Sunday ride

No dramas today. I went out with a more considered approach and realised I needed to ride a bit differently than I do on the fixed gear. More anticipation required in terms of stopping and getting in the right gear at the right time.

So over 40km done and the only thing that brought me in earlier was I couldn't feel my feet because they were so cold - the cycling shoes being a bit thinner than my trainers. Thicker socks next time and top to toe I'll be fine.

I felt comfortable enough to go out and tackle Westerham Hill which beat me in my first training session when I started this blog. Going down it on the way out was bloody terrifying (*update - just checked the Garmin and hit 60km/h - I've never been faster)! Riding up it on the way back was really hard. I thought I'd try to get up without using the lowest gear but in no time I was not only in the lowest gear but out of the saddle. Still, I managed to get up all the way even though my speed dropped at one point to 8km/h.

In some way I'm glad I had the experience of yesterday. It's taught me that this is a lot harder than it looks. You can read all the books and watch all the videos but when it comes down to it there is no substitute for getting out there and riding the bike.

A couple of quotes I came across this morning:

This is not Disneyland, or Hollywood. I'll give you an example: I've read that I flew up the hills and mountains of France. But you don't fly up a hill. You struggle slowly and painfully up a hill, and maybe, if you work very hard, you get to the top ahead of everybody else. -Lance Armstrong

Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades. -Eddy Merckx