Inverse work Rule (day 2)
Last night, amid much mirth, I explained the Inverse Work Law which clearly states that, ‘the more paid work you do the slower you trek’. I described it in some detail by likening trekking behaviour to that of various dog breeds.
Well, that explanation was my undoing as the pack set off to prove me wrong in every way. Apart from Sarah that is who had wisely gone early to bed and missed the thesis that explained trek speed. She must have wondered what on earth was going on.
The first to confound the rule was Maddy who made a solemn pledge to be the last over the line despite working a creditable two days a week. Such a work rating should have put her mid pack but she did fulfil her pledge by waiting an inordinate amount of time for Mark to catch up. He had got a bit preoccupied photographing the new high tension transformer and a crow that stayed in front of him as he approached the line.
Now Mark is well pensioned off and so is allowed to wear his crimson trousers for multi day adventures but, REALLY Mark, this is day EIGHT! The trousers seem to have gone from crimson to russet making him a little more Red Setter like which probably explains his preoccupation with stalking birds.
Even so a pensioner should not have been at the back of the pack with a part time worker at his heels.
Only Denzil the whippit obeyed the rule and he, a pensioner, was seen sprinting through the suburbs of Kyanjyn Gompa to take line honours.
I even managed to keep a pensioner in site most of the day but when she passed, slightly self consciously, she turned and whispered, “by the way it’s 65”. A strange thing to say as we amble through the high, sunlit pastures!
The real surprise was husky Neil who should have been at the back as he is a well known worker. His exercise regime appears to be paying off because now he’s right up there with the pensioners.
Chris is, as we all know, usually the exception that proves the rule but today she finished properly placed as a lurcher of leisure should.
And as for me? Well, I did stay with the pensioners much of the day but then found a comfortable perching rock shaped by generations of passing buttocks. So I perched on it and watched the day’s rivalries unfold. I was happy to to be proved wrong in that the old can still go slow (as they should) and that work sometimes pays.