A big life change

Alot has happened since my last post - I've continued to be surprised at how I've managed to maintain my weight loss despite only occasionally intermittent fasting - although I do believe the fasting has changed my metabolism to the extent that I am still fitting into size 10 trousers and even small sizes in Mango!!!  Come on, now that is unbelievable - at least it is for me!  A year ago, I didn't even go into Mango because I couldnt fit into their large size!!

So the intermittent fasting continues but..... intermittently!!

OK, the next thing is a confession - I have sadly had to break my commitment to not buy anything new for a year...... and this was a difficult one and it was only something big which would force me to break it.  That something big came out of a chance conversation which changed the course of my life......

I was offered an opportunity to work in Doha, Qatar for Al Jazeera!  You can read more about my adventures in my new blog Dear Doha Diary.  But this meant that I had a number of important things to do and, sadly, some things I would need to buy to get myself set up professionally for the move .  Although once there, I will be restricting my purchases to the essentials.

One of the things I did before leaving was to send my beloved mountain bike, Little Blackie, off to Africa with Action Bikes/Recycle (pictured left).  I had planned to do that for some time, as I've been riding Grey Legs for quite a while now so on 26th march, we parted ways but I know she'll have some exciting adventures.  Action Bikes told me they would be able to update me on her journey so if I find out more about where she ends up, Ill post it here.

Something else I needed to face was that I would have to give up on the two charity rides I had arranged for this year - As previously mentioned in my "Cycling for Sustrans" post, I was due to cycle the London Night Rider but as I will have difficulty getting back to the UK during my 6 month contract, my cycling exploits will have to wait for another year.  I had also, rather incredibly, managed to secure a place on the Ride London-Surrey 100 - the Olympic cycling legacy ride, which follows much of the Olympic cycling road race through the Surrey hills.

I have to admit, that was one of the toughest issues to face as I'm deeply committed to the promotion of sustainable transport - and was really excited about cycling to raise money for charity and promote cycling as an essential part of a sustainable lifestyle.  This remains a personal and long term objective for me and will play a big part in my life in the years to come.

For now, though, I am entering a new phase of my life - who knows how long it will last? - the uncertainty is part of the adventure.  You can follow my Doha Adventure through my new blog Dear Doha Diary.

I will also continue to post here in Walker Lighter regarding sustainability issues, nutrition and intermittent fasting.