Paul Arden | Monday, 15 July 2019
It's been and excellent and thoroughly enjoyable six weeks. I've done a massive amount of the hidden work that keeps Sexyloops running and have really put some miles into the bike. It's interesting how much time one hobby takes - fly fishing for example takes up an enormous amount of time, so much so that I don't even think of it as a hobby. In fact it's really a way of life. After all, like many on Sexyloops, it's also a full-time job for me.
Triathlon is another major time-grabber. Even as a hobby and very much of amateur status, it still takes up around two to two and a half hours of training time every day. That's also a pretty major commitment. There are so many things I would like to do in life, like learn to play guitar, or learn some new languages, but I just don't see how I can fit these things into a life that's already very busy. In fact I haven't fished properly for a month, and that's the longest lay-off I've had in a very long time!
That said, by the end of the week I shall be living on the lake again. The 50km daily bike rides will stop and become once/week if I'm lucky and I'll be fishing 13 hr days again and for the next five weeks. I have Graeme Hird joining me for two weeks shortly. Tonio will also be joining me for two weeks. Ronan is over for four days and the final week will have me guiding a guest who is coming over as much for the casting instruction as he is for the fly fishing. And that's one of my real jobs! I'm really looking forward to this and it should be prime fishing time.
I have a Half Ironman triathlon coming up at the end of August in France and so while I have the company of these guests, I shall find time to swim one hour in the lake and do some short jungle running. This will happen in the heat of the day when the fishing shuts down. Ultimately the plan is to fit a turbo trainer and bike to the roof of the houseboat that we plan on buying rather soon. Then I can train after dark. But this coming month will be mostly open water swimming. Swimming is 90% technique and I need to be doing it every day.
I have to say that, while I love open water swimming, it completely terrifies me. Not that I'll drown or anything like that. But it's the big fish that I imagine that are down there. The Monster Fish. The ones we fish for but never catch. I don't see people swimming the lake, and while it might be because no one can swim around these parts, it could also be because this is where the Mugwai lives. It's a big fish. He's down there and maybe it's going to eat me. This always goes through my mind.
I mean what if a Snakehead recognises me, and decides to bite me? This stuff scares the shit out of me. And not only have I got to worry about what's under the water nibbling my feet, I've also got to worry about what's above the water: King Cobras. Yes I know that I've only seen two on the lake in 8 years of floating around, but one turned on the boat when we got close - what happens if I meet that one out there on my training swim? If it attacks I'll have to have to grab it by the neck and drown it. So there's a lot of mental preparation involved in this swim training.
Anyway, three months is a pretty serious crash course to get fit for a triathlon, but at least this time I have trained, unlike last year, when I forgot. So I feel very much more confident in actually having quite a respectable race. It's only a start however and I plan to keep this fitness level that I've built and actually build upon it from now on. You have to always set new goals for yourself and maybe I'll do a full IM again in the next twelve months. We will see where I am after this one.
I'll have some new videos for you soon, both casting and fishing. I'm also pretty close to releasing a newsletter, now that I appear to have the latest software functioning. Over on the Board:
Lift force on a fly line, fact or fiction? A brilliant experiment from Graeme in a rather surreal conversation:
https://www.sexyloops.co.uk/theboard/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2996&start=230
Squeezing a fish for the pic. We have some angler education to do...
https://www.sexyloops.co.uk/theboard/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3027
Topic Summaries - check this out, I plan to instate it for the physics threads
https://www.sexyloops.co.uk/theboard/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3025
Nymphing Strategies - this is a good one:
https://www.sexyloops.co.uk/theboard/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2944
90 degree angle change Single Spey and this month's casting competition:
https://www.sexyloops.co.uk/theboard/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=2669
Those and much more on the Board. Join us, get involved, we want to hear from you!
And here is a blast from the past: The Mugwai Hunters!
Have a great week! Incidentally we are open for bookings again for fishing/casting here in the jungle after September 15th. Drop me a line if you are interested.
Cheers,
Paul
Oh nearly forgot; we are trying something new on the Board where you can add a bio to your profile on the Board. Here is mine. I hope you add one of yours for new members to learn who you are.