First steps…

When I first mentioned to Ros and a few close friends that I was going to try a 400 mile bike ride nobody laughed or told me I was stupid. In fact, so far everyone has been consistently encouraging. Furthermore the fact that I have told them will serve to make it harder to give up.

And so to the cycling… It was incredibly disheartening on my first few rides to discover how much strength and energy I had lost in just a few weeks as a result of the drugs. My first ride was just under 5 miles to McDonalds for a coffee and then home again…..arriving completely shattered and gasping for breath. What is worse, I didn’t get much better the next couple of times. What have I taken on? Giving up before I had  hardly started was out of the question so I set off more in hope than expectation to Addenbrooke’s for an appointment and was going well until I got a puncture. Typical.

Last week my son Nick was moving to a flat in the north of Cambridge so I decided to try and cycle there and did it! 16.4 miles. It doesn’t sound far but it’s a start.

Then last weekend Ros and I went with good friends Eliza and Adrian to the spa at Whittlebury Manor near Silverstone. I went a bit mad on an exercise bike, creating an impressive puddle of sweat underneath it by the time I fell off, totally exhausted. As a result on my two rides this week I have felt so much stronger. Each one was only about 15 miles but I did them easily. Time to step up the distance I think.