I’m approaching the end of my third week of training and I’m currently wondering if I can actually do this.  Some days have been easy to get on that bike and pedal, while other days have proven to be more difficult.  I still don’t LOVE riding my bike, although I like the IDEA of doing something as big as a double century.  (I do enjoy the massive amounts of food I can eat without guilt!)  One factor that is leeching out any joy in riding my bike is the neck and shoulder pain I am constantly experiencing.  Typically, I feel pain about an hour into any ride.  I’ve been stretching on and off the bike and starting to research solutions; so far, the most obvious solution is to figure out if my bike fits me correctly.  My SAT and I will probably get me to a professional bike fitter in order to see if I am correctly aligned and pedaling efficiently.  If I feel pain an hour into a ride, I can’t imagine what I’d feel like after 15, 16, or 17 hours (my projected time for completing a double century).

That is a painful thought.  So….let me think about something more fun.  I was going to post another “Throwback Thursday” article yesterday, but got distracted by work and other stuff.  Better late than never, right?  A handful of years ago, my SAT and I were in London and when I researched online for things to do, I found a bike tour company that seemed fun.  I booked our bikes and we enjoyed a really cool tour of the main tourist attractions while getting a bit of exercise.  It was fun to see the tour buses get caught up in traffic while we rode around obstacles and accessed places the buses couldn’t go because of their size.  🙂  The bikes we rode were these big, cushy cruisers and since our route was pretty flat, the biking was easy.  It’s funny for me to think back on my past and recall more bike moments than I remember having!

(Photo 1: me on my bike.  Photo 2: trying to run through the wall to get to Platform 9 3/4 in order to catch the train to Hogwarts and see Harry Potter!)