Another year............

After a quiet December, in which I only slung my leg over a bike three times for various reasons, my first ride in 2024 (on the 4th) came as quite a shock to the system! For the first few miles it was absolute purgatory, not helped by my inactivity and having put on five or six pounds over Christmas. I really struggled, and at one point looked at the computer and wondered how the hell I hadn't covered more distance - it felt a lot longer that it actually was! After an hour though, which can be my typical warm up time, I began to feel better, and changing direction to get the wind behind me was also a bonus. I finished the ride feeling not too bad - tired, but not excessively so.

I followed this up with a second ride the following day, and this time I felt a lot better from the off. Unlike the previous day, when I glanced at my computer I was pleasantly surprised - almost back to the 'normal' feeling of "wow, hasn't that time/distance passed quickly". Back home, and I didn't feel as tired as the previous day, although there was still clearly some work to be done to get back to full(!) fitness and back to my fighting weight. 

After a couple of days rest I ventured out on the mountain bike for the first time today, doing a short but spontaneous route covering the local canal and rail trails. This was hard to start with, but once I'd warmed up a bit, particularly my fingers, I settled down. It actually turned out to be good fun getting away from the roads, in particular the section of the Trent & Mersey Canal between Hassall Green and Malkins Bank which included a handful of sketchy muddy, cobbled slopes at the locks, and again when I went back on the canal at the Mill Lane bridge (number 161!) where the muddy conditions dragged at my wheels. A very good ride though, to remind me that riding a bike should be enjoyable and fun.

I'm looking forward to better weather now, to get back into the swing of things, and am aiming to get back to Scotland this year, as well as riding Traws Eryri, a long distance multi-day ride through the Snowdonia National Park. Fingers crossed for good health, good weather and a quiet life.