Long Time No LOOP eh!

…so long in fact that I am yet to say Happy New Year to you all! A month ago today I took the photo above just before our Scottish Christmas Day dip! Here we are a month on, 25th January, continuing with the Scottish vibe…Burns Night!

So is 2015 all about the swim for you? Or is it a mix of swim..bike…run? Huge numbers of you are taking the plunge for some epic open water swims this year. Three-ish months to go ’til most lakes are open to the public, that said I know there are a few wild swimmers amongst you who are still out there swimming open water…brrr.

At the end of last year Mr Loo took me to the beautiful Brockwell Lido, Herne Hill, London, for a wintery, outdoor dip. He did a great job convincing me it was heated all year round. It wasn’t. Wetsuit-less I managed 10 x 50 metre lengths, then made a shivery bee-line to the changing rooms, then straight to the fantastic art deco poolside café for a hot choccie!

On the evening of 5th January Keith & I were joined by Sheddies Rob, Vanessa and Beccy for a fabulous flood lit swim in the olympic sized, outdoor heated pool at London Fields, Hackney. What a surreal treat. It gives you a real buzz swimming outside at night! This lido was only re-furbished about 7 years ago and is impeccably clean and run by a great team of peeps. It’s heated & open from early ’til late every day of the year except Christmas & Boxing Day. We picnic’d in the dark beside the park afterwards, before heading home.

On Monday 16th February you are welcome to join us for an evening dip in the London Aquatics Centre, at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London. It was one of the main venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics & Paralympics. You’ll be delighted to know that it’s an indoor 50 metre pool! Let us know if you’re coming and we’ll meet up.

We’ve had 3 great Friday night drop-in swims at Wolverton already this New Year and we are spilling over into 4 lanes! Lots of new faces joining the regular fun bunch – love it! Come and join in!

Finis Tempo Trainers are available at The Swim Shed, £31…cheaper than Amazon! I’ll happily bung one in the post to you!

Also available at The Swim Shed are 4 heavily discounted wetsuits. We have a brand new AquaSphere men’s RACER size med / large. (This suit is just 1 down from the top of the range). That would fit a chap whose weight falls between 75-90 kg and height between 178-190 cm. Normal price £369…but yours for £150.

We have a brand new AquaSphere women’s RACER size large. ( This suit is just 1 down from the top of the range). That would fit a girl whose weight falls between 64-75 kg and height between 173-185 cm. Normal price £369…but yours for £150.

We have a used (for one season) top of the range AquaSphere mens PHANTOM size med / large (see fit / height / weight guidelines above). Normal price £499…yours for £100!!

…and lastly a used (just for one season) top of the range women’s PHANTOM size large (see fit / height / weight guidelines above). Normal price £499…yours for £100!!

Let us know if you want to pop up to The Swim Shed to have a look or a fitting. AquaSphere come up on the small side. Alternatively I can bring them along to the Friday night drop in swim session for you to try.

Alrighty then, that’s it from me. Be great to see you on one of the Friday night swims, or join us in Feb at the Aquatics Centre…or swing by The Shed for a coffee!

Have a super week and remember….water is 880 times denser than air…just kidding (that’s a Keith-ism)…