Hello readers.
What can I say!? I am back? Yooo hooo!? Sorry it's been so long!? Well, I am saying nothing.....not until I have spoken to my solicitor! I don't know what when on, what happened, I just lost my mojo, I wasn't really 'feeling it' for the bike. Thankfully I still had my running or I would really have transformed back to my old couch potato days! And my cycling mojo is just hanging by a thread too!
I have a half marathon planned for a couple of weeks time, believe me when I say I really have been trying to train properly for it but life, as usual, just takes over the bits of yourself that you need to dedicate to running. Anyway, Naggy, neighbour from over the green, suggested on Saturday that we should try for a twenty miler for Sunday afternoon! Twenty miles!!! I should be lucky if I could get twenty feet without falling off, complaining of a sore arse or having a huge panic attack! But I said yes anyway, and then she said "You know the pubs, just chose a route and we'll go for it" Oh my goodness, thank fuck for that! If I had tried to follow her on a route that she had made I don't think I would have made it! She is really doing well with her cycling because of her whole Tri-athlon thing! Yeah, see, now you understand my relief, right!
The Old Boy suggested the Eynsford route.....nah......no way......I did consider it for maybe more minutes than I really should have........(thats when the anxiety issues came in) "What if I forget which way to go" and "What if those hills are just too much" and "What if I fall off my bike because I am going so slow up hill on that road" No, no way, Otford and Eynsford is not going to happen. So, I needed to put something in place for Naggy to enjoy and not get bored, but I also wanted a nice route, not too much traffic which ends up at a pub not far from where we live. I came up with the Downe route! Shit! This is going to hurt! But, cars, traffic will be less, I will have plenty of places to stop, grab my breath, take a drink, puke, stop the shaky legs or what ever I need to do, on that bit of road from Shire Lane to Downe Village that I know Naggy will enjoy!
I got back from church and went and got my bike out from the shed. I checked the tyres, tried the brakes, filled my saddle bag with stuff and then went and got changed into my cycling gear. The nerves were really kicking in now, "What if I have forgotten how to click in and out of my pedals, what if I forget to click out of my pedals, what if I ride along the road like a fecking snake!" All these thoughts were going through my mind as I knocked on Naggys door that I had forgotten to send a message to Naggy. I looked at my phone and I saw the text message from her to ask if we were riding! She was still in her 'civvies'! So I had to wait for just a few minutes while she got changed. All the while, anxiety building up!
We set off, "Where we going?" she says to me, I told her the route. "Downe Village first, so go on the path, the A21 is our first main road" I said to her. I followed behind as she rode up the path towards 'Turn Around Lamppost". I directed her to go along the quiet road first before we took the right hand turn that will take us on to the A21. Just to give me more time to get used to being on the bike, sort out my gears, I had so forgotten how they worked. In fact I think my gears even forgot how they worked as the kept on 'clunking' and not doing what I wanted them to do! That was all I needed, something else to add to the anxiety! I was hoping it was because I wasn't 'in tune' with my bike and that it was all just a bit stiff as well. I felt my bike just needed to blow off the cobwebs! Just shows you how technical I am!
It's only going to be a 12-15 miles ride, I could try and stretch it out to a 20 miles but I totally got a 'cut it short' route! The first challenge, getting up the slope of the A21 to Locksbottom! Oh my goodness! I didn't quite make it! That really reinforced my doubts in my self that getting up to Downe Village in one go is just not going to happen! I had to take a break. It was then that I realised that I had forgotten to start my Garmin, at least I could justify that little break! Once I started again though I did manage to get to the traffic lights, Naggy was waiting for me just at the top. I didn't want to stop as the lights were green so I just called out to her "Straight over, we are going up to Farnborough" I called out. I passed the lights and then my phone started ringing. I pulled over just by the hospital entrance and answered it, it was my middle child! That dealt with I carried on after Naggy had caught up with me......yeah, she had got caught by the lights after I had ridden by her!
She was soon in front of me again though and I told her that we would be turning right to go to Farnborough! There is a lovely down hill that we take, I remember I used to almost free wheel all the way down, but I just wanted confident enough. The road was in awful condition anyway plus there seemed to be quite a few cars coming up! I guess the gorgeous weather brought out the walkers who were parking their cars or getting into cars, after a lovely walk by St Giles church. It is a lovely walk around there. So there was noway was I going to free wheel down there, I put the brakes on and tootled down. Naggy was at the bottom of the hill waiting for the next direction. I told her......right then left.....all the way up and up to the top, the Village of Downe. Totally ironic isn't it, to get to Downe you have to go up!
We started the hill, Naggy in front of me, the climb started. It looked horrendous, it felt horrendous. I tried to remember the times when I had done this road in one go. But that was over a year ago! I had my saddle ass, I had my stamina, my mojo was totally in the zone. Why did I chose this route! I stopped riding after what seemed like only a few minutes. I took a big gulp of my drink and then continued again. There were cars behind me, I just couldn't remember if I used to pull over and let them go, the road is quite narrow in places, or just keep going. I decided for my own safety to pull over. The really steep bit came and I looked at it. It seemed to get steeper the more I looked at it. "Right, you can do this you silly old mare, just get on and do it" I clipped in and tried to get up it. My jelly legs seemed to to turn into tissue paper legs, even worse than jelly legs! I just couldn't get started, I walked, yep, I got off and walked some of that blimmin hill!
When I got to a flatish bit I got back on my bike and slowly rode up some more. Naggy was waiting just around the next bend, I realised just how far up the hill we actually were, it spurred me on to keep going as we were so close to the end. Oh my flippin goodness! I was knackered. I was grateful for the huge traffic jam that seemed to happening in the middle of the place. There were cars bumper to bumper, one chap was carefully directing a driver through some very tight spaces to try a relieve some of the jam. I could see a bus just on the other side of the tree that's in the middle of the village, trying to make it's way down the other road, by the Queens Head. There must be at least twenty to thirty cars all trying to squeeze through the Village at the same time. There was no room even to try and cycle through. Me and Naggy had to get off our bikes and make our way through the traffic jam on foot. We turned left and walked for a little bit more until we got to nearly the end of the queue of cars. Then we got back on our bikes to ride again.
I remembered this bit of road. I was always pleased to get here, I think it's called Single Street, leading to Jail Lane. It still is an uphill road but not half as bad as the one we already had done. I kept on my bike, I kept clipped in, well for most of the time. I had to pull over to let this van through, he was good enough to drive behind me, waiting for a space to try and over take me, but I knew this road is to narrow, "Pull over when you can, we need to let this guy go" I called out to Naggy. The next driveway we pulled in, the driver said "Thank you" very politely as he drove passed us towing his slightly wider trailer behind him!
We were not far off from the Biggin Hill road, so close to the end of Jail Lane. There were a lot more houses, cars can get by and so the lovely down hill was almost there! We took a breather when we got to the end, then we took the right turn, destination, Keston! I love going down that road, it's lovely, there are not so many potholes, the cars drivers seemed to give you space and its down hill! Perfect. I more or less free wheeled as much as I could, I kept catching up with Naggy. Now either she was putting her brakes on or.......my bike is faster! Especially with the weight ratio added in!
At the bottom of the hill, of course there is a climb up again, chicken farm bends, as me and the Old Boy know them as. I had psyched myself up as I rode down towards the round about that "I couldn't do it, it was too hard, your legs are jelly, your legs all relaxed after the free wheeling" Not only but I had remembered there was no walking path along here, so I couldn't pull over if I wanted to! I was wrong about that! I was wrong that I couldn't get up the hill without stopping too. But my anxiety made me walk around the roundabout and up to the bus stop where I could start riding again.
Naggy was waiting at the top, just by the new roundabout, we took the left turn and it was a straight roll down to the Grey hound! That pint of beer at the pub was just so good! I stopped my Garmin only after I came out of the pub with our drinks and sat down in the lovely sunshine to enjoy them!
We went home via Barnet Wood Lane on to Oakly Road and then back through the path! A gorgeous day, perfect cycling weather, I just wish I was cycling fit! All in all I think we did about 13 miles, I had forgotten to switch my Garmin back on after the pub!
Here's my geeky stats anyway, can you check out the max speed! Not bad for a fat bird at the back, full of doubts and anxiety issues!
<iframe src='https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/embed/3492443917' title='First ride of the year!' width='465' height='500' frameborder='0'></iframe>
