Concerns

18.5 miles, no punctures. A success of sorts although i did just stick to cycle paths for the majority of the way in order to ensure i got some miles done without having to change an inner tube. It's done my confidence a bit of good as i've started to become slightly worried about what i'm intending to do and increasingly frustrated with getting my bike to work properly. I've felt that i have been telling people about what i want to do without actually doing any cycling and as they say' talk is cheap'. It's all about the 'action' and i haven't really done any.

Having plotted my intended route on a map, i now have a better idea of what to expect and the timescale. I'm quite nervous about the fact that it looks like i'll be doing in on my own and wonder if i'm been a bit selfish in wanting to do my ride. I do think that in some ways riding solo should add to the achievement because of the obstacles that self reliance will create, but i know that Karen will worry more because of this. Hopefully, everything will be ok with the baby, which makes this my last real opportunity to do something like this for a while, something i'm very much aware of. Given my job/s i also know that the early July period will be the only real window of opportunity for me to do it. I'm very motivated to achieve it and really want to get stuck in and prepare myself as best i can - a process which should start properly over the coming weeks, now my bike is working.

More punctures

Miles Ridden: 10

Well, the good news is i rode 8.5 miles today without a puncture on my road bike. The bad, I got a puncture at 8.5 miles from one of the potholes that seem to be dotted about everywhere. I also had another flat tyre before i started. So that it total bearing in mind that i fixed the puncture by the road, on my own for the first time means i have thus far cycled around 22 miles and had 5 puntures, so one every 4 or so miles. That means that I can expect to get about 250 on my jaunt from John O'Groats to Lands End.

Things had started off promisingly enough. I'd put my new tyres on and pumped them up using there amazing CO2 canisters. they just make your tyre rock hard in a few seconds. I even fitted my new bike bag so now I have somewhere to store all my new gadgets. Anyway I guess puntures are all part of the fun and i'll get the better of them in the end. At least I feel i'm moving forward. I even started plotting my route on an old road atlas.

Miles in the legs

After my couple of false starts i was keen to get some miles in my legs and so whilst i was waiting for my new tyres to arrive for my road bike I decided to take a trip on my mountain bike. I always like to have a purpose when riding, rather than just doing it for the sake of it so i decided to cycle to Lidl (the Shop) of all places as I had heard they sometimes sold good cheap cycle gear. Lidl was actually 10 miles away so it was good to get out and complete the 20 mile road trip. I tested myself a few times to see how quick i could cycle a mile (fastest around 4 minutes) and obviously hopefully i will be quicker on my road bike. The stuff in Lidl was not really anything i needed but my tyres were waiting for me when i got back so fingers crossed tomorrow things can really start to get moving.

Another False Start

I'd been very excited all this week having decided that i was going to do the ride and was looking forward to going for a ride today and get the ball rolling. What do you know, i get my bike out of the garage, try and pump a bit more air in the front tyre and the whole thing goes down. I put in a new innertube and cycled off to meet Stuart about 2 miles away. Just as i was getting there the back tyre, that had to be repaired last time i ventured on the bike, is flat. Approximatly 12 miles cycled since i got my bike and 3 flat tyres, not a very good start. Stuart tells me he has only had one puncture in his last 4,000 miles of cycling. Anyway we found a split in the tyre and so i just had to turn round and cycle back home again. I've just ordered some special tyres that promise to prevent punctures, so lets hope for third time lucky next time i get out.

Pregnant!

I can't believe it, Karen's pregnant. At least the test says she is.This is a secret by the way, nobody else knows. Lets hope nobody finds their way to this blog by accident. It's actually not really much like a blog at the moment, more like a secret diary really. Anyway it's a bit hard to take in and i'm a little scared of getting too excited. But fingers crossed, Karen and I can look forward to having a little baby. This also means that hopefully i'll now have the chance to do my bike ride. I know i've only been out once on my bike, but if everything is ok over the next few weeks, i'll start making some plans to seize the opportunity whilst i still can and attempt the ride in early July.