I am four days away from starting the biggest cycle of my life and I honestly can’t decide if I am excited or dreading it. From a physical perspective, and looking at my cycling totals over the last few months, I’m completely and utterly insane. I’ve barely touched my bike, I’m about to add several kilos of weight and am doubling (sometimes tripling) my normal ride distance for 12 (probably 13) days in a row. Jesus Christ.

I am also slightly concerned about how much time I will spend alone. I like people (most of the time) and I have always preferred cycling with a friend. I even, fairly often, find that when cycling alone my mind decides to revisit some of the unhappier parts of my life. It’s very odd and this never seems to happen when running. It will be interesting to see if I can push past that on such a long ride.

At the same time, I am really looking forward (providing I am not in complete clip) to riding at my own pace (thank god it is not a race) and having nothing on my to do list other than to keep peddling! I remember listening to a podcast from a woman who’d rowed the Atlantic a few years ago and there was one part where she said she felt instant, overwhelming relief when they finally got in the boat and started the journey. The stress she had felt in getting to that point; the search for sponsors and the training had been so full on that, rather than feeling nervous about the 1000 of miles of wild ocean in front of her, she could finally relax. It just really struck me that, when people complete these amazing feats of human endurance, we often do not appreciate the work that goes on in the background to make it happen. I would not dare to compare my individual challenges to an Atlantic crossing but I do have a new found appreciation for this level of activity and I too look forward to focusing on just keeping my wheels spinning.

It might not be my idea of heaven but, I think all in all, I am looking forward to a 1000 miles of open road. I‘ll get to visit parts of the UK I have not been to before and attempt to enjoy my own company – how terrifying!

I’ll miss the doggo – but I think she’ll forgive me!

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