WEEKLY BLOG EPISODE 92 | VITAMIN MOTORCYCLE

Good evening and happy Tuesday! You just never know which day I’m going to post my weekly blog now, do you?! I would say I’m sorry about that, but to be honest I’m just enjoying writing when I have the time and energy, rather than worrying about a schedule. I trust that’s okay!

This week I started my treatment for low iron and B12, treated myself to a new pair of walking shoes, accidentally went to a Christmas market, and had an excellent day at Motorcycle Live. Let me tell you about it…

Taking my Vitamins

I’ve now been taking my superstrength iron for a little over a week, and have had my first two B12 injections (catch up on Weekly Blog Episode 91 if you’re not sure why). I have to say I’m not seeing much change just yet, but these are early days, and I clearly need to wait for my body to catch up and start making use of the added ingredients. In some ways I’m feeling even more tired than I was, but that could very easily be my mind giving my body given permission to be tired after fighting the fatigue for so long. My stubbornness is taking some time off!

When I visited the nurse for my first jab on Friday, she told me just how low my B12 was, and they weren’t kidding when they said it was rock bottom. Oh dear. I’m very glad I went for a check-up when I did, even if it wasn’t to talk about that in particular. I’m also very glad my doctor ordered the right kind of tests, that I could have them quickly, and that the required treatment could start straight away.

Quick Boost

My injections are all in quick succession, so in another week I’ll be nearly done with the six doses of B12 I’ve been prescribed. Thankfully they are alternating arms, so neither one gets get too sore. Although I have to say the second jab did sting quite a bit! I then have a follow-up with my GP to chat through the rest of the blood test results, and to see what happens next about making sure I don’t get similar results again in the future.

I’m sure that some might think it’s weird I’m sharing all this here on Splodz Blogz, but I’m very keen to be open about it. We just don’t talk about some things enough, and I want to use my Weekly Blogs as a place to keep you updated on how things progress. These were always intended to be a journal of life between the adventures, and so this is exactly the right kind of topic for this space. As far as I know, I’m not seriously sick here, but this significant enough to make a dent in my life at least for a little while. I’ll check in again next week.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXAzmhUI2r4/

New Shoes

I may have been shoe shopping… I’ve been lusting after the new The North Face Womens Vectiv Futurelight Exploris Leather Shoes for quite some time now, and on Saturday I gave into temptation and bought a pair. In fairness I received a voucher and some money towards a new pair of walking shoes for my birthday (read Weekly Blog Episode 90), so it wasn’t like this was unplanned.

We went to Cotswold Outdoor at South Cerney to look at shoes for my husband, but clearly, I wasn’t going to not try on the ones I wanted. And of course, once I had them on my feet, a full size up thanks to The North Face’s inability to deal with UK sizing accurately, they weren’t coming off again. I got rid of my fabulous and well-loved Salomon Women’s XA Pro 3D V8 GTX (I still don’t like how shoes are named) at the end of my Coast to Coast trip, and these will be a most suitable replacement.

They are certainly a bit of a splurge, even with the birthday vouchers helping out and a 10% off code we were able to use, but I really like them. I might even love them. The OrthoLite footbed and Surface CRTL outsole promises comfort and grip, and the Futurelight membrane promises waterproofing – here’s hoping! And while they are walking shoes from the technical side of things, they are also nice looking trainers that will get plenty of casual wear from me.

Currently Loving

After doing as I was advised by the guy at Cotswold Outdoor and wearing them around the house for a day or two, I’ve since worn them on a couple of short walks and for traipsing around Motorcycle Live, and I am very pleased with my purchase. These will do very nicely for my lunchtime walks and weekend exploring when I don’t need quite the specification my hiking boots provide.

My next Currently Loving post will be landing in a day or two, I took the photo for it at the weekend, and you know these will be featured in that. I’ll let you know in a few weeks if they are still living up to my first impressions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXIh_BXIgZ3/

Christmas Time

After a successful shopping trip, we headed into nearby Cirencester with the intention of getting some lunch, to find that it was their big Christmas market. I said at the top there was an accidental trip to a Christmas market!

I can now say that Christmas has started, as I listened to the Salvation Army band play carols, and browsed various Christmassy-looking market stalls. We didn’t let temptation win over for a second time in the day, though, and managed to return home without a bag full of treats.

Cirencester is an old Roman settlement, with a heap of interesting sights on the map, and it’s been on our list to explore for a while. Unfortunately, it was hard to wander and look at all the sights with the market going on, so it remains on our list for another time.

Motorcycle Live

After a year off for obvious reasons, Motorcycle Live is back on at the NEC at the moment, and we spent yesterday mooching around all the shiny machines and gear. I actually think that it was one of the best Motorcycle Live events I’ve been to for a while.  

Partly that was down to spending time chatting to Dom and John from Globebusters, catching up from Iceland and about motorcycle overlanding in general. They’re based on the Triumph stand (Globebusters partners with Triumph on their tours), and it was so good to see them. But it was also because it just seemed to have a good buzz about it.

I wouldn’t say it was quiet, but it was certainly less busy than I’ve known it. I don’t know if that was down to it being a weekday (fewer kids…), or because of the pandemic still hanging over us. There just seemed more opportunities to see the bikes on display without feeling like you were holding other visitors up, have meaningful conversations with staff, and be a bit more relaxed about things. I did wonder if manufacturers would allow people to sit on the bikes this year, but that wasn’t an issue – they were being wiped down regularly (not between each person, but often).

Electric Motorcycles

If anything, there were more bikes on display than I remember – even if Yamaha didn’t come along this year. Very noticeable was the number of new-to-me brands showing electric motorcycles. I admit that most of them seem to be made very cheaply and have a tiny single-charge range that would only be good for a short daily commute, but there were some which looked promising. There’s definitely a concentration on the city-rider at the moment; scooters and moped-looking bikes are most common.

I’d be very interested in trying an electric motorcycle sometime. If I could find a nice low one for me to ride comfortably. While I know they’re not made for the type of riding I like best just yet, once they take off in the commuter market the range and charging speed will gradually be improved. Although I did notice someone has done a round-the-UK trip on a Zero, one of the current market leaders in electric motorcycles, which is something I wouldn’t mind repeating myself given the opportunity.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXGDHGroy1G/

My Next Bike

One disappointment is that Triumph’s new Tiger 1200 hadn’t been launched yet when we went, so we couldn’t see it. Launching a bike mid-way through the show means that anyone who goes in the first few days doesn’t get to see it or learn about it. I’m not sure why they would do that – an odd marketing decision if you ask me, not least because dealers over in mainland Europe already seem to be taking orders. When you think that Triumph is a UK based company, that’s more than a little odd.

But still, no intention of changing my bike just yet… and I’m very unlikely to go up to a 1200 when I eventually do. I did sit on a few bikes, although sadly my legs haven’t grown so I am still limited when it comes to real options.

The idea of buying a Honda Monkey came up again, that thing looks so cute and fun! I would definitely be up for a round-the-UK road trip on one of those. Then Dom from Globebusters mentioned riding one to Nordkapp and yes, that’s what I dreamt about last night! Always wishing I was road tripping.

If you’re keeping up with the side stand story, you’ll be pleased to know I’ve ordered a new done, which I’m now waiting patiently to arrive from Germany. I just home when it does arrive it solves the low lean problem.

I think that’s enough for this week’s weekly blog episode. Tomorrow I’m heading to Eat Sleep Axe in Cheltenham with some colleagues to try indoor axe throwing, and by the time I write my next weekly blog I’ll have seen my doctor for some more information about my iron and B12. I hope you’ll come back next week for the next instalment.

Buy Me a Cuppa?

If you enjoyed this blog and fancy supporting me and my mini adventures, you can “buy me a coffee” (well, tea, naturally). If you enjoyed this post and would like to support what I’m doing, please head over to Ko-fi to find out more.

Use this link to read all my weekly blogs.