Days 187 - 190 - AM

I'm off to Somerset for boyfriend's dad's wedding in a short while so this is just a quick update about the busy few day's I've just had. Monday was a day of cleaning work and several hours on public transport, it was hard work but I didn't have time to eat anything I shouldn't have.

On Tuesday, after a really poor night's sleep, I went to the motorbike training school for some training on a geared bike. I had a fun ride over to Northfields in morning rush hour traffic, I don't know why I enjoyed it, I must be some kind of pervert. I arrived about 15mins late but I've learned my lesson about rush hour now and won't be making the same error again. My instructor made me buy proper bike boots because my steel toecaps were impossible to change gear in and the new boots made a world of difference. I really made some good progress but not quite enough to go on the road yet so I'm going back for another half day training and a bit of on road fun next Wednesday. My instructor said many people don't bother doing a clutch conversion on their CBT, because it's not a legal requirement but he heartily commended me for making the effort. I know it's going to make me a better and safer rider and nothing is more important right now. He also let me have a ride on an expensive , flashy Varadero XL125, the 125 I would love to ride but probably can't afford and I've fallen completely in love with it! It has a v-twin engine and looks and sounds like a much bigger bike and handles like a dream!

On my way home I stopped at a friend's place nearby for green tea and a chat so I didn't get back home until pretty late. I didn't have time to stray from my diet on that day either, I actually struggled to fit everything in and may have possibly skimped on my water a bit, just because I was too preoccupied with other things to make sure I had enough.

On Wednesday I had to take the scooter back to the hire shop but first I had to help the boyfriend get some shoes to go with his nice new suit. Marks and Spencer came up trumps with some nice shoes that came in a wide fit and actually fit him properly! It turns out he's a size smaller than he thought he was, he had been going a size up to fit his wide feet all his adult life pretty much, I've had to do the same in the past myself so I know how horrible it is. If shoes are too long for me, when they break in properly, my feet slip back and forth in them and they are uncomfortable for ever and wear out way too quickly too.

At just after 5pm I reluctantly set off to return the scooter. I had almost a whole 2 hours to get it back to Fulham so I thought I'd take a slightly circuitous route and enjoy myself a bit. It was a foolish error, I got quite lost and ended up at Kensal Rise, somewhere I've never been before, with no idea how to get back, so I had to guess where to go by looking at where the rapidly setting sun was. When I eventually arrived in Fulham, it was completely dark and I got to the scooter shop 2 minutes before it closed only to find the back tyre was completely flat! So, somewhere along the way, I had got a puncture and driven some distance on it, without even noticing! Thinking in retrospect, for the last couple of miles, the scooter had seemed a little hard to handle but I put it down to the stress and worry of being a bit lost and possibly having to pay for an extra day's hire. Luckily, I got my £250 deposit back, no problem and I just about got home in time to see my helpful sister to hand over the spare keys to my flat so she can look after my cats while I'm away.

This morning I stepped on my scales to see if I was anywhere near my mini goal and to my shock, I'm bang on target! I know I'll be eating for a couple of days now so I might gain a couple of pounds back, but I'm sure I'll lose it again quickly.