Considering I have used <month> Update as a title before it makes sense that I should add a year mark as well, so this is an Update for October 2025. It was going to be a specific post rather than this more general update, but I can’t decide how much to share on that topic so it’ll remain just and idea/draft for now.
Writing:
Done very little over the last few months, found it very hard to commit anything to paper (or screen), not been sitting around navel gazing, but writing was not one of my busy tasks. I suspect as I do less cycling as the winter closes in and I can get out comfortably less I will write more. I hope.
What little I have done is a draft of a new story/character/setting. A LitRPG/Portal Fantasy with a start in the future – the parents of the MC have gone off as colonists to a planet, currently Sigma Draconis though I’ll probably pick a more realistic colony target (from Earth) at some point, not really part of the story so much as I wanted some way for my heroine to not be angry at something happening to them, but be more disgusted with them abandoning her. Her brother who also remained on Earth with her has died recently and then she finds herself portalled to a planet where magic appears to be quite real.
Her power is a mixture of out of the box thinking (to the denizens of the new place) and long years of training in a variety of skills, she is somewhat reborn as a younger version of herself (~16-18). Much mystery as to what caused her teleportation to happen, can she get home… does she want to. Is the new place she’s come to a world within that universe she left… is the magic perhaps some form of super advanced tech?… etc.
Mostly planned… now I have to buckle down and write it.
Cycling:
Not done as much as I had been doing so far this year. The weather has broken and it’s often to wet/windy to be enjoyable. Got out to Dentdale again… just reread my previous post and realise that this Update is a little behind the times.
My former colleague and I did go out on our bikes, we didn’t manage to complete the ride I had planned, he’d been ill and was riding an older unfamiliar bike, we got into Kingsdale and started the climb up out of the back of it, and we decided that that day wasn’t going to be the day to finish. We had a great day apart from that and the cable to my dropper post coming loose.
I got that fixed, still not sold on the technique my cycling mechanic person uses to fix the cable, but he has the tools that I don’t. I plan on fixing that issue so the next time that system dies I can do the work myself. Cost of job £15, cost of tools to do job £25… but I’ve now had the job done twice.
On the 28th of September I decided to make another attempt, this time I resolved to go via Ribblehead and the flanks of Whernside, it’s a route I have long wanted to try and was part of one of my earlier planned routes (for coming home by), I’d also get to see some of the 3 Peaks Cyclo Cross event which was held on the same day… The ride up Ribblesdale from Helwith bridge was great, tonnes of people out and many cyclists. To be expected, by the time I reached Horton in Ribblesdale I was already seeing competitors coming down the road to the turn off for Pen-y-ghent (to ride up and down before finishing in Helwith bridge). What I hadn’t counted on was the fact they were using the same route I was planning on using to get to Dent to get off Whernside, my alternative route wasn’t much further, but it was unplanned and due to that took longer than planned (and used more battery than I liked). I did see a new route I want to try next spring when the weather improves.
I did finally reach Dent, however climbing out of dent on an incredibly steep stony path, I had to brake and then rolled backwards with the brake engaged, I rolled somewhat further than I expected as the rear brake came loose from the frame. At the time I though one of the brazed/welded standoffs that the brake was mounted onto had snapped, but it turns out a bolt had come loose/fallen out and the repair was easy, just replace the bolt. But I had to be rescued after a ride down Lunesdale (no battery left for the much longer ride home).
I have since returned to Dentdale, once again going up Kingsdale, I didn’t get to Dent itself as it was too late in the day, didn’t get home till gone 8pm which was around an hour and a half after sunset, thankfully I had carried bike and helmet lights with me so I was pretty safe. But my battery was pretty much gone (under 10%) coming up the track at home. That ride was three pretty big climbs though, so while the distance was not that far (~40 miles) the climbs really take the juice out of the battery.
Work:
Finally have had some paying work to do, made ~400 boxes (400 tops, 400 bottoms), that the shop uses for gift tokens and occasional other very small gifts. And yesterday did the first 600 ice packs ready for the first Cheese Advent calendars going out toward the end of November… I’m trying to get a little ahead as I’ll need to do another 900 in November for the 2nd set of advent calendars which we send out ~12th of December. Not forgetting the ~5k or so we need for the rest of Christmas. I also need to make up ~1,000 gift boxes (big silver/gold ones, not little green ones) for the advent calendars to go into, and the boxes that they go into. Think we sell ~500 advent calendars per year (not cheap, but well worth it for rich cheese lovers Buy it Here, it’s £125) and while I don’t do much on the cheese side, I do a lot of the prep work to get them out of the door. I’m hoping to manage to work about 40 hours in November and December (each) so about ten hours a week. With a little luck and some hard work I can afford to upgrade my bike batteries (an additional main battery or range extender is my goal), with extended goals of a new GPU and a drive train for me bike.
Health:
Mentally I’m feeling mostly okay, being able to get outside and ride on my bike has been a huge boost this year, even when the weather isn’t great being outside is a huge boost for me. I always said in the past that I didn’t think it was the important, but I now realise that it is. But that walking even with the dog just isn’t something I enjoy that much. I walked a lot in 2022 – ~2,500 miles – over the year (based on a step count), but I couldn’t keep that up in 2023 and had a shit year where I spent much of it feeling bad that I couldn’t face being outside at all let alone walking great distances.
In 2024 I got back on my bike and while I found I did enjoy riding my bike, I just wasn’t fit enough to go as far as I would have liked, the bike being old and poorly looked after didn’t help… nor ultimately did buying a 2nd slightly more modern old and poorly looked after bike. I planned every ride to do as little climbing as possible as it meant I’d be walking up the hill. Then this year with my eBike… I actually like riding up hills more than riding down them.
My physical health hasn’t been great this year, I’m still having chest pains, they might be my heart – honestly given the family history it’s likely – but the specialist who looked at it said I didn’t have much build up of fatty deposits in my heart. And because some of the pain isn’t actually centred around where my heart is… maybe it’s not me heart. Wait till I die then they can cut me up and have a good look.
Future?
The clocks go back/forward next weekend (I think) and after that I’m going to be trying to get as much work done as I can so bike riding will be less. Just trying to get through to Christmas, then relax into 2026. Watch this space I guess.