I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Ahhh cycling.
It's wonderful, isn't it?
Have you tried it?
It feels like you're flying and free and at one with the wind.
Unless you're going uphill. Or at traffic lights.
You may wonder where I'm going with this...
As I've said before, I love cycling. It's how I get places.
Well, most places.
So I cycled this weekend. For charity. 45 miles (or 72km for you lovely Europeans or Americans out there!)
It was for The Princes Trust. A cracking charity. If you don't know about them, have a gander at their website http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/
Anyway. This bike ride. It was looooooooong!!!
I finished it in 3 hours and 45 minutes which I was over-the-moon with. My aim was to do it in under 4 hours so you can imagine my glee!!
That is, until the guy I crossed the finish line with told me he'd start it at 8.30am.
I'd started at 7am.
Oh.
Bugger.
Well. It was my personal best. Compared to all the other times I've cycled 45 miles I'd exceeded myself ten-fold...
The ride itself went across London and then out into the countryside all the way to Windsor Castle. Which is a sight to behold in its own right. But when you've just cycled 45 miles? It's like seeing Marilyn Monroe naked for the first time.
Holding a chocolate cake.
On top of a shiny car.
In heaven.
Words cannot express how happy I was to see that castle. If I could've mustered up the energy to hump it like an un-fixed dog - I would have.
The ride wasn't without it's difficulties. Of course. That's obvious.
I only allowed myself to stop three times:
- Once to take off my waterproof jacket (courtesy of the boy)
- Once to go for a quick wee (in a portaloo - I didn't pull a 'Paula Radcliffe')
- And once to quickly scoff two Snickers bars and a Lucozade (which left me burping for about 7 miles)
My boyfriend called that stamina. I call it, a bit stupid.
When I got to 24 miles my stomach rumbled like an undetected land mine. But for some reason I wouldn't allow myself to stop for food until the 30 mile mark.
What on earth was I thinking?
You're cycling for 45 miles? You hungry? You eat! No self-control about it!
This act of stamina led me to a woozy, head-achy feeling all day.
Not to mention the bizarre response I gave the lady who offered me a banana at the finish line,
"Only if you give me a smile"
Eh?
Apparently, cycling 45 miles turns me into some kind of male, 1970s sleaze.
Thank goodness I didn't come up with worse...
You can certainly come up with worse about a banana.
Despite the hiccups, metaphoric and literal, it was a fantastic day.
And I'm not saying that in the 'yeah man! free love, positivity and peace, yeah!' kind of way.
It was just a really good day.
I can no longer stand up. Or sit down. But it was great.
Bicycle seats aren't built for a lady's area.
Perhaps I should rename this blog:
"I want to ride my bicycle...
...next week"
Watch this space...