On the Road, On the Road, On the Road Again

It is almost 5 years to the day since I bought my first bike. It was a well used , and very heavy MTB and I remember well my first journey; a cycle down the Mickleover Greenway to a tea shop at the Tara Centre. The entire round trip journey was about 12km and I remember feeling shattered at the end. The other day I walked along this route once again but as you can see below, I considered cycling to be out of the question

Mind you, as part of my early career I was involved in Risk Assessment and this may well have influenced my decision to keep off the bike, what with the snow, ice, arctic gales and sub-zero temperatures. Not everyone though is as soft as me and I did encounter someone who was out braving the elements and going up the Silverhill Wood Climb.

But the snows have now gone, the temperatures risen ( a little ), and though we still have extremely high winds I am back on the road again!

( Incidentally, another of my pastimes is photography and this year I am trying to create a story board on the theme of cycling and concentrating upon black and white images - hence the lack of any colour in images above )

At my age, even a short break from exercise can have a serious impact on your fitness and so it was with some trepidation that I started out again fearing aching legs and bursting lungs. In the cycling gap I have been swimming in the hope that I might retain some semblance of muscle tone and it seems to have worked.

Yesterday we cycled  84km, or, as I think of things now,  just over half a London100. I admit the speed was fairly slow but in mitigation the wind was consistently hjigh at 25mph with gusts upto 50mph. Whatever my excuses, it was a start and I feel reasonably pleased with the effort.

So, at the end of the first month the vital statistics are

Total distance =   438 km

Total Ascent   =  3010m

Longest Ride  =  84.1km

Total swimming distance = 14.6km

If you have been following this blog then you will know that the main goal for the year is to complete the Ride London100 with my son, and we are doing it in aid of the Mental Health Charity Mind.  As part of this we are trying to raise funds and for everyone who donates they will receive a free booklet entitled

Cycling Food on the Go - Recipes for Success

This contains over 40 recipes kindly given to me by cyclists from all over the world, all who train and refuel on that most essential of ingredients.. CAKE !

For us novice cyclists, 100 miles is seeming to be an awful long way and I have  a real fear that I will not make it, but I will give it my best shot.

If you would like a booklet then please visit

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/teamroberts

and a special thank you to all those who have already so generously supported our cause.