Woken by the alarm at what is now my usual time of 07:30 which is good. First thing to do now is to do my HRV test which I have just done and I can the boot up the old W7 PC whilst breakfast is cooking then later have a look at the numbers to see how I should fare on the training front. I think this little arrangement will work just fine really pleased I got this gear up and running again, such a shame not to be using it.

Delighted that Lorena has taken to the Reminders application which she seems to love. Currently I’m procrastinating about going out on my bike but I’m going to have to shift myself soon. Sadly Lorena is still not feeling properly better and has cancelled her scheduled clarinet practice with Paul Penman so she can’t be feeling right at all. Hope it sorts itself out soon.

Went out on my bike after lunch and did around 40 miles up to Bamburgh, pretty windy which made it very hard work on the way home. Not really sure where I want to go with my cycling but I suppose if I just keep doing a bit things might become clearer after a while.

Uploaded a few screenshots of some HRV graphs to Flickr, amazing what an impact a training session has on the data and therefore on your central nervous system, actually quite scary!

Stuart "Hippy" Birnie is riding from Lands End to John O'Groats as a sort of record attempt trial run, I really hope he will be Ok, just far too big a thing for me to ever contemplate.

For anyone who is interested in these things this might illustrate what riding a bike at a tempo effort for a couple of hours does to your autonomic nervous system (ANS) and why you need time to recover. I repeated the HRV test I did the other day a little while after returning from today's ride and the two graphs are attached, you can see the post ride one identified in the "Note" section. Using this system one can observe the recovery of the ANS and only then ride hard again as a strategy for avoiding digging a big training hole for yourself. Yes, the scales on the two graphs are the same, it's my central nervous system that's changed!

PDF HRV report from Kubios Software available for download here:

Facebook Updated: September 10, 2014 at 11:03AM Thinking of the new Apple Watch as well as a host of other technology I thought this was a wonderful measure of utility/value when I read it: "One key test for any new product must be whether you would feel the need to turn around if you had left it at home."

Facebook Updated: September 10, 2014 at 11:46AM Can anyone help? I want to try to avoid the extortionate cost of parking at Newcastle Airport when Lorena and I go to Majorca for approximately 3 weeks. On recent trips I have parked near a friend's house which has been convenient but I do feel a bit uncomfortable leaving the car on the road outside someone's house for several weeks. What I have done is park the car there and then travel the short distance to the airport by taxi which is a hell of a lot cheaper than two taxi fares from Alnwick or the rip-off parking charges. The other thing is that if I am around I am always happy to help out if someone needs an airport drop-off or collection to avoid being fleeced, all suggestions welcomed!

Facebook Updated: September 10, 2014 at 12:46PM Great scheme this. Order stuff from Wiggle and have it delivered free of charge directly to Majorca, saves packing and carting stuff around. Worked a treat last year. Do it well in advance and you know before you set off whether things have arrived safely :-)

Facebook Updated: September 10, 2014 at 01:53PM Nice work if you can get it, a heck of a reward for failure! "Former Manchester United manager David Moyes and his back room staff received a total of £5.2m in compensation following his sacking in April after less than a year in the job."