The last couple of days I’ve been tired, and a bit under par, so since hubby had the day off, I decided that the weekend had clearly arrived early so therefore I was allowed coffee. And, since he was home and cooking, I also got to start the day with a poached egg on toast for breakfast. Result!
Now that my body is a temple (!), I’m far more aware of the effects when I put “bad” things in it. Like coffee for example. A couple of cups later and I could feel it – that antsy, fidgety, I should be on the bike and going NOW feeling. Don’t get me wrong, this is not necessarily a bad thing *grin*. Well, unless you want a recovery nap afterwards that is…
So when Mim arrived as planned this morning, it would be a minor understatement to say that I was raring to go. I know I should be probably be tapering before Sunday’s Somerset 100, but I never have been very good at that. And it just feels so good to be on the bike at the moment.
I think for me cycling often has a lot in common with meditation, which it’s fair to say I’m crap at as I always end up falling asleep. However the focusing on the breathing, breathing deeply bit, is more what I had in mind. The exertion of cycling forces you to breath more deeply, which is, when you’re going along at a reasonable speed and not pushing it too hard, almost relaxing. I think I may have tendency to breathe quite shallowly normally. And when I focus on what my breathing is doing when going up hill, every inhalation and exhalation, it’s easier to ignore what my legs are telling me and to just get on with it. There you go, zen and the art of cycle meditation. Or something ;).
Back to the ride. This was a route designed to include a coffee stop at GW’s, which meant doing the majority of the miles and work beforehand, and then just heading straight for home afterwards. It was essentially flat, with a few little hills to start off with just because that way life is a little more interesting, and because you can’t do the same routes all the time. Still even some of those little lumps can sometime feel like hard work, but I wasn’t feeling that too much today – all good for the PMA :).
Weather-wise it did try and rain on us as we got into Banwell so the yellow waterproof got yet another outing. It didn’t stay on too long because there was far too much “boil in the bag” going on for my liking. And although it tried once again as we neared our coffee stop, I ignored it and luckily it ignored us too. It wasn’t like it was cold, or very wet, mainly just gusty wind to catch you out from time to time. Which reminds me of the fable of the wind and the sun – the sun definitely wins, as I do not cycle well when overheating!
A coffee stop clearly means more coffee. Well, what’s a little more caffeine? Time for another fix! (It may well be a very good thing I never really got into drugs at uni… ;)) I guess it made the ride home even more fun as, since it was a tad chilly and windy as we set off, pushing harder and faster was a good way to warm up! Some days the wind is more annoying than others. Today Mim was feeling it, but it wasn’t really bothering me. I recommend she drinks more coffee…*grin*.
Cycling time: 2:04:43 hrs
Distance: 33.59 miles
Avs: 16.1 mph
ODO: 8942 miles
I’m not sure about my stats of late, I think my computer may be playing up from time to time. Certainly when I look down it’s not always saying what I think it should be. Still, it’s probably not far off. So when you consider that it was a sociable chatty ride, we were going pretty fast. Suits me sir :).
Mind you I’m back to feeling tired now. And a bit woozy around the edges – I left lunch a little late, especially when you consider all that lovely caffeine buzzing around my system. It’s a little like being drunk without having been drinking – strange indeed. I’m thinking sleep may be a tad elusive later but I think I’ll try for an early night and see what happens :).