little economical with the truth, on this occasion!

That said (despite my otherwise unhealthy lifestyle), sporting activity is very important to me.  

It doesn’t end with the tandem...

I work out at my local gym every week and indeed have a personal trainer.

Now, many gym goers would have you believe that they only do so, in the pursuit of cardio-vascular fitness and general conditioning.  

Personally though, it is nothing more than a futile attempt at the development of a beach body!

 

I normally train every week, with a running club. This week however, I decided not to venture out in a rainstorm, and resolved to treat parkrun (and yes, lowercase “p” is the correct branding), as a sufficient substitution.

For those who don’t know, parkrun is a series of organized and timed 5km races. These now take place all over the world, on a Saturday morning.

Parkrun plays a very large part in my weekly routine. I have now competed in 430 of them and have served as a volunteer (these events are exclusively manned by volunteers) on well over 100 occasions. 

I also served as lead advisor to parkrun UK on participation by the visually impaired.

Here I am taking part in a running race (although not a parkrun):

Swimming has also been a big part of my life. Unfortunately, I got out of the habit during Covid and haven’t yet re-started. Steps have however, been taken to rectify this.

It wasn’t just pool-based swimming - I also participated in open-water swing, in which my biggest achievement was 2 miles in Lake Windermere. At risk of the skintight rubber wetsuit being a source of over-excitement (!), this is me on that very day...

 

So, I have mentioned swimming, cycling, and running. Put them all together, and what do you get (?) - triathlon. I am now a member of a triathlon club.

So, what has all this got to do with brain injury?

As I have said many times, the most significant outcome of my injury is psychological damage - a very large component of which is an enormous excess of negative feelings.

Let’s start with the fact that these are activities which I always enjoy, and Phil v2.0’s compromised emotional state can certainly do with a maximization of enjoyment.

It often feels cliched to say that loss can sometimes be re-cast as opportunity. It is however certainly the case here. There are lots of things that I can longer do (including going to work). Yes; that can be seen as a loss, but in return, that “loss” has given me more available time for enjoyable activity; and for me, that includes sport.

And there’s more...

The prospective tandem ride wasn’t the sole motivation behind this post...

A few days ago, I received an email from the mental health charity, Mind (I am on one of their mailing lists).

This served as a reminder of one of their recent initiatives, which addresses the positive effect of physical activity on mental wellbeing.

I have already mentioned the possibility of enjoying participation in specific sports.

Further, a resultant increase in physical fitness, can be a source of satisfaction.

Adopting, these sorts of activities can also boost confidence, and in many cases enhance sociability.

There is also another reason why sporting activity is supportive of mental health; namely that physical exertion stimulates a release of hormones, that are acknowledged as mood improving.

All sounds very positive from a mental wellbeing perspective, to me!