Well hello again! Long time no see, read, hear, whatever. I have some very exciting news to share - since I managed to raise quite a lot of money for British Heart Foundation by doing the London to Brighton Bike Ride in 2012, the very nice people there have decided to give me a priority entry into this year's event. So, as my birthday present to myself (last Thursday, in case you're wondering when you should have sent the card!) I entered the 2013 L2B. This year I have my own team, which consists of me and James. Our team name is "Beeble Power". It's probably best not to ask. On Sunday, 16 June, we will be setting off, hopefully at 7 a.m. if we get our preferred start time, to cycle all the way from one city to another, 50-odd miles of saddle-soreness, hills and ice cream (especially the ice cream).
So, I bet you're wondering just how much this novice cyclist has come on since last year's event. Well, I'm sorry to say, virtually not at all. I did carry on cycling a bit after the London to Brighton, mainly to and from work, but in September I managed to tear a ligament in my ankle by doing that most extreme of sports: walking along the street. Therefore, until very recently, my physical activity has been somewhat limited (read: non-existent) and, as a result, my cycling has not improved. The other issue I've faced since my ankle has got a bit better is the time of year. It gets dark very, very early in the winter (in case you hadn't noticed) and that means that I have three options: (a) cycle to work and then cycle home in the dark (terrifying); (b) cycle to work and then deal with getting my bike home on the train (annoying); and (c) don't bother with the cycling (unproductive, but the path of least resistance, nonetheless). To be fair, my cycling legs have still been turning as I've been able to do a bit on the turbo trainer, but it's not quite as exhilarating as the real thing.
While I'm trotting out the excuses, today's is the best of all - the weather! I only ventured out twice today, once to church and once to get a kebab (classy), and there was no way on earth either James or I would have even contemplated cycling today, based on those experiences - the combination of cold, wet, wind, skidding cars and rubbish road surfaces seems to preclude cycling as a sensible mode of transport. However, we did see a total of four hardy souls attempting it. Two of them were (considering they were cycling in a blizzard) relatively sensible, with hi-viz jackets, helmets, lights, the works. The other two were what can only be described as morons. Both were riding at dusk wearing road-coloured clothes and, while a lot of pedestrians were taking the clearer, less slippery path by walking down the middle of the road, the cyclists/morons were - get this - riding on the pavement.
Perhaps my friend Nick (thanks, Nick) has it right - "there's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate bicycles".
Now all I need is for all this snow to go away, for the nights to draw out and for the interminable DIY project that is my bedroom to be finished and I'll be able to get into proper training. This year I'm determined not to be beaten by all the hills, so I plan to do a lot more hill training prior to the event.
Once I'm able to actually cycle anywhere, I'll start posting more frequently, so watch this space!
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