Just Say Yes

Yesterday was very nearly a pyjama day. It was grey and uninspiring, and I ached a bit from too much of this yoga challenge. We’d had the Cycle the Wight event in our calendar for months, but bed on a Sunday morning is a hard thing to quit. I’m so good at saying ‘Nah’, ‘Maybe next time’, or ‘I’ll think about it.’ Sometimes thinking is a really bad idea; what if we just said Yes?

I waved Tom off at the door to cycle the 100k route on his own, and got back in bed. But knowing that he was off playing outside without me kind of ruined my lazyman buzz. It took me all of five minutes to regret my hasty ‘No’ and start tearing around the house looking for lycra, socks, and other sundries. I sent him a quick On My Way! text and raced down the hill.

It was a perfect autumn day: still and clear, damp and earthy. I was glad I’d made it out of bed. Those grey days always feel uninviting, but they’re really rather lovely once you’re out in them. After an hour of hard pedalling (Tom had a fast bike and a half hour head start) I found him sat on a hilltop bench, munching on a banana and grinning at me. We spent the rest of the day riding this familiar route, having a grand old time.

A last minute mad-dash change-of-heart is not the best approach to a long-distance ride. My legs were tired after that first 30k hard push. But I had a perfect autumn day out in the fresh air with my man. I’m at risk of missing all the fun if I automatically say ‘No’ to a challenge. So, I’m going to try to say ‘Yes’, ‘Definitely’, and ‘When do we start?’ before I have the chance to come up with a decent excuse. We’re likely in for plenty more uninspiring grey mornings this autumn, but if we just head outside we may find they’re all still pretty fabulous.

How to Run When You’re Not a Runner

I’m not a runner. And before you ask, I’ve got all sorts of very valid excuses: I’m not built for it, my knees sometimes twinge a bit, there was that time when my shoulder seized, and I just get way too red in the face. I know, right? All totally legit. But I am married to a runner, and somehow, bit by bit, very slowly, I’ve sort of found myself running. And I *might* even be enjoying it. Actually, after the first 2k of feeling like an injured rag doll and wondering why the fuck I’m doing it at all, I start to enjoy it a lot. So, for any other determined non-runners like me, I wanted to share a few of my discoveries:

It’s fine to stop. Don’t ‘run through the pain’. Just remember that it’s really hard to get going again. So maybe walk for a bit and agree to yourself you’re going to start running again when you get to the next lamppost.

Finding someone fitter than you is a good thing. If only one of you feels exhausted, the other can keep you both going. You might feel cynical about those motivational words now, but when you’re bloody knackered they do the trick. Just one thing- make sure your buddy doesn’t run ahead of you; that’s just dispiriting.

Decent kit matters. Of course, you don’t want to invest in a whole bunch of fancy stuff, if you’re not going to stick with it. But you won’t ever regret buying a decent sports bra. And those bargain basement trainers need to stay in the basement. Plus, a nice top is good consolation for the embarrassment of running around in public with a beet red face.

Off road is easier. This was my biggest surprise. I thought you could only ‘graduate’ to off road running after you’d really nailed the concrete stuff. But concrete feels like a hard slog. Hopping around in the forest, paying attention to rocks and roots, totally takes your mind off the fact that you’re pooped.

Records rock. It’s satisfying to be able to tell people how far you went. And PBs remind you that you *are* making progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it. Get the Strava app and find some friends to sign up too. Lets use our social media inclinations for some good eh?

Too much advice is a bad thing. There’s a lot of ‘couch to 5k’ podcasts and apps out there. I’m sure they give a well-structured programme, created by the experts, but you know what feels good, how far you can go, and when you should stop. For me, following pre-destined run routines just felt uninspiring.

So, don’t follow my advice, just head outdoors and get your sweat on!

Au Gîte

So we didn’t actually camp every night of our holiday. We rolled it up in favour of a few nights of home comforts and a family reunion in Burgundy. Getting there involved a mad dash across Paris for connecting trains, which was such fun I think Tom might be a convert to city cycling. My family greeted us off the train on a fleet of bikes and we had a merry escort up the hill to the gite.

We spent the days catching up over lazy breakfasts, enjoying the perfectly smooth roads, and visiting local villages. We welcomed in my 31st year with strawberry tarts, sorbet, and espresso. It feels a good start to the rest of the year.

On y va à vélo

We have returned from a fortnight in France, riding through sleepy green lanes and over far, hay-baled fields. We gorged on buttery pastries, and creamy brie, daily baguettes and refreshing afternoon beers.

We stopped in plenty of towns, ordering grand cafes and hunting out English newspapers. We weren’t always able to get our coffee early, making the the first of the daily kilometres pretty tough. But we were spurred on by varied roads, several ferries, and persistently cheerful cries of hello from the many fellow riders about.

We cycled 500k, poring over new sections of maps, and seeking out campsites with our rudimentary French. Our bikes got along famously as ever, valiantly carrying us over dusty tracks and through rainy winds.

We got along pretty famously too.

Sleep is Overrated

Or so I told myself after having very little of it this weekend. The evenings are the most inviting part of these hot days and this weekend the outdoor air was more tempting than a bed for the night. I spent Friday sleeping under the stars, and Saturday cycling through the night.

By sundown Friday we had hiked our sleeping bags and dinner up to the top of Mottistone Down, and watched the light fade. I haven’t slept outside without a tent since I was a teenager (and back then it was only an impromptu post-pub lie down). Sleeping outside is its own entertainment and, despite carrying my heavy book and torch up the hill, I was more than happy just watching the sky change, spotting the lights of boats out at sea, and listening to the changing sounds in the woods below us. We slept across the middle of what is by day a very busy path, but by night was a perfect quiet spot for two.

I woke up to the dawn on Saturday morning with a hankering for more summer nights of adventure. And so I made last-minute plans with my dad to ride the Dunwich Dynamo. That guy will never say no to an adventure.

This overnight ride takes hundreds of cyclists 120 miles from London to the Suffolk coast. From the moment we started cycling across central London we were swept along in an ever-growing number of bikes, all headed to London Fields for the start line. We prepared for the ride with a can of a stout and a fresh-faced ‘before’ picture.

The group effect never wore off, as our critical mass took over the roads leading out of London, and on to the lanes of sleepy villages, people spilling out in to the road as they stopped at the pub for a quick pint or cup of coffee (much-derided by the landlords). This ride is a long way, so I left the boozing for people made of stronger stuff. I was on the sugary tea.

The roads were perfectly-sized for a group of bikes and we streamed along amongst flashing back lights, hi vis jackets, spinning spoke LEDs, and strings of fairy lights. The countryside might be dark, but there was no way you’d miss us. The just-rock-up-and-ride nature of the Dun Run creates a fabulous mix of machines and easy camaraderie. There’s nothing competitive about it; we’re all just trying to stay awake and make it to the beach. Which we did, after a few power-naps (on Dad’s part) and every last snack in my bar bag. By the morning light we piled into the tiny seaside hamlet of Dunwich, cheered on by a friendly welcome party, and availed ourselves of double breakfast- one at the beach cafe, the other at the pub. This ride is one for your diary- challenging, friendly, and a definite summer night adventure.