Friday 21 June 2013

Just like the Tour de France

The 100th Tour de France starts in a couple of weeks time, this is the toughest bicycle race on the planet, it covers 2,320 miles in 21 stages and takes 3 weeks to complete. These bicycle riders have to ride for up to 6 hours a day, up mountains, down mountains, through towns, country lanes, tricky bends, hot sunshine to freezing snow, this race has it all: This is a true test of human endurance, and I love every minute of it.
I can draw comparisons here with renovating Albert House, knocking walls out, building walls up, electrical rewires, plumbing, tiling, plastering, roofing, sanding, painting, glazing and also gardening.
I bet I have easily clocked up 2,320 miles walking up and down 3 floor levels and a cellar, 6 hours a day and 3........ to complete. Now this is a true test of human endurance, and I love every minute of it!.

Recently work has been, shall we say "at a slower pace", a little bit like a long mountain stage, the difference being we have had some rest breaks, namely, a fantastic Spring break at our Spanish home where bizarely we have been doing some home improvements there as well!

Sometimes when you get off the bike after a long tough stage it is mentally difficult to climb back on it the next day, but if you want to finish the race you simply have no choice but to get your arse back on the saddle.
 Perhaps that is what just happened to us, we had a long tough cold winter with very little sunshine, then when we eventually got some we relaxed and found it difficult adjusting back into the hard work ethic, mmm?

I can say that now we have climbed back on the bike, feet in the cleats and arse on the saddle, the finishing line for the top floor is in sight as we are now close to completing the major building works. This last week I have put in some long days at the front of the peleton, put the pedal down and finished the last bit of ceiling plasterboarding, framed out the hot water tank space, sanded the window surrounds ready for the new windows and generally made a little more progress, now ready for a good couple of days work from the plasterer to take the sprint finish.

But as I said, this renovation is comparable to the tour, with loads of ups and downs along the route, sometimes fast and sometimes a little slower, but always with the same focus and end result in mind, a true test of human endurance and I am looking forward to the next stage win.