8 May 2022
Very nervous start to the day…as I hobbled down to the basement to find our bikes! Wondering if my calf could cope!
But foot forward (remember as a kid using your pedal in the middle not ball of your foot?)…and it worked well. No problem at all (until I stopped!!)
Thanks to Dirk Wilyman for the advice: “Tell Neil that you two need to drink electrolytes on the bike and stop being old fashioned. That’s why his calf is knackered”.
But…I do think he is wrong in his diagnosis…for I was well hydrated when the “injury” occurred…and I am unsure if cramp usually endures for so long!! No..it was a tweak (???)…felt like a cramp sort of pain…but it was an instant pulled muscle sort of pain which has endured for three days now (dehydration cramp I think not!) Getting better I am glad to say…despite the absence of electrolytes!!
As my own very scientific research confirms: “Science has now said that, yes, beer is more effective than plain water at rehydrating the body. In the beer drinkers, researchers found a “slightly better” rehydration effect. Researchers attribute this to sugars, salts, and bubbles in beer that enhance the body’s ability to absorb liquids”…!! So there you have it!! I am happy…!!
Anyway……a delightful cycle ride today! And certainly the best in terms of avoiding roads and cars! Of our 80km or so…at least 65km were on cycle paths…mostly along stop-banks (or dykes if you are Dutch!)
The land is very flat!! And very fertile…just great cycling…albeit probably a bit repetitive after the lakes and hills!
But with no rain…and plenty of sunshine at the end if the day…it was just lovely!! And such a relief after our ride into Verona…which was really as bad as it (hopefully) gets!!
Our target was Este…a small town only 60kms or so from Venice…complete with castle! And lovely it is too.
Dead as a doornail when we pulled in at 1pm….(guess what Martin had for lunch!)
…but it got busier and busier as the day went on!
Interesting that the main hotel in town remains closed (after-effect of Covid?)…which maybe explains the – generally – surprisingly high accommodation costs…but we found another nearby (faithful Booking.Com had nothing!). Must be the narrowest (hotel) staircase Martin and I have ever experienced! Less than 600mm!! But located above a Gelateria…so M happy!!
(Actually…I am being unfair….I drink more hydrating beer….M enjoys more ice creams…and I had the burger for tea instead!!)
Venice tomorrow!!
Later… (old-fashioned, Dirk…really?)
Dirk, you have to keep in mind that Neil has only been drinking actual water….voluntarily…. for the past couple of years of his 65 years 😂 I’m with you. When in doubt electrolytes….cures everything (especially hangovers) but a wooden leg as my old Dad would say. ( He probs spent hours trawling the net to find stats to back up the beer drinking!!
#Beergate
#Beergate!