...of Finsbury Park, on a bicycle, by me. Quick, contact the Guinness Book of Records!
Today, I am broken. Everything hurts, but especially my thighs. Here is why.
Yesterday, we got up at 6.45 am (or "the middle of the night", as it's also known) in order to get in some early morning training. I dressed in my usual exercise gear of a short sleeved technical t-shirt and capri length running tights, got my bike, helmet and gloves together and went outside. It was cold. Very cold. I figured I'd get warm once we got to the park and got going, but when we were about halfway there, it started raining. My husband went back home to get raincoats, while I carried on wheeling my bike to the park in the rain (he has the advantage of actually being able to cycle, on roads and everything, so could easily catch me up again). I had initially tried to tough it out, saying I didn't need no poncey raincoat, but in the end I was getting so cold and wet that I swallowed my pride and put it on. At least mine's the plain black one. His is bright green.
Finally, after all that exciting drama, we got to the park. Yesterday's goal was to do one whole lap of Finsbury Park. I was blithely optimistic about my challenge. James was openly dubious. (James obviously has an action plan for my cycling development, but is only sharing snippets of it with me - it's a bit like playing a computer game, where you give it your all to get to the next level without knowing what awaits you there.) Things did not start well - I had developed a wobble-weave. I had a few false starts, but once I managed to pick up a bit of speed, things were going swimmingly well (literally, since it had started tipping it down by this point). That is, until the bollards. Oh, yes, the bollards.
For those of you who don't know Finsbury Park, it is approximately kite-shaped with a road that loops around the perimeter (well, a little way in from the edge, allowing for the tennis courts and the like). The road is, I am reliably informed, 2.2km long. For Luddites and Americans, that's about a mile and a half. Apart from one small section, the road is motor vehicle-free, so there weren't going to be too many hazards for me. However, that small section is separated from the rest of the road at each end by a row of bollards. Now, if you remember from my exploits on Saturday, I had some significant issues with weaving around traffic cones. Bollards are a bit like traffic cones, only taller, closer together and (perhaps most importantly) harder. I tried desperately hard to keep going through the tiny gap between the bollards, but it wasn't to be and I had to stop and shuffle between them.
Once I got going again (bearing in mind we were only about 200 metres into our 2.2km loop at this point), I had a wonderful, uninterrupted run around the rest of the loop until I reached the next set of bollards. That run included going uphill (hard work) and downhill (frankly terrifying), using the brakes and changing gears, and it was over a mile long. Hurrah! My first cycled mile!
When we got to the second set of bollards, I had a very close shave - I nearly fell off. The soles of my shoes were wet from the rain and my feet slipped on the pedals. I put my foot down, but I did not fall off, and although I did some interesting wobble-weaving to get going again, the rest of my loop passed without significant incident (unless you count the fact that I couldn't feel the fronts of my thighs once I'd ridden up the last hill - this was not helped by then going to British Military Fitness last night, the cumulative impact being that I can't walk properly).
So, I did it! I completed a loop of Finsbury Park. Apparently, my next challenge is to do two laps in one session, and that is for tomorrow morning/middle of the night. My personal goal (i.e. not a husband-set one) is to complete at least one of those laps without stopping.
Finally, don't forget you can sponsor my efforts by clicking on the link to my Justgiving page on the right hand side. Also, there is only one day left to vote with your views on Lycra!
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