I feel fantastic. No, really, I do.

I’ve only done a 20, but what’s different about this one is that it was without a time limit.

“So?” I hear you say, “What’s the big deal about that?”. Well, like most people, I have to fit my cycling around the various other elements of my life; family, work, friends, charitable and social commitments, etc. and until a couple of years ago I had a fairly stable routine that allowed me to fit in lots of cycling.

Then, in the space of six months in 2007 our house sale fell through - shortly after our house flooded – we had to move the whole family to the other side of town - within weeks we were then both ‘let go’ from our jobs of 10 and 20 years - in the September our daughter started school – and the following 8 months were spent going almost daily to our flooded house to project manage the repairs.

The stable routine? shot to bits!

For a good 18 months now I haven’t been able to cycle regularly, snatching quick 1 hour runs here and there, and I’ve piled on the weight and really lost all my fitness. So much so that this Sunday I couldn’t fit into any of my jeans or trousers (which have steadily been getting tighter, but which I’ve conveniently ignored) and I ended up sat on the edge of my bed feeling down and disgusted with myself.

I’m a rational, reasonably intelligent bloke, so how the hell have I let myself go so much? God knows, but I have at least resigned myself to doing something about it now.

This is where the Fantastic feeling comes in.

I talked to my wife about how I was feeling and how I wanted to get back on the bike more regularly, so we sat down and re-rigged the weekly routine so I could get out a couple of nights a week and get fit again. And what’s great about going out on a night is that I don’t have to get back. I can stay out as long as I like – well, at least as long as my knees and lungs will let me!

So, I’ve set myself a goal of being a little lighter and a little fitter for the 1st Annual CC Meet-up – we’ll see how it goes. You’ll be looking for either a Racing Whippet or, more likely, a Racing Spud!

Cheers,
Shaun

Oh, yeah, and I inadvertantly managed to get caught up in a TT – the cheering by the timekeepers and marshals put me in Lance mode for a least 100 yards … lol