Loughborough hospital via Paudy lane

Yesterday, I spent £160 getting my bike serviced – completely taken to pieces, cleaned, greased, any dodgy bits replaced and then all put back together again. It feels better than it did when it was new – so whilst parting with the cash made me cry salty, salty tears, it was worth it.

I had an appointment with my nephrologist today, Dr James Medcalf. He’s been my nephrologist for a long time now – perhaps over 10 years, and he’s wonderful. He and his team spend their time peering at people’s results, ordering tests, and working out the best ways to keep them alive and happy. And thanks to the NHS, they never send us a bill. If you ever start to take this for granted, just google some American healthcare stuff and thank your lucky stars.

James was the guy who suggested the Kidney Care Appeal as a charity to raise money for, so he’s been involved in my endeavour from the start. We discussed how training is going, and my various levels (phosphorus, potassium, blood pressure, weight, eGFR, iron etc) and it’s all basically fine at the mo. At some point I’ll probably need iron tablets but I’m not quite there yet.

I cycled in, going up to Six Hills and down the long gentle hill to Barrow upon Soar. The wind was coming from the perfect direction so it was heaven. Pleasingly my BP was 120/80 (or it might have been 130/80 – fine anyway), even with the ride. The bike was performing so smoothly compared to how it was before (I hadn’t really noticed how bad it was getting, apart from the brakes) it was all super fun.

Dr Medcalf and I discussed the sense or otherwise of stopping taking my blood pressure tablets during the trip. I’d heard some people saying it was a good idea. There are pros and cons – we decided that the best thing would be to carry on taking them as normal, and if I started to feel lightheaded or odd, to scale them back a little, perhaps ending up keeping only the beta blockers. We’ll see!

Post-hospital, I scarfed down a sandwich and a bottle of Ribena, and cycled back up to Wymeswold.  My legs feel fine again, so I’ll train again tomorrow!

The route:

The usual speedy footage: