Christmas Wind Down

It's all slowing down over the Christmas period. I've had a few work parties to go to which has limited the number of times I've ridden to work and the weekend rides with friends have slowed a bit as various people haven't been able to make it. I went out on 20th December with my friend Paul but we could only go for 2/3 hours as I needed to be back to go for lunch with my family. As it turned out, Paul wasn't feeling his best after a work's do, so the ride was gentle. It was a really nice change to know that the ride was going to be shorter and the pace was going to be easy. The weather was fantastic as well - a slight chill but with the sun out and the country side looking lovely. We ended up doing about 38 miles which wasn't too bad.

I have to admit, that I'm getting a bit nervous about how getting back on the bike going's to be after Christmas cos I've eaten loads and haven't done any exercise for over a week. I'm back at work on Friday, so I suppose I should ride to work to ease into it, but I'm going out on Saturday night with friends so I can't see myself getting a long ride in at the weekend.

Training Starts

For those of you don't know, L'Etape is an event where "normal" people can cycle a stage of the Tour De France. Normally around 9,000 people do the event. This year the event 175km with 3 category 3 climbs and ends at the top of Mount Ventoux.

I've been cycling a bit on and off but never attempted anything like this before. I've been thinking about entering L'Etape for a while and have finally decided to take the plunge.

Went out last Sunday with 3 friends for the first long cycle of many for the next 9 months ! It turned out to be 75 miles in the end but went surprisingly well.
Went out that afternoon and bought some overshoes as my feet were freezing.