A week from now...

...I'll be 3 hours into the London to Brighton Bike Ride.  I can't believe it's so close and I can't believe how far I've travelled, both literally and figuratively, in the last two months.  It's been quite a journey, physically and mentally.  I now have travel independence, which I have never had before. I can get to places that are really quite a long way away, but without having to rely on anyone else.  I'm fitter, a bit lighter, and (and this one's surprised me) a bit braver and more assertive.

Since my last post, I cycled to work and back on Thursday, on my own, without any significant occurrences (unless you count the bus which pulled out in front of me without warning, but she missed me and I felt better after shouting at her, after which I got praise from the cycle courier I'd just overtaken, which I'm not sure is a good thing).  I also had a long chat with a different cycle courier about my (full-size folding) bike when I was putting it away for the office.  He was asking me all about it because he thought it might be a good idea to get one for himself - I asked him if it had a few too many gears for him, as a (normally fixie-riding) cycle courier, but he said five years ago it might have been, but he's 42 now, so the idea of a bit of help uphill was very appealing!

Three very exciting things have happened in the last few days.  The first is that my race number and information pack has arrived - my number is 6269, so if you happen to see someone riding around with that number affixed to them, it's probably me (and if it's not me, you should probably ask them why they have my number!); the second is that my London to Brighton hoodie has arrived - I'm not going to wear it until the day, so here's a picture of it not on me; and finally, my race shirt has arrived - it's white with royal blue sides and my firm's logo on the front and back.  Classy.

With just one week to go, the focus fades away from training - I don't want to start with tired legs - and sets firmly on the fundraising.  With the help of some very generous donors in the last couple of weeks, my total has reached £313 for British Heart Foundation.  I'd still really like to get over my £500 target before the day, so if you haven't had the chance to sponsor me yet, then please click on the Justgiving link on the right hand side of the page and give whatever amount you can, no matter how small (or how large :) ).