Oh My Goodness!

Hello blog lovers!

I'm back!  Oh and what an awful long time it's been!  Talk about lost mojo!  It was a horrible year last year, and my cycling mojo was just nowhere to be seen!  It was just as well I had my running to go to, at least that  kept me in some sort of shape. Round comes to mind right about now!  I was a little bit worried about sitting on my bike again! It has a very skinny HARD saddle, not to mention the clipless pedals.  Will I still remember how to do it! Will I be really nervous, can I really ride all the way to London and back!

That was our destination by the way, London, the Moby Dick and Greenland Dock, I think that is where it is, all I know is that its not far from decathlon, the sports wear shop, and not that far from Greenwich either.  It still seemed to me to be a bit of a mission.  I often tell runners that they should expect to start running at the same speed and distance as they did before injury/absence, why do I think being on a bike is any different to running!

I was riding with my sister Bims and her bloke Terry and also NaggyNeighbour and DiscoRich!  By the way, I am late in writing this, and it was just a few days ago that I went cycling, Sunday in fact, and today is Wednesday.  I was at church and I was late in leaving so had to rush back and get the bikes ready, get changed into my cycling gear and get everything ready.  I had planned to meet DiscoRich at 1. Well, I think that is going to be hard to do now!

Anyway, eventually gave naggy my white bike (her bike as a bit out of action!) and then we rode to meet up with DiscoRich.  After letting them both know that we are meeting up with Bims and Terry at Bromley South we headed off.  I took the lead, (goodness knows why, it's going to be slow anyway) and DiscoRich said he would go behind Naggy.  Bromley South, it's not that far, everyone knows where it is so I just headed on one of the two roads it takes to get there, Southborough Lane and the Bromley Common.  Bims and Terry should be waiting for us on the corner of Bromley Common and West Moreland Road.  When I got there there though they were not there.  I turned to look for Naggy and Disco but there were not there.  Surely I couldn't have ridden that fast, I am not fast! Never have been!

Naggy soon caught up with me, and we had to wait for Bims and Terry.  I then received a text from Disco, he had got a puncture!  He had called out to us but neither of us heard him, he said that I had 'sped off'!  That made me smile, not the puncture thing, but me speeding!  That has to be a first.   He had decided that he would walk home and then come along to the pub on the train!  So that was the plan for him.  He thought that he could be there with in about 1 hour or so, I thought it would take us about an hour, maybe hour and 15 minutes, depending on if we got lost!

Getting to Beckenham is always a mystery to me, I can never remember the roads to take to get to Cator Park.  But Bims knew they way, and so did Naggy as I think she knew all the little roads to go down, less traffic, etc to get to where we needed to be.  It seemed that we got there in real good time.

This is the crew, and my bike in the middle!
Naggy, Bims and Terry!

 Maybe Disco was right and that I was a little bit quick!  Being off the bike maybe I had just got a little over excited, and had forgotten how to pace myself.  Mind you, we were heading down into the London basin, as I was told in school, that London sat in this basin shaped hole!  Getting back home would be the decider on whether or not I was speedy.  Talking about speeding, in my rush to get out of the house I had forgotten to pick up my Garmin that I had on charge!  I was totally annoyed with myself for leaving it behind.  It was just as well Naggy had hers going, especially as we live opposite one another!

From Cator Park it's a nice pleasant ride along the Water Way Link, a series of paths and very quiet roads all the way into London.  I felt sure that I would still remember how to get there, and besides Bims has done this ride a couple of times, I felt sure that between the two of us we would get there.  Naggy was quite impressed the route, it is exactly what she needed to get used to being on a bike, and also it's a perfect quiet route to get to Lewisham, should she chose to ride to work one day!

We all kept together quite well, sometimes I led, sometimes Bims, even Naggy took the lead with me or Bims calling out "Left....Right!" Before long we came to Creek road, the river just ahead of us, Greenwich to the right.  After we crossed the road it was time for some more pictures, the the little man and the man with the small head!  Although we didn't actually stand next to him, just this guy!

We got some chap to photography us all toegher!

And of course the comical shot!
just look at those fat thighs!

After about another 10 or 15 minutes riding we were at the Moby Dick, I was really ready for a pint, that's for sure.  We chained our bikes up and then walked up the steps to the pub, and there, just supping on his first pint was DiscoRich!  He had been there about 10 minutes, so not too bad timing wise!  As it was Sunday there was only one thing to have, Sunday Roast. Naggy opted for the beef lasagna!  In hind sight maybe I should have done the say, or maybe gone for the chicken instead!

Lunch!

After lunch we cycled home, exactly the same way as we cycled into London with a promise to meet DiscoRich in the Sovs in Petts Wood just to round the day off.  Of course going back was a little tougher, it was all up hill, not huge climbs, but it was still a climb to get back of of the basin!  With just a little bit of 'miffdom' from a very uptight driver and his Mrs, her car door and my bike chained to a lamppost could have spoilt the day, but, heck, life's to short!

Geeky stats from Naggys Garmin.

Geeky stats, We did stop for
lunch you know!