Getting into shape/F&G transport

One of my ambitions as we travelled was to get myself into better shape. Doing this while travelling with F&G has it’s challenges (“I don’t want to walk!” “Can you carry me?”) but should be easier than doing it while sitting/standing at a desk all day.

One exercise that can be done en famille, is walking, as long as the kids have an additional mode of transport. For the America trip we relied on a cheap buggy which just about carried the two of them at one time.

Since Paris though we’ve ditched the buggy and replaced it with two scooters.

Plenty of energy at 1am!!

They’re undoubtedly more of a menace to other road users, but they have a lot of fun. We decided on a 3 wheel model rather than inline so that when they get tired we can just raise the handlebars and drag them around. So far so delighted!!

The scooters have the added benefit of folding very small. On our trip to Brooklyn we took only hand luggage and the scooters. Just before boarding I'd break the scooters down and load them onto my backpack:

We got a few odd looks but no one seemed to take enough issue to stop us.

To track the walking, Ali has a Fitbit; we aim for 12k steps a day. We’ve hit/beat that target in every urban location we’ve stayed in (particular mention goes to San Francisco!!). 

The cruise ship was also surprisingly effective - making your way to and from the restaurants can take a 1,000 steps. One downside was feeling a little self conscious walking round and round the promenade past the smokers and sunbathers.

In warmer climes, we swapped the walking shoes for swimming trunks. I've got the breaststroke down to a really nice rhythm and can do a 1km+ or so at a time. The crawl on the other hand is a real struggle, I can do a length, then invariably I get the breathing wrong and swallow half the pool - open to suggestions?!?

If any of your are curious as to the results, I lost 2kg (Ali more than double that) on the America trip despite the handicap of US portion sizes. We have high hopes for the last few months but a lack of available scales is limiting my reporting.