The truth is that I wasn't too worried about the Ride Across Britain. Nutrition was going well. I feel fit, the spin instructor sings my praises and I cycle faster on my stationary bike than the other gym goers. I've had my fair share of being sick through fatigue and how hard can a hundred miles or so be? Really?
Simply put, one training ride has changed all that. I fell off my bike more times than I have in my life, went from the golden gym boy to the slowest man on the road, struggled to get to grips with my gears and generally looked like I didn't know how to cycle.
I expected the real thing to be different from the gym, I did not however, imagine it would be so hard. Just over half the daily stage miles done, most of it in torrential rain, a drowned iPhone, two bloodied knees, a sore shoulder and a bruised ego later I may have begun to hate cycling, just a little.
Key stats of first ride:
-Falls brought about by not getting cleats out quick enough: 4 (3x left side, 1x right)
-Miles completed: 60 (25 more than my previous furthest ride)
-Age of the only person I overtook : 65 (female)
-Jersey worn: King of the mountain
Notes on what I learnt:
- Need better gear
- Need to find the extra edge (more to follow)
- Don't think the woman I overtook was trying
Chin up Tommy (that's not a cycling tip). 60 miles for your first ride is pretty decent, and you didn't even moan about having a sore arse in your blog post - I'd say that's progress.
ReplyDeleteNext step for you must be either having a too-close-for-comfort encounter with a truck doing 60mph about 2 inches from your elbow, or puncturing in the pouring rain miles from home and with no battery left on your phone. Bet you can't wait!
Oh, and you haven't even gotten to the 'bonking' stage...that'll be fun