How
long can one pedal for non-stop? I decided to find out today, so I
hit the gym with a copy of Dom Joly's The Dark Tourist. The
creator/star of the Trigger Happy TV series and staff journalist for
the independent newspaper decided to venture into the dodgiest and
least-appealing enclaves of the world for his holiday trips, and
returned with some strange tales of boozing in Iran and being turfed
out of the Dallas Book Depository Sixth-Floor Museum.
I
have tried reading and cycling a few times in the past, starting with
the shortest book in the “to read” pile at the time- the Human Traffic screenplay.
Over
the course of a month, I tried the project a few times, upping the
size of the book and, hence, the length of the time spent on the
bike. By the time I'd got up to Cormac McCarthy's The Road,
I was taking lunch and evening meal breaks, returning each time to
the gym to pedal more.
The
problem with doing this is that the moment you eat, you're back to
burning food again. You don't touch the fat you're supposed to be
burning off. So this time I decided to cycle for as long as I could
without stopping.
15
min cycling
15
min break for a phone call
2hr
cycling
After
this, my legs had seized up. I was a 3rd the way into the
book. Multitasking sure does slow down your brain. Eventually you're
just too tired to concentrate any more.
By
the way, I got this book signed in Manchester a few years ago. Check it out.
Good
book. A little too self-obsessed and Joly isn't as funny in writing
as he is on screen, but an entertaining read so far.
And
as for cycling, next time I might break it up with other exercises
and see if I last longer.
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