JANUARY / FEBRUARY
Post-Christmas came with the realisation that training needed to commence.
As well as embarking upon dry January (not something I’ll be doing again!!) I dusted off my exercise bike from the garage and started introducing my legs back to the art of cycling. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty tough to start with.
But… as the weeks passed, I developed a fondness for cycling again, albeit I had to do it in my kitchen while the kids were having breakfast. It’s probably a far cry from the hilly highs and lows of Cornwall… but it’s a start.
By the end of February I was beginning to feel the weeks slipping away and the realisation loomed that we needed to start training outdoors, on a proper bike! SOON!
PROBLEM NUMBER 1 was getting our hands on a bike!
I was completely overwhelmed when a lady who had cycled the same route we are embarking upon (for the same charity) three years earlier, agreed to loan me her road bike, not only for the challenge itself, but also for the training!
That’s the kind of generosity that blows my mind! So thank you Charlie. Your generosity is truly overwhelming.
My husband wasn’t as lucky, so we started the search for a second-hand road bike that would be up to the challenge.
After some weeks of research and brain picking, phone calls and road testing, we found a man who refurbishes bikes in the Cotswolds... and he had the perfect one. We agreed to pick it up two weeks later once we had sourced some clip in pedals (or cleats, as I’m led to believe they are called) that would be fitted on collection.
My bike also came with these clip in pedals. The idea that you clip your shoe onto the bike was almost a step too far for both of us. It put this fear in me that I would be trapped on the bike. What happens when I need to stop quickly, put my foot down and balance? This new anxiety almost became a bigger challenge to overcome, than the ride itself. But I put it to the back of my mind and we ploughed on with planning.
Keep following to see what happened in March
(SPOILER ALERT… Lots more problems!)