To ponder or not to ponder, that is the question

It was 3am today when the wheels of the big BMW K1600GT came to rest after 1,000 miles of rolling over, mainly English, tarmac. I enjoy being home, I get comfort from it that I don’t experience out on the road, even though I treat myself occasionally to hotels of the standard I’m not yet used to. There is something special about being in the comfort of your own home with, in my case, the closeness of family and the many friends, plus even ex colleagues 😆, an ‘in joke’.

But the idea of the trip was to head out on the new bike to see many other friends and family who don’t live on my doorstep, yet again apologies to those I missed. Am I glad I did it? I suppose so, it was good to catch up with people who hadn’t seen me so fit and healthy for a while, and on returning home the bathroom scales confirmed that I’d done a remarkably good job on the calorie count! I saw some beautiful places I hadn’t seen before so yes, it was a worthwhile and enjoyable trip.

It was good to catch up with Gav, we had a lovely meal at the hotel/pub he recommended, and return the long overdue IOU, he had treated me to dinner on the ferry when we first met nearly two years ago!

The following morning was hot, and as I headed around the Surrey back lanes, bound for the M25 car park, I again was struck by the affluence of the area, I’m not sure where our nearest Bentley or Ferrari garage is but don’t think Lloyds have those franchises yet! Everywhere around me seemed to be oozing money, or borrowed money, and it made me think of our cloth cap, whippet, pigeon and brown ale north. The pluses of living anywhere near London seemed quite enticing until….the M25. Yes there are great benefits to this area, but when the temperature gauge on the bike was reading higher than the speed we could travel, it made the relatively empty roads and fresh clean air of the north (now the dark satanic mills are no longer oozing out their black smoke) seem much more preferable!

I managed to finally escape the ‘road to hell’ and headed north east towards Suffolk, where I would stay the night with Rachel’s brother Richard and his wife Claire. After one night I decided to take the cooler and quieter time to ride home and left their house at 9pm Sunday for the 300 mile ride back to Carlisle. With the warm temperature and lights from the bike it didn’t take long before the front of the BM was wearing a furry blanket of dead insects! The bike made the ride relatively easy, but it’s always good to get home after six hours on the road.

My mind is still in a bit of a turmoil, physically I feel amazing, in fact I feel pretty damn good in all departments, but you sense a ‘but’? 

Today I got my op date, 28th of this month. I see that as yet another turning point. I’m not worried, concerned or stressed about it. Should I wake up after the op, then I know it will be a new life, and a new life in many ways. I’ll deal with that if, or when it comes. But for now, every day is precious, it’s a life I know and one I’ve known for most of these 66 years, and it’s pretty damn good. I’m still pondering how I use this precious time, but I mustn’t waste time pondering, I have to DO! 😆

Here are some photos of the last couple of days: