This is the website for Alistair Bates from Shropshire in the UK. Having taken part in triathlons since my first in Weymouth in 1988 after beginning to cycle to work, pressure of work led to sporadic exercise. Then I took up regular exercise again in 2009 after suffering a breakdown at work. Since then I have completed a number of long-distance events albeit slowly. Over the course of the last 14 years I have completed 3 long-distance triathlons, several half-distance ones. I completed the 2017 London Marathon, the Prudential ride in 2015 and 2017 and in 2019 completed the London Classics with the Serpentine Swim. I have completed 2 100KM walks in less than 24 hours and several other long-distance walks. I also play golf and kayak in the summer months.
In between, I suffered a DVT following a kayaking trip and this slowed my exercise for about a year as I had been advised not to cycle for risk of head injury as I am now on anticoagulant medication every day. Over the years I have suffered with what I describe as “mobile leg pain”. In 2020 this started to inhibit my exercise and I was diagnosed with a very arthritic left hip which I had replaced in November 2020. I was advised by the surgeon that I should not run long distances so this has again slowed me down.
I gradually returned to fitness and included a couple of supersprint triathlons. In October 2023 I undertook my first multi-day challenge when I cycled from Shropshire to London, mainly on canal towpaths over a period of five days.
This fitness proved very useful because in December 2023 a scan in Shrewsbury Hospital A&E revealed that I had a mass in my pancreas. There is much more detail in these two posts. These posts detail my beginning to return to fitness in May and a further update in August.
I am returning to part-time work but one of my non-physical ambitions is to redevelop this site to to include all the old posts and images from the many previous incarnations of the site, together with histories of training and events. I have a box of medals, a drawer full of tee-shirts and a pile of bibs which I intend to add to the site over time. Not to mention the swimming hats!! I also want to use material from this site to further develop my skills with website development, video editing in my alter-ego personality of silverblackmedia.
Most of my activities are recorded on my Strava page but I occasionally post on Instagram and Twitter. From August 2024 I shall be making short videos which I hope to publish on a YouTube page.
When I wasn’t sure what the future would bring in December and January 2024 I decided that for at least some years this site would be my memorial – I have even paid for the domain until 2027 and it is with this in mind I shall keep plodding in all aspects!
Alistair J M Bates
August 2024
