Just Say Yes

Bike on Freshwater Down, Isle of Wight

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.

Tom holding up his bike

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