September 2026 Stats

Posted by Richard Morris on 30 September 2026
Posted in: A Fit Body, Ali Brooks, Alison Morris, Diary, fat bastard, fēnix 7S, Fit Model, Fitness, FulGaz, Garmin, health, Home Gym, Pain Cave, ROUVY, statistics, stats, Weight. Tagged: , , , , .

September 2026 has been extremely busy with lots of running around everywhere apart from anywhere overseas, sadly.

A few weekends were taken up with travelling which then meant that weekly Sunday group rides with the Crazy Catz and TICCC had to be missed, which was a pity. I’ve also tried a new app called RealVelo which looks useful.  Oh and that travelling? Well it also included the first of Alison’s bodybuilding competitions: this one was the 2 Bros Pro NPC Worldwide Physique Pro Naturals Classic.  And she did well: ending up with a 1st place and a 2nd place in her categories:

Alison winning 1st place in her Fit Model category

Alison Wins First Place

I also started getting physiotherapy for my back, so hopefully there’ll be a bit less grunting when I stand up in future.

The Apple Fitness+ workouts have still taken a bit of a back seat again; I really must get back into them.

So, here are September’s stats:

September 2026 Statistics

September 2026 Statistics

Activities: 67 Distance: 651.31 km Time: 17:56:15 Calories: 13,581

Turning to my weight, at the end of August I weighed 93.4kg and at the end of September I weighed 91.0kg, so down 2.4kg from last month.

Body fat percentage was slightly down from 27.7% to 27.6%.

August 2026 Stats

Posted by Richard Morris on 1 September 2026
Posted in: Apple Fitness+, Diary, fat bastard, fēnix 7S, Fitness, FulGaz, Garmin, health, Home Gym, Pain Cave, Road Cycling, ROUVY, Schwinn, statistics, stats, Surrey, Walking, Weight. Tagged: , , , , , , .

August 2026 saw the continuation of the heatwaves hitting the UK which meant that workouts in the Pain Cave were done early and were very sweaty nonetheless! But it was nice to mix in some real-world cycling as well as the virtual stuff: I used the Brompton to drop off the ST for an annual service and to collect it afterwards, which was nice.  We also dusted down the Carrera mountain bikes and shoved them in the back of the ST – it’s an Estate/Station Wagon so has plenty of room especially with the seats folded down – and headed to Windsor Great Park after a regular Sunday morning virtual group ride with TICCC and the Crazy Catz.

The Apple Fitness+ workouts have taken a bit of a back seat again; I really must get back into them.

So, here are August’s stats:

August 2026 Statistics

August 2026 Statistics

Activities: 71 Distance: 702.32 km Time: 28:10:14 Calories: 20,546

Turning to my weight, at the end of July I weighed 93.4kg and at the end of August I still weighed 93.4kg, so no change over last month.

Body fat percentage was up from 27.5% to 27.7%, which is not insignificant.

Same Again – ish!

Posted by Richard Morris on 14 August 2026
Posted in: Apple Watch, Diary, Garmin, Road Cycling. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

So after riding home on the Brompton yesterday after dropping the ST off for its second annual service, I again trusted Apple Maps to direct me back to Group 1 and set off.

And yes, it was a different route with more roads, although avoiding the really major routes. An interesting route too, including the first stretch alongside the Blackwater River again, avoiding tree roots and brambles before emerging into a car park for the second road drag, which meant dealing with traffic and commuting car drivers.  All of which went really well with nothing but courteous drivers slowing down and/or passing me with plenty of room.

Near to the end, I was directed into Farnborough Business Park which I went through easily … until the end at the back of the Village Gym: contractors were working overhead and had closed the footpath. Ah. Rather than retracing my route, I went right … and into some more vegetation through a small lunch picnic area and some lightly-trodden path through the trees. I eventually emerged through a hedge and across a planted border near to Group 1.

Back on the Chain Gang

Posted by Richard Morris on 13 August 2026
Posted in: Ash, Diary, fēnix 7S, Garmin, Road Cycling, Surrey. Tagged: , , , . 2 comments

Well now. That was nice!

I last used the Brompton when I was commuting in London from our home in Rotherhithe. And then COVID-19 happened, so I worked from home. The company saw cost savings and I had been advocating remote working anyway, so we ended up having new employment contracts with WFH as the default.  That meant we didn’t need to be in Central London any longer, so three years or so ago we moved out to Surrey and I started a lot of indoor cycling instead.

The only use the Brompton got was then by my stepdaughter in her year out between doing her Batchelors and Masters in Law.

Until today!

The estate where our house is has limited parking and of course all the numpties move in to houses with one parking space for their SUV and van to use (it’s always that mix…). That plus the narrow streets means parking is at a premium.  We have space for two cars on our driveway in front of the double garage (which is actually the Man Cave for the motorbikes and the Pain Cave for our home gym).  At a push, we can play Car Tetris and creatively park them, but it’s a bit of a palaver. So when the family on the corner briefly vacated the visitor space they use all the time (!) we put the Abarth there as we have family coming up to stay this weekend with a whole host of children, so they’ll need to park on our drive.

This meant that when I needed to take the Focus ST for its second annual service this morning, we didn’t want to lose that space by collecting me in the 124. Instead, I decided to dust off the Brompton, pump up the tyres, and shove it into the boot to ride back on from the dealership.

I’ve only ever done the trip there and back by car, so once checked in, I unfolded the Brompton, popped on my helmet and gloves, and entered Home as my destination in Apple Maps with directions for pushbikes. And that’s how I followed some cycle paths and woodland trails more suited to a mountain bike back home.

July 2026 Stats

Posted by Richard Morris on 31 July 2026
Posted in: Apple Fitness+, Apple Watch, Barcelona, British Airways, Diary, fat bastard, fēnix 7S, Fitness, FulGaz, Garmin, health, holiday, Home Gym, Media, Pain Cave, Paris, ROUVY, scales, Schwinn, statistics, stats, Walking, Weight. Tagged: , , , , , .

July 2026 saw a couple of heatwaves hitting the UK and of course July always means the Tour de France. I’ve been watching the coverage on TV for as long as I can remember now but never really got involved in any way … until this year.  This year, it started in Barcelona with two and a bit stages and finished in Paris on the Champs-Elysées.  I asked Alison if she wanted to go to Barcelona to see it and she jumped at the chance.  I booked the InterContinental Barcelona as it was on the route for both the first and second stages:

Tour de France 2026 Stage 1 Map Tour de France 2026 Stage 2 Map

And then Alison said, “Well if we’re going to see the start, wouldn’t it be lovely to see the finish?” So that’s how I ended up booking the Paris Marriott Champs-Elysées Hotel with a suite overlooking the Champs-Elysées itself, so we could watch the riders doing their laps and the finish line.

The Yellow, Green, Polka Dot, and White Jerseys on the Champs-Elysées

The Yellow, Green, Polka Dot, and White Jerseys on the Champs-Elysées

Business Class flights with British Airways and limousines from Blacklane all made it a little pricey… I’m hoping August will allow my wallet some respite from the absolute battering it got!

Other than that my normal exercise regime continued with a combination of rides on ROUVY as well as getting some of my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges on FulGaz done.  On ROUVY, I was doing their challenges and an occasional Sunday morning group ride.

I still need to actually go ahead and arrange a partial knee replacement, which we’ll do later this year maybe, if I can resolve when I won’t be travelling.

I also decided to try again with some Apple Fitness+ workouts, concentrating on upper body and core, as my legs get plenty of workouts already!

So, here are July’s stats:

July 2026 Statistics

July 2026 Statistics

Activities: 78 Distance: 626.79 km Time: 25:47:32 Calories: 18,827

Turning to my weight, at the end of June I weighed 92.7kg and at the end of July I weighed 93.4kg, so a gain of 0.7kg change over last month.

Body fat percentage was up from 27.5% to 28.0%, which is not really surprising.

June 2026 Stats

Posted by Richard Morris on 30 June 2026
Posted in: Apple Fitness+, Apple Watch, Diary, fat bastard, fēnix 7S, Fitness, FulGaz, Garmin, holiday, Home Gym, Pain Cave, ROUVY, statistics, stats, Walking, Weight. Tagged: , , , , .

June continued my normal exercise regime with a combination of rides on ROUVY as well as getting some of my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges on FulGaz done.  On ROUVY, I was doing their challenges and an occasional Sunday morning group ride.

There was a change of plans with me heading off to Cyprus for along weekend in the sun rather than going to Dublin for something work-related.

I still need to actually go ahead and arrange a partial knee replacement, which we’ll do later this year maybe, if I can resolve when I won’t be travelling.

I also decided to try again with some Apple Fitness+ workouts, concentrating on upper body and core, as my legs get plenty of workouts already!

So, here are June’s stats which again needed a significantly increased screen resolution to fit them all in:

June 2026 Statistics

June 2026 Statistics

Activities: 75 Distance: 526.69 km Time: 18:03:33 Calories: 14,319

Turning to my weight, at the end of May I weighed 92.7kg and at the end of June I also weighed 92.7kg, so no change over last month.

Body fat percentage was down from 28.1% to 27.5%, which is nice.

May 2026 Stats

Posted by Richard Morris on 1 June 2026
Posted in: Diary, fat bastard, fēnix 7S, Fitness, FulGaz, Garmin, Giro d'Italia, HBO Max, health, Home Gym, Pain Cave, rip-off, ROUVY, SBS On Demand, Schwinn, statistics, stats, TNT Sports, Weight. Tagged: , , , , .

May was a further continuation of my normal exercise regime with a combination of rides on ROUVY as well as getting some of my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges on FulGaz done.  On ROUVY, I was mainly going their Giro d’Italia-themed challenges, such as the Maglia Bianca (completed) and Maglia Rosa (nearly done) ones and a Together Around the World challenge to honour Amy & Kyle Hudson’s world record attempt and who are currently in Singapore.

We also watched the Giro d’Italia highlights on SBS On Demand which was nice as it’s free to air in Australia and not the absolute rip-off of £31 per month on TNT Sports on HBO Max which bundles a load of other crap in there, like football and rugby that I have zero interest in watching.  If they had a dedicated cycling bundle at a much lower cost I’d be interested.

I still need to actually go ahead and arrange a partial knee replacement, which we’ll do in the early summer, if I can get some answers to some queries I’ve raised…

So, here are May’s stats which again needed a significantly increased screen resolution to fit them all in:

May 2026 Statistics

May 2026 Statistics

Activities: 88 Distance: 684.02 km Time: 24:01:11 Calories: 19,876

Turning to my weight, at the end of April I weighed 92.1kg and at the end of May I weighed 92.7kg, which is up again by the 0.6kg I lost last month.

Body fat percentage was up from 27.4% to 28.1%, which is not nice.

April 2026 Stats

Posted by Richard Morris on 1 May 2026
Posted in: Diary, fat bastard, fēnix 7S, Fitness, FulGaz, Garmin, health, holiday, Home Gym, Pain Cave, ROUVY, statistics, stats, Weight. Tagged: , , , , , .

April was a further continuation of my normal exercise regime with a combination of rides on ROUVY as well as getting some of my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges on FulGaz done.

I still need to actually go ahead and arrange a partial knee replacement, which we’ll do in the early summer, if I can get some answers to some queries I’ve raised…

The gaps were due to a long weekend on the R1250RT in Cornwall and a family wedding and yet another grandchild – my 12th – last weekend.

So, here are April’s stats which again needed a significantly increased screen resolution to fit them all in:

April 2026 Statistics

April 2026 Statistics

Activities: 66 Distance: 622.78 km Time: 17:29:45 Calories: 16,211

Turning to my weight, at the end of March I weighed 92.7kg and at the end of April I weighed 92.1kg, which is down by 0.6kg despite the holidays.

Body fat percentage was up from 27.3% to 27.4%, which is less nice.

March 2026 Stats and Selfies

Posted by Richard Morris on 1 April 2026
Posted in: Castelli, Corralejo, Diary, fat bastard, fēnix 7S, Fitness, FulGaz, Garmin, Gear, health, holiday, Home Gym, Media, Pain Cave, Road Cycling, ROUVY, scales, Schwinn, stats, Walking, Weight. Tagged: , , , , , , .

So March continued my normal exercise regime with a combination of rides on ROUVY as well as getting some of my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges on FulGaz done.  I’ve also recently enabled the warm-up and cool-down features on ROUVY to actually record the distance I’m cycling before and after each structured ride.

I still need to actually go ahead and arrange a partial knee replacement, which we’ll do in the early summer…

So, here are March’s stats which might look slightly different to usual again as I had to significantly increase screen resolution to fit them all in:

March 2026 Statistics

March 2026 Statistics

Activities: 71 Distance: 730.31 km Time: 27:08:18 Calories: 25,576

Turning to my weight, at the end of February I weighed 91.7kg and at the end of March I weighed 92.7kg, which is up by 1kg. I blame the holiday in Corralejo…

Body fat percentage was down from 27.7% to 27.3%, which is nice.

We had another holiday in Corralejo, Fuerteventura, at the end of March so I again hired a Specialized Allez Elite from Easy Riders Bike Centre and went for a morning ride each day from the villas at Bahiazul along the FV-1 to Tamaragua and/or the FV-104 between the shore and the famous dunes.

In total, I managed 206km whilst we were there (plus some walking/hiking).

I continued doing my little selfie videos to annoy friends on Facebook, so here’s a collection, all shot on my Apple iPhone 17 Pro.

Bahiazul Resort Fuerteventura: https://www.bahiazul.com/en/

Easy Riders Bike Center: https://www.easyriders-bikecenter.com/e/index.php

February 2026 Stats

Posted by Richard Morris on 1 March 2026
Posted in: Diary, fat bastard, Fitness, FulGaz, Garmin, health, Home Gym, Pain Cave, ROUVY, Schwinn, statistics, stats, Weight. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

After the hideousness of the 40 days of January 2026 things improved with a much quicker February.

I continued my normal exercise regime with a combination of rides on ROUVY as well as getting some of my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges on FulGaz done.  I’ve also recently enabled the warm-up and cool-down features on ROUVY to actually record the distance I’m cycling before and after each structured ride.

On FulGaz, I also completed their “Tour d’Australia” challenge with a couple of nasty, longer rides thrown into the mix.

I finished February with another consultation about my knee and a recommendation to go ahead with a partial knee replacement, which we’ll do in the early summer…

So, here are February’s stats which might look slightly different to usual again as I had to significantly increase screen resolution to fit them all in:

February 2026 Statistics

February 2026 Statistics

Activities: 63 Distance: 575.65 km Time: 16:34:43 Calories: 17,096

Turning to my weight, at the end of January I weighed 92.1kg and at the end of February I weighed 91.7kg, which is down by 0.4kg.

Body fat percentage was down from 28.2% to 27.7%, which is nice.