On yer bike!

I've always loved cycling - from the day my friends dad taught me how to ride on a Chopper aged about 9, through the many hours I used to cycle around the local park and lake with my sister and other friends in our teens, to the day I met the Husband and discovered he was a bike-aholic! I was rather overweight at the time, and he bought me my first proper bike, with lots of gears and everything, and taught me how to use them properly. At first I struggled to do 2 miles on a flat road, then within a couple of months I'd got up to speed; when we went on our first weekend away as a couple, to Yorkshire, we naturally took our bikes.

Now, as I'm sure you're aware, Yorkshire is rather hilly. And I was a heavy smoker at the time so was not exactly mega-fit. But on the first full day there I plotted out a long circular route and we duly set off. A third of the way round, we stopped at a pub for a drink and a snack; the Husband thought he saw the writing on the wall when I asked for a soft drink rather than a beer! He suggested we turn back then, to make the journey shorter for me. But I was so determined to do it, forced him to carry on, and several hours later we eventually got back to where we were staying. 26 miles of sheer bloody-mindedness and serious hills; I was so proud of myself, and thoroughly deserved the many beers we sank that evening!

Fast-forward a few years and we are currently trying to get our kids hooked on cycling too. Not having a huge amount of success so far; Little Legs has, well, far too little legs, and Mr Moo is lazy so quite happy to stay on his trailgator which I pull and do all the hard work for him. That in itself makes each ride a tad harder for me so burns off more calories! We'll persevere though...

And this leads me to today. Well, to be precise, June 9th. I will be doing a bike ride for a charity that is very close to my heart, Camille's Appeal. A mere 100km through the streets of London. And to make it more fun, it's gonna be overnight! Am thoroughly looking forwards to seeing London at night; it's a circular route so goes all through the City, East End, Covent Garden - past St Pauls, Canary Wharf and the Houses of Parliament - from Crystal Palace to Alexandra Palace and back again. Bear in mind that I've been ill for much of this year including having had surgery, and can count the number of times I've been on my bike on one hand, so I have some serious training to do over the next few weeks. But, like Yorkshire, sheer bloody-mindedness will get me through. Wish me luck folks!