Today began bright and clear, with blue sky and sunshine. I’m not surprised. There was a bright, clear growing moon in last night’s sky. When I went out running (not too) early this morning, I spotted a gritter out and about, trying to stop the roads from being icy.
Today the ford at the bottom of one of our lanes was looking sunnier but still overfull, with water making its way into the stream by new and interesting routes, uncovering old cobbled surfaces.
It is, however, a good day to be out and about if you are well wrapped up.
I read the other day that exercise-related stress is good for you. It helps stave off things like Alzheimer’s in old age.
The article included this information about a Frenchman who was breaking records at the age of 105:
“In January 2017, the French cyclist Robert Marchand made headlines by setting a new age group world record at a velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. What was particularly remarkable about Marchand’s performance is that he had turned 105 a month earlier and his efforts made him the first centenarian ever to demonstrate improved cardiovascular health with age.
Exercise physiologists found that Marchand, who had begun serious competitive cycling in retirement at the age of 68, had an aerobic capacity for exercise – the gold standard means of measuring cardiovascular fitness - comparable to men aged 42 to 61, half a century younger than him.”
I decided to find some more information about the old cyclist, who died in 2021 at the age of 109!!
Born in Amiens, he was a firefighter in Paris in the 1930s. A member of the French Communist Party and the CGT Trade Union (90 years a member!!), he took an active part in the 1936 strikes in Paris which gave rise to the modern era of French employment legislation. During World War II he was a prisoner of war and after the war he moved to Venezuela where he worked as a lorry driver and sugar planter. In the 1950s he was a lumberjack in Canada. On his return to France in 1960 he worked as a gardener and wine dealer until 1987. A bit of a Jack of all trades!
And he cycled as well.
On 4 January 2017, he set a world record in one-hour track cycling in the over-105 age group, covering 22.547 kilometres (14.010 miles) in one hour, and the 105 year old centenarian declared: "I could have done better, if I had seen the 10-minute warning card, otherwise I would have pedalled slightly faster".
At the age of 105 he was recognised as the world's oldest competitive cyclist by Guinness World Records.
He put his remarkable fitness and longevity down to a diet consisting of: lots of fruit and vegetables, a little meat, not too much coffee – and an hour a day on the cycling home-trainer.
After he turned 106 Marchand's doctors advised him to stop competing for world records. He obliged, but refused to quit racing completely. In early February 2018 Marchand completed a 4,000-meter race in the same stadium where he made his last record.
Marchand celebrated his 107th birthday by going for a 20-kilometre bike ride in the Ardèche. After his 108th birthday Marchand stopped riding bikes outdoors due to hearing loss.
There you go. You could make a whole,list of New Year’s resolutions based on his advice. I think I’ll carry on cycling … but not setting any records, I’m afraid.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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