As a really quirky long ride last Sunday, I rode “Valerie” (Crescent) to “Edinburgh” (Street). If you don’t get the significance of this, you haven’t been paying attention – go back and read the other entries!
It was raining on and off, and it took me 4 hours because of the hills and the distance, but it still felt good. And I passed 1,200km this morning.
I’ve been riding so much now that it’s almost a way of life. I’ve noticed a few interesting things.
• If I take more than 2 days off it feels like forever;
• My speed keeps creeping up, even though I don’t notice this while pedalling – I’ve set personal records on some segments that I’ve ridden over 100 times in the last 5 years;
• My legs feel like iron (pity about the rest).
While I lie in bed at night with sore hips and knees (the curse of being in my 60s), the worse thing is the worry about my schedule. It’s not like I’m just swanning about covering miles each day – this whole project had to be part of ordinary life, which for me is full, full, full. So, considerations like “can’t ride because of an early morning teleconference”, or “because I have to catch a flight”, or “because I’m in a foreign city”, are a real thing. And that can get annoying.
On the plus side, I still really enjoy being out on the bike. Early mornings around Auckland can be truly beautiful. For those that don’t know, Auckland is a small city, by global standards, straddling very intricate harbours from both east and west coasts, and dotted with cone-shaped, volcanic hills. Everywhere is green because it rains and it’s mild.
With 200km to go, I’m focusing intently on the end now. I’ve got to weave my way through some business trips over the final weeks, around New Zealand and Australia. That means I’ll have to ride when I can, come rain or shine, but that doesn’t faze me anymore.
I’m starting to plan a finishing ride up the Royal Mile in Edinburgh – just have to find a bike?
And then it’s done.
Oh, and by the way, if you’ve read this far you’re probably the type who’d like to know the back-story of the show, in which case just click here. You might also like more pictures with your words, in which case follow my ride on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.
Thanks so much for pushing me to push those pedals round just a few thousand more times.
If you know others that would like to help this very worthy cause, please direct them to the project.
This will be a massive boost to mental health.
