In a couple of weeks I will have been cycling for a year, and although I was hoping to get a thousand miles in, it looks like I will fall short by a couple of hundred miles. As some will know I was given the all clear last December after suffering a heart attack, and was given a stent and plenty of med's. I realised I needed to get fitter and so I bought the bike. At 58-year old you can guess how long it took to get to a level where I was confident, but I'm starting to wonder if I would get out more if I had someone to ride with? The area I live has the scariest roads in the world, so trying to find lanes is a chore, especially as they are not well cared for, have pot holes, pebbles, wet leaves etc. It's also tough trying to find a ride that doesn't mean doing alpine climbs (Yes I exaggerate)
So am I looking for reasons not to go out, or do I worry too much about being out on my own for a couple of hours, even though I carry my spray. My longest ride was 37.6 miles and for the last couple of months I've only been averaging between 12 and 20 miles per ride. Today's effort was only 14.3 miles and I'm averaging around 14 miles per hour which seems very slow compared to some. Last week I took a turn which had me trying to get up a vertical wall, and even though my heart was almost out of my chest I got off for the first time and pushed for over a mile. So it can be tough around here, as the A roads are deadly and those that have cycle lanes are even more dangerous as they have never seen a sweeper and its puncture city. The lanes are tight and can be fun or iffy, and the B roads can be fun too but invariably they all lead to climbs which take you away from where you really wanted to be.
So am I looking for reasons not to go out, or do I worry too much about being out on my own for a couple of hours, even though I carry my spray. My longest ride was 37.6 miles and for the last couple of months I've only been averaging between 12 and 20 miles per ride. Today's effort was only 14.3 miles and I'm averaging around 14 miles per hour which seems very slow compared to some. Last week I took a turn which had me trying to get up a vertical wall, and even though my heart was almost out of my chest I got off for the first time and pushed for over a mile. So it can be tough around here, as the A roads are deadly and those that have cycle lanes are even more dangerous as they have never seen a sweeper and its puncture city. The lanes are tight and can be fun or iffy, and the B roads can be fun too but invariably they all lead to climbs which take you away from where you really wanted to be.