I was out on a training ride for my Ironman earlier, I did 66 miles which I was really pleased with.  

It means I don't have to take my bike to Wales with me and can actually have a day off with Fran without thinking about training :)

I think lunch at Rhug on the way over, an ice cream from Cadwalladers and a trip to some outdoor shops, she'll be well happy.

On the ride, I was 'powering' down a hill and gasping for breathe when a fly decided to opt for a lift.  

It flew into my mouth, with the choking and gagging to spit it out I stopped paying attention to the road and clipped the side of a big pot hole.

Fortunately my BMX skills from the 80's kicked in and I managed to right myself and jump the bike to the side without dropping in.

It would have hurt, I was doing around 30 miles per hour and it definitely would have thrown me off my bike had I hit it full on.

If I had just swallowed the fly and relied on my digestive system to do its role, I would have avoided the pot hole without any drama.

This is the same as I mentioned the other day, sometimes food needs to be eaten for its purpose, to promote health, rather than just enjoyment all of the time.

Particularly with reference to adults not eating vegetables.

The more vegetables you eat and try, the more likely you are to start enjoying them.

Try different methods of cooking, use herbs and spices to change the flavour but just get them down your neck.

I recommend a couple of supplements to our members, one of them being a greens drink, which is essentially just freeze-dried grasses and vegetables you can mix with water to drink.

There are lots of different ones and they vary in taste dramatically.  Some taste ok some make you feel like gagging.  Fran and I have tried literally hundreds in the quest to find one that is bearable for our members.

With the vegetarians who don't eat vegetables, it's a way for us to ensure they are getting some decent nutrients in.

Sometimes it's necessary for them to not thinking about it and just knock it back and swallow, like with a shot.

Nobody ever seems to struggle with knocking shots of alcohol back but eating vegetables or a greens shot is like asking them to chew my dogs toe nails.

If we are ever going to win in this obesity epidemic, we are going to have to start taking responsibility for our own health and that might include eating something that is from nature.  

Not just things laced with crap to make them taste nice.

On that note, I'm going to spend the weekend eating good food from Rhug, fantastic ice cream and a nice meal from a pub that uses local ingredients.

Darren 'swallowing is easy' Checkley