Getting there!

Every cyclist knows the feeling. That day when you can just push and push and push. At the bottom of every hill, instead of gearing back you change up, get out of the saddle and literaly leap up that incline. Like the Duracell bunny there seems no end to this energy and you ride like this all day, pushing yourself deeper and deeper into the red.

It's been a while since I've had a day like that. After a New Year break and a steady start to the year, cycling has been tough going at times. Rides I'd normal tackle for fun have been painfully arduous, I've struggled at the back of group rides and every climb has felt like a challange. 

Although still short of the 700 mile months I was regularly putting in last year, slowly but surely I've got weekly totals back to about 100 to 150 miles. Then just this last week I began to sense the fitness returning and with it my motivation has returned. I've got up early a couple of times and gone out over the hills before work. I've started searching out tougher routes again, and generally enjoying the physical effort of pushing myself a little bit harder.

So with 3 months until the Swiss Grand Raid I'm starting to feel slightly more positive about my chances. A respectable 22nd at the Gorrick 100 showed the legs have 6 hours of racing in them - just! Now I'm starting to plan my kit and think about the actual day.

There was a slight set back last Sunday. I was chasing a friend into a seciton of wooded singletrack. I'm familiar with the trail, but haven't ridden it for a few months. Head down picking my line through the trees, I was concentrating on sticking with Jon's wheel. I missed his warning and with a resounding 'clonk' cracked my head on a low overhanging branch. I was fine, but my helmet looked decided second hand! So just when I was planning a few bike related purchases, I have a large unexpected outlay. I suppose I should count my blessing, an injury now, just as my fitness is returning, could have undone all the hard work of the past 6 weeks.