Today I commuted to work. I won't get chance very often as I generally work out of cycling range, have no shower facilities and a bootload of kit I have to lug about.
However, today I had to work with a colleague who lives in Tamworth so I agreed to meet him at his house at 0900. I was planning to drive the route to see if I thought it was rideable, as there's a few hills on the way. Last night I decided that I'd just go on the bike. Set off at 0730, arrived at about 0845. My hips were hurting, as I'd had to keep pushing on so as not to be late. It's a lot easier to ride without a deadline! I managed the 16 miles at 14.1mph, which I was pretty pleased with for that distance.
Getting home was tougher. More uphill, plus I took a wrong turn and did 20 miles instead of 16. Had to stop and play with the TomTom to find my way back on course. Have I mentioned that my navigation's crap?
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Nearly came to a standstill on the short climb up Beacon Hill near the end. Average for the 36 miles was 12.4mph, which I was quite pleased with considering the messing about on the way home.
New bests for single trip, (twice) and biggest daily total by almost 10 miles. The thing is, after 20 miles I was shattered. I still can't see me getting to 30 any time soon. I should at least be able to manage the round trip to the bike shop for its free service though. All in all, a pretty good day. I'll sleep well, that's for sure.
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