Training!!

Well, I suppose it would be sensible to do some serious training before setting off across Europe.

I should be pretty fit seeing that I am a Personal Trainer, so I'm hoping that my general fitness levels are going to put me in good stead for the ride. During a ski holiday over the New Year period I injured my left knee. It never stopped me training but I was constantly conscious of it. It has improved over recent weeks and it seems fine when I run or cycle, so I'm hoping that it is not going to be a problem.

January was a terribly wet and cold month and therefore I never got out on my bike. I tried to substitute the lack of road cycling with setting a bike up indoors on a turbo trainer and to relieve the boredom of riding indoors I watched youtube videos of Mark Beaumont cycling the Americas and the World. It also provides me with some inspiration for my journey, except that I do not aspire to break any records.

February has been much better for outdoor cycling and I have upped the cycling frequency. Although I am conscious to step it up gradually because the last thing I want now is to injure myself before I get started. My main philosophy is to get on the bike on all days that are dry and get myself (and more importantly my backside) used to time on the bike.

I had a lovely days riding last week. I set off with the intention to cycle to a Lake District pub for lunch and cycle back. However, I got to the pub too early and decided to push on a bit further. I took a series of random decisions and then headed to Bowness and then caught a ferry across Windermere and then getting my pub lunch sitting in sunshine outside a Hawkshead pub. I cycled back via Newby Bridge and quiet back roads to Cartmel before getting over the last hill home. It was a lovely sunny but cool day and it encompassed the spirit that I am trying to achieve on my journey. I want to have an overall aim but still want to adapt the route and the timescales so that I get a real feeling of adventure.

Last Sunday I did the Eden Valley 60 mile Sportive ride along with 1000 other cyclists. I set off with some good club cyclists and realised that they were too fast for me after the first 10 miles. They disappeared into the distance but I caught them twice though after two of them had crashes (maybe it pays to be a plodder). Anyway I had a good ride and managed to average 15 mph over the very undulating course. It confirmed for me that my training priority is not speed!

Anyway, I will keep the training going steady and probably tailing it off in the last week so that I do not start the journey jaded.