The danger with keeping a blog, or any form of diary, be it private or public, is the tendency to only write about extreme events. Good or bad. It can make things seem that life is just a set of achievements or setbacks. In the middle of lots of tidal waves comes a boring Sunday. Reassuringly normal. Not much to write about. But it gives context, though.
Passively Busy
I am an early riser. This is partly my body clock waking me for early meds, wonderfully named Fampyra (pronounced Vampira). Sometimes I go back to sleep but today, the 19th April, I get up. Morning coffee and tidy some dishes.
This Sunday is quite significant from a sport perspective. The Amstel Gold Race and then the Dutch Cup Final. Both significant in this house. I rode the (very) amateur version of the Amstel Gold Race in 2021 so I can spend the whole day saying ‘I did that!’ Well, partly on foot, to be honest. As for the Dutch Cup Final, my wife’s hometown team, NEC Nijmegen, are playing. A busy day in a passive sense.
Lazily Into the Kitchen
Cooking is always fairly big for Sundays. But not complex. It is important to relax so the recipe of the day will be slow roasted chicken with hummus. The chicken needs a marinade and so I start with that. Doing everything slowly, quite lazily. It smells nice. I would say like a market in Marrakech but I have never been to Marrakech so how would I know?
Some Noise
Of course there is music. Something that always seems to be on in the background with me. Slightly different as I now have a record player. Yesterday, Saturday, I had been sufficiently recovered from my Ocrevus infusion to do something that I had not done since I was a teenager which, unfortunately, was a few years ago. I went to a record shop. I had an idea of what I wanted to buy and walked out with something totally different.
So, Led Zeppelin III as the chicken goes into that marinade that maybe smells like a market in Marrakech. Led Zeppelin went to Morocco, I am sure. So there is a tenuous link for you.
Better Sweat A Bit
Around 11AM it is time to do something active. During my last infusion the MS Nurse reminded that I need to stay active. As did the neurologist the last time I saw him. And my physio every week.
They know what they are talking about so I will do as I am told. A lovely day, save for a couple of showers. Still, I cycle indoors. Sundays can be busy and my balance is still not good after the infusion last Thursday, despite a pretty successful indoor session on Saturday. So it is easy, active, risk-free and with more music on. This time a playlist. Gentle session. Hard begin and then gentle tapering down. Sounds like I planned it. A good sweat, more due to the lack of air-conditioning in the shed than any huge effort on my part, to be honest.
Slow Drift
After that, a little more cooking. Making the hummus. A slow, personal drift. Then Amstel Gold Race in the background whilst I do some private, easy study. Reading about how to draw. Perspectives. As the house has been a little messy due to a kitchen installation I have not done much drawing recently and really need to catch up. Today is theory day, in the week I will sharpen my pencils.
The day passes easily. After the last week, that is welcome.
Sport, Sport and Sport (By Someone Else)
The Amstel Gold Race trundles along through the day, although that is a bit patronising to the cyclists who are working their arses off out there, I know that. The nice thing about watching cycling is that you don’t need to sit and stare at it all the time. Although I must admit I do that sometimes, especially during the Tour de France. Not today. Drift out to the kitchen sometimes, chicken in the oven. Snacks to prepare ready for the football. Relaxation continues as I watch others working hard. Remco Evenepoel worked hardest. So he won.
Then comes the sporting highlight of the day. The Dutch Cup Final! Which NEC lost so we’ll leave that there. The chicken was nice, though. Slow cooked. Not so much carved as pulled apart. Pulled chicken, there you go.
Lazy Sunday
It’s appropriate that such a day closes slowly. A little gently perhaps. Quite normal, boring for some but fine for me and closed with some music and a little reading. Tomorrow will be a little more on the bike, getting ready for Mont Ventoux. That will be with an e-bike but still good to be fit. Good to be fit anyway, as I said above.
Nothing remarkable to report. Ok, there were a couple of stumbles but, in those terms, a good day. No shit from my close friend MS. No exceptional activities either. Just coasting through an easy day. Which suits me fine.