Whistle while you work (10 May 2012)

I read somewhere that David Walliams recited the words from songs to pass the time whilst swimming the Thames for Comic Relief. That, I thought, is a most splendid idea. Singing songs in my head and possibly, if there is no one around, out loud might just help those miles pass.

All of which got me thinking. What songs should we sing and how many do we need to learn if we're not to end up just singing the same song over and over and over and over (you get the point) again. To answer the second of my questions I did some quick sums - broadly along the lines of 920 miles, 15 miles per hour is 61 hours of pedalling. At 3.5 minutes per song then that means we just need to learn, erm, just over one thousand songs. Blimey.

Hang on a second though. 61 hours of pedalling? Sixty one?? That means our legs will go round 292,800 times between now and 1 June - and that's assuming no training between now and departure day. I think I'll have a quick gander on e-bay for a set of spare knees, seems you can get everything on there these days.

On the subject of departure day that's just a matter of two weeks away. So our preparations now need to step up a gear and will do so on Saturday when we attempt to put the tent up and take it down again within 4 or 5 hours (without punching one another) and then pack our three bedroom monster accommodation into a nylon bag roughly the size of a Peruvian miners knapsack. I predict a riot.

Now then, back to those songs and with just one thousand or so to learn we'd better start thinking of some appropriate tunes to sing along to. My list so far consists of:

1. Things can only get better - D:Ream
2. The only way is up - Yazz
3. Bicycle race - Queen
4. Why? - Annie Lennox
5. Keep on moving - Soul II Soul
6. Proud - Heather Small

If that's all I've got and I'm going to sing the whole way I'll have to sing each song 174 times. I need more songs. Help. What else can you think of.....?