Saturday 29 September 2007

Pic of the day: Holding the darkness at bay.

Bike vs. Darkening

I had planned to only use the magnetic exercise bike 10 minutes every other day for a week or two, to let the muscles grow used to the new movements after all those years. This seemed like a good idea. But in the morning today, I felt so good that I decided to give it a spin even though I had used it yesterday. This went well enough, and I considered switching to 10 minutes daily. That was not what happened, though.

In the evening, I woke from a nap in my chair and noticed how cold I was. Much colder than the room temperature warranted. This lasted for a good while, perhaps an hour or more. I did not think I had eaten enough fat on Friday to cause a Darkening, but I had stayed pretty close to the limit all week, including Friday. So when my intestines also started shifting restlessly, I put on my jogging shoes, made a few stretches and bows, and mounted the bike.

At first my pulse was still low, almost suspiciously so. But after a couple minutes it moved over 100, so I felt OK with it. I kept biking for ten minutes, but was still not warm. That was the whole idea, you know. The only thing that seems to help against a Darkening - a fat poisoning - is heat, and plenty of it. The cold comes from within, or so it feels, so what better than heat from within? So I kept pedaling for another five minutes. By then I was starting to get tired. After all, I am still not fully used to this. But luckily my face was starting to get warm too. I walked around for a few minutes afterwards. My legs were a bit stiff, but I walked it off. I did not have any Darkening that night, and my digestion started working as it should. So the score seems to be 1-0 to Retardo the Magnetic Bike. But I am not sure it would have worked against a full-blown Darkening, which breaks out faster. I don't always have 15 minutes warning.

I am going to be stiff for a couple days and have to stay off the bike, but I think it was worth it. Those fat poisonings are scary things. Better yet, I should eat less fat than I did. Over these last couple years I have developed a kind of intuitive feeling for how much fat I can eat without getting sick. It is less than most people, but I am not actually allergic: I can eat small amounts as long as I space it out over the day, and get away with it. Except sometimes I may have been just a little too generous, I guess.

This is one of the uses I can think of for the bike once I get used to it, to the point where I can bike without getting stiff. Besides fighting actual cold in the room, it should be even more effective against cold that comes from within. Still, it is better to not need it for that in the first place. The winter will probably be cold enough as is.