Let me tell you a story.....

So I've decided to blog my cycle journey, which means you are about to witness the most mammoth of initial blogs! I need to tell you where I've come from, why I started and, where I'm going.

Are you ready? What do you mean no! Well I'm starting anyway...

My cycle journey (obsession some may say) began last march, I'm no skinny Minnie but have always walked to work, I dance and I've dabbled in the gym and running, but never cycled. My walk to work became so painful I actually cried one morning having hobbled the mile to work with searing pain stabbing my left foot ( possible exaggeration alert.... Get used to them) I went to the dr and was told it was probably ligament damage and to rest..... I am a mum of 2 girls plus step daughter, I don't do rest! So, i did what any self respecting lady in pain does, I googled! And diagnosed planters fascilitis, with quite a bit of research it seemed the obvious culprit. Now my problem... How to get to work.

One of my colleagues suggested borrowing a bike, worth a try i thought so I "borrowed" my sisters old mountain bike, it needed cleaning, tyres pumping and a good dose of Andy love ( you will hear a lot about my partner Andy, it's thanks to him I'm still cycling) but I soon was cycling to and from work each day.

And it grew from there, I started cycling a few miles around town, then along the canal, then I bought my own mountain bike and set myself a goal of riding to and from Meriden (20 miles) . Then, in a moment of utter utter madness I offered to complete night rider 2013 to raise money for my friends daughters trip to Kenya. Night rider is a 100km night ride (oddly enough) around London. So, here I am a novice rider, on a heavy mountain bike agreeing to a proper, charity ride. Omg.....

Fast forward to June this year, I had trained, getting up at 6am on cold January mornings to train, schlepping up hills and finally joining a local group (not club they cycle for fun) who all eyed my heavy bike with pitying eyes the first time I went out. June 6th 2013 I undertook night rider. It took me 7 hours including stops, it was the hardest thing I have ever done (whoever said London is flat lied, crystal palace seemed like it was on Mount Everest at 1am) but it was so worth it, London at night is beautiful, canary warf as the sun rose was amazing and the fox who crossed my path at 5am made me smile. When I finally made it the bottom of Alexandria palace hill I was knackered, broken and ready to give up, I was all for walking it. Until my beautiful friend julia, her daughter dani and my fab bloke andy came running down the hill to me, they ran back up it willing me along, sheer bloodymindedness kept me on that bike to the end. I was so proud when they gave me my medal. nightrider.org.uk

And that's where my story ends...

Well that's where my mountain bike, or the beasts story ends. As I then got a pretty, dainty, gold and black trek road bike and signed up to my next mad adventure, 195 miles from llandssilio to Stonehenge raising money for English heritage.  I will let you have 5 minutes to recover and save my trek story, my cleat adventures and the battle of steepy mountain ( ok ok hill) for my next blog. I am hoping to blog up to my Wales adventure in September and then beyond as we are already looking at next years challenge, no idea if people will read this but I'm writing it anyway!