The Heart Was Willing

Therefore off to Stuart Males Cycles, firstly as they sold me it, they could sponsor me, which, without hesitation, both brothers did, secondly they addressed my problem of the onboard saw and sold me a "GEL" saddle at a rather keen price for which I will be eternally grateful.

I had now one month to get ready, the cycle ride being on Saturday, 11th September. Only one way to do this and that was practice. Starting with an hour's practice, I found several problems, firstly a 38-ton lorry from behind would definitely not do my heart or the bicycle any good and secondly my cycling technique was so inefficient I was just burning energy. 

To overcome the problem of lorries, plan the route where possible on the back roads. To improve cycling, well, you don't need to rock from side to side to make the legs push. Thirdly what if something cardiac happened. OK, GTN spray kept in pocket and the mobile phone in top pocket, maybe if necessary I could talk the ambulance driver into putting the bike into the back of the ambulance with me! 

The rides got longer as I improved my technique and the sustained speed got faster; concentrate on the hilly bits and the level parts would look after themselves.