Well this morning was gorgeous and sunny and for some random reason it felt like a good day to start my training...on the positive it can only get better from here, I hope!...my lungs were burning and I was puffing and panting hard enough to lift a hot air ballon into the sky!
I managed to find some amazing paths and I can certainly see why cycling can become addictive with the freedom of going anywhere and the feeling of wind in your hair and being a million miles (in your head) away from any trouble and the stress of everyday life ......! I cant see how I will ever see the "fun" in going up hills though especially the ones that are steeper than the white cliffs of Dover, but I can see the sense of achiement after successfully riding to the top will counteract that and the exhilaration of going down the other side (when I have a bike that has brakes!) will help to wipe the hills from memory :-)
In all honesty I didnt make it to the top of all of the hills I had to dismount half way up on a couple but I think some of that is down to the fact I havent mastered the art of working the gears properly yet and my bike hasnt mastered the art of changing to the one Ive specified either.......not a good working relationship lol....must master it!
Ok so I'd been riding for about 15 mins and felt like I had rode for miles and I looked down to my nike gps for it to tell me I had gone .33kms yes you read that right, point 33 kms, I was not impressed! I carried on riding and found some fabulous off rode tracks with loads of cyclists, runners and such like all enjoying such a fabulous morning, the first part of the track was a steep downhill bank....I was fine but secretly hoping that I didnt have to ride that way back......yes you've guessed it, I was wrong :-/ !
I carried on riding, no clue where I was or where I was going, I suddenly popped out in a place called Brandon, never been there or heard of it (I have only lived in Durham since Dec 2011! tho so forgive me), but the sign said 8 miles to Bishop Aukland....I live in County Durham so I decided maybe this would be the point to phone hubby and ask where I was.
I thought at that point it was enough for a first day and decided to head back home, the journey back seemed three times as long as it did to get there, my legs were starting to ache, my lungs were really burning and I was starting to feel the cold a bit more.........I got home and collapsed on the sofa....to write this....I think a nice warm bath could be on the cards now that I can breathe once again....wonder if my legs will hold me when I stand up again?? Well even though I looked and felt a mess, I am secretly chuffed with my efforts. The approximate distance according to geodistance.com was 10.4 miles but I do need to sort my ipod out cos I felt a tad let down with not having an exact distance...............Happy Sunday xx
Well done you!! You should be very proud of yourself... glad you enjoyed it so much too :-) x
ReplyDelete