1000 Miles in May

I've missed big cycling epics. Winter was especially unkind to the cyclists of Britain and only the truly hardy and dedicated (of which, this year, I was not) have reached spring in good fitness. Whilst I've dabbled a bit on the bike in March and April I am a long way away from the pedal power I had at this time last year.

Ed even sent me a chart to tick off!

Fortunately for me, my friend Ed - a man with a penchant for a challenge - came up with an idea that would inspire and excite my inner cyclist: to cycle 1000 miles in the month of May. I didn't take much convincing, to be honest I didn't even do the maths before I'd jumped in with both feet and was plotting new routes. An average of 32.2 miles per day is really quite do-able, I thought. A few longer rides in and out of work and some longer ones at the weekend, easy.

Having a well earned break at Milford-on-Sea,
legs never too tired to lunge.

Mentally, this was in the bag. The bank holiday weekend provided the opportunity to get off to a flying start and fly I did. I hadn't even considered that I was not currently physically conditioned for long, back-to-back days of cycling. By Monday afternoon I was exhausted, my legs were tired, my sit bones were having a fall out with my trusty saddle and all I wanted was to put my feet up and have a nap on the sofa, so I did.

However, if this was easy then it wouldn't be a challenge, would it? I'm fully expecting my cycling endurance to skyrocket during the month, and  - with well-placed rest days - this shall mark the start of a marvellous summer of cycling.