Motivational Moments

Everybody needs an aid for their motivation every now and then. Mine has come in the form of my new bike.

Yippee!!!!!

My bike was built for me by a lovely couple called Alf and Teresa Webb of The Bike-Inn. It is so pretty and so shiny and I haven't had a chance to go out on it for more than half an hour.


On Good Friday, my Dad and I drove up to Spalding to meet with Alf and Teresa. The order of the day was to test the bike out, tweak the set up and get some basic coaching. After lots of chat, I set off down the country lane on a four mile warm up. During this time, Alf was hanging out of the window of his car shouting out instructions (Teresa drove and Dad observed!). They would watch from behind, pull along side for a bit then drive ahead and look at me coming up the road.


After 4 miles I was asked to sprint for about 1k and rest, sprint and rest, so that Alf could watch me under pressure. I thought the time went quickly but actually we weren't out for long. Alf was happy with what he saw. Apparently I had a good position on the bike, he could see the increase in the power when I did as I was told (dropped my heals a bit) and short of adjusting my cleats on my shoes nothing was needed to be adjusted! Pretty good from one measurement!


When we got back to The Bike-Inn we started packing my bike up for the flight home. It was sad to have had such a short time on it and really hard to resist the temptation to get it out again and go for a ride but I didn't want to disturb the packing. I would have been devastated if it was damaged in transit (It was in an uber padded bike bag.).


The final words from Teresa and Alf was to do lots of Yoga to aid my flexibility and transition from bike to run. So tonight I'm off back to the EYC for some cross-training! Luckily for me, the woman who leads the Yoga session is an excellent cyclist. For the winter, Karen ran a cycling/yoga retreat called The Winter Workshop in Spain!


On Monday, I flew my bike home. It was a scary moment watching it go through security, the fear that it might get lost or damaged in transit. The waiting at the other end was torture, my bike was almost the last item to be put on the carousel! By the time I got home it was to last to re-assemble my bike, I had to wait until the morning!


On Tuesday morning I re-assembled my bike! It looks good to me but then I'm not going to notice any slight mis-alinement's from it's journey. Fingers crossed!


I can't wait to get out on it!!!

Motivational Moments

This morning before work I went out on a 27 mile ride east of Edinburgh to Longniddry, over to the coast and back to Edinburgh.

It was stunning.

It was pitch black as left the house and Edinburgh, cold but not freezing. As I left the urban sprawl and the last remnants of the city, dawn started to break over the horizon. I was suddenly aware that I could see the hills. The land was a fraction blacker than the sky. As the miles rolled on, the sky turned through the shades of blue from a dark steal to a deep royal blue. By the time I reached Longniddry and the turning point, I was sorry I wasn't continuing east. I wanted to carry on but I couldn't this week, too soon in the training schedule, only my second full training week.

When I hit the coast, I was glad I continued with the plan. The Forth of Firth was pitch black but the moon was almost full, hanging in a clear dark blue sky. The reflexion of the moon on the water was dazzling. I followed this view as I headed back to Edinburgh, sometimes with Fife as a backdrop and sometimes Edinburgh and Arthur's Seat. Stunning.

By the time I hit the outskirts of the city, rush hour was digging in. The lorries were cautiously passing and the cars were bombing past...

But they couldn't take away the sense of peace and joy of the world.