Category: Cycling

A little (Raleigh) Shopping

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I don’t care if my scales say I’m 9st 2, my scales are lying.  Either that or my mirror is as I am turning into a dumpy country thing and I have no intention of being fat and forty, so I think today I will run and then I remember this

Raleigh Shopper

is living in the garage, having arrived yesterday and after giving it a test run last night, decided it’s the best bike in the whole world, even though when I was given a pink Raleigh Shopper by my parents when I was about 10, I wasn’t very impressed, as I hankered after a racer like my brothers had and didn’t want to be seen on a stupid girl’s bike and especially a pink stupid girl’s bike with a basket but now I love my stupid girl’s bike and will even buy it a basket especially although I won’t be going so far as to spray it pink. and so I decide to take my stupid girl’s bike out for a couple of miles and then come home, get changed and go out for a run and so I get my SGB out of the garage and venture outside on a bike on my own for the first time in about 30 years and I get to the tree a mile away and I think I don’t want to go back yet, I want to go further and maybe I can do the 7 mile loop I looked at on gmaps but it was ages ago I looked on gmaps and I can’t remember what the route is and so I just keep on going and I see lots of bunnies and not dead ones this time and there’s a car coming up behind me and I try not to wobble and remember what Shaun said about they don’t want to hit me and it overtakes me and woo hoo, I don’t wobble and it doesn’t hit me and I go past a road and I wonder if I should turn off there but I still carry on going straight and  I see some horses and I think that makes a change from sheep and I go past some houses that the owners probably think are posh but they look new and like they should be in Essex and after a while I get to a residential area and I think hmm, I think I’ve gone tReebok 5 Series Roweroo far and so I turn round and go back the way I came and I can hear something behind me and I don’t know what it is but it sounds big and it overtakes me and it’s a trailer or something with HUGE wheels and I think I don’t want to end up under them and then I’m back at the tree and the road is very narrow and a car comes along and there’s only just enough room for both of us and I pretend not to be scared and then I’m home and decide not to run but because I am sort of hardcore, I try out our new rowing machine which is harder than the one in the gym and after 15 minutes I’m knackered.

Route

Stats:
Distance: 6.91 miles
Time: 40:53
Speed: 10.1mph
Calories: 212
Stupid girl’s bikes: 1
Bunnies: lots
Horses: some
Trailer things with HUGE wheels: 1
Rowing machines: 1
Runs: 0

9+18=

13 comments

A lot of miles!

No, I didn’t run them all.  I ran – um, I correct myself – I trudged through 9 miles yesterday with my miraculous self-healing knee which was hurting so badly on Friday I was limping all day, but yesterday woke up like I’d dreamt it, not a twinge at all.  What cured it?  The cheese, mushroom and shallots omelette?  The Nutrageous bar?  The Deep Heat and stretchy bandage?  Who knows.  Still, nine miles sort of done.  Hooray.

Then today, Shaun announces he’s going to do 18 miles for his London Marathon training.  He further announces I’m going to accompany him on jelly baby duty on the mountain bike.  Hmm, ok, I think, how hard can it be, all I’ve got to do is sit there and pedal a bit sometimes.  FUCK ME HOW WINDY WAS IT?  It was proper windy.  Windy enough to necessitate the use of capital letters and the word ‘proper’ anyway.  Even windy enough to necessitate the use of the ‘C’ word by Shaun.  Oops, naughty.  And in front of a lady too.  (Yes, that’s me.  Before you ask.)

God, I was glad to get home.  To a cup of tea and some chocolate Hob Nobs and then a massive lunch.  Cooked by me.  Oh yes, I am a domestic goddess and finely tuned athlete rolled into one.  One what, I don’t know.

Running stats:
Distance: 9:05 miles
Time: 1:45:32
Pace: 11:40 m/m
Calories: 840
Cheese, mushroom and shallots omelettes: 1
Nutrageous bars: 1
Miraculously self-healing knees: 1

Cycling stats:
Distance: 17:42 miles (set off before the Garmin got a satellite)
Time: 2:31:08
Pace: 8:41 m/m
Calories: 612 (someone PLEASE tell me cycling burns off more calories than this?)
Use of capital letters: 1
Use of the ‘C’ word: 1
Cups of tea: 1
Chocolate Hob Nobs: 3
Massive lunches: 1
Domestic goddesses and finely tuned athletes rolled into one: 1

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