Can I get a witness?

Its done. Its over. I've cycled (more than) 2005 miles in 2005.

Its a weird feeling just now, I feel elated but deflated too (not a reference to my predeliction for punctures), I guess thats what happens when you set finally reach your goal. Thinking about it now, I should have set myself something harder, but at the start of the year I hardly felt I had it in me to cycle a hundred miles let alone a couple of thousand.

Glad I've done it though.

:o)

Final Journey: 10.69 miles
Top speed: 30.8 mph (today)

Overall Distance: 2009.9 miles

The Home Straight

A gloriously Autumn morning of sunshine and frozen fingers. I love mornings like this, really refreshing, stunningly beautiful and generally very uplifting. Breaking the 30mph mark on one particular downhill and overtaking a bus in the process also helped invigorate the soul too.

All in all, an easy cycle in this morning, no pain, no creaks, nothing but the simple satisfaction that all I have to do is stay on the saddle and pedal and I will reach my 2005 mile target.

Weekly Total: 54.16 miles
Overall Total: 1999.2 miles
Remaining Distance: 5.8 miles

The Final Countdown

Its all about the miles now, I couldn't care less what the weather is, I just want to notch up these final miles and get back to enjoying my cycling.

Its not that I'm not enjoying the experience, today was lovely and the rain storms on the way home tonight did little to counter my good mood, but I'm so bloody close to reaching my target now that I'm becoming a little too preoccupied with the whole thing and I just want it to be over. So, with one deep breath, I can happily advise that barring any bizarre weather front, disease pandemic or world wide nuclear war, I shall complete this ridiculous challenge tomorrow.

Weekly Total: 43.55 miles
Overall Total: 1988.6 miles
Remaining distance: 16.4 miles

Wash Out

I heard the weather reports about hailstorms and gales across Scotland, I knew it was going to be wet but I still clambered into my cycling kit and pulled on my waterproofs.

Only when I opened the kitchen door and looked out on to the street did I actually realise how bad the weather had turned. I couldn't see across the street because the rain was so heavy and the kitchen floor was soaking in seconds as the wind drove the rain in through the door.

I changed my mind. Then rushed up the stairs to change my clothes. Then cam back down the stairs to mop the rain water from the kitchen floor. I grabbed my rain jacket, picked up my bag and opened the kitchen door...

...to find that the rain had stopped and that the sun was shining!

Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to change back into my cycling gear and cycle into work so I had to catch the train and mutter furiously to myself as I watched the morning sun burst through the clouds. What a wash out.

Get building that Ark

Wet one today. Not in the morning, that went fine with only a couple of small showers but then the rain started coming down from mid-morning and, by the time I was due to leave work, there were a few massive puddles (lakes?) dotted along Great Western Road. The only way around these great collections of rain water was to either hop onto the pavement and try and scoot past the traffic or, as I had to do at the bottom of Queen Margaret Drive, actual pedal through the puddle, water splashing up over my pedals and soaking my shoes and socks.

All in all, it wasn't as bad as I had expected and I made it home in one piece, albeit an extremely damp one.

Weekly Total: 22.33 miles
Overall Total: 1967.3 miles

I was a good boy

So I cycled in this morning, caught the train over to the West End after work and only had one beer at the night out and then cycled home - aren't I a good boy? I even cycled around the block a couple of times just to make sure that my final tally for the week resulted in a nice round number for the final flourish.. I have exactly 60 miles left to cycle to reach my target.

Weekly Total: 40.92 miles
Overall Total: 1945.0 miles

Argumentative

You know what its like when you start arguing with yourself? Well that was me this morning, trying to find various excuses NOT to cycle in this morning. Happily, I lost the argument and ended up pedalling my way into work suprisingly content with the way things had worked out.

It wasn't a particularly compfortable ride in, I was pretty much soaked by the time I got to my destination, but the sheer satisfaction of finally getting off my lazy arse and back onto the bike was more than enough to keep me warm. Now I definitely deserve that pint tonight.

Weekly Total: 32.99 miles

Lack of Resolve?

The week started off well, an easy cycle in on Monday morning followed by a very wet and relatively difficult cycle home that afternoon but I haven't been on the bike since then.

Not all the slacking has been down to me however. I had to start work at 6.30am on Tuesday, so opted to catch a lift in rather than waking up to cycle in at 5.30am. I was definitely being a lazy bastard this morning however, and that habit doesn't look like changing tomorrow because I have a work night out to attend straight after work. There are no plans to make the evening last too long however as I'm starting work at 6am on Friday but that will then probably put paid to cycling in that day too.

Hopefully next week will be a little more productive.

Weekly Total: 22.35 miles

Friday (Day of Rest), Sat (Day of Activity)

OK, change of plans, I'm not cycling tomorrow.

I already have a game of squash lined up for tomorrow afternoon but I had planned to cycle anyway. My plans have changed now, however, after I've been advised that I have a rather active and extremely busy Saturday lined up and I'm going to need my legs and any other strength that I can muster on the day. I'll not reveal whats happening yet, but just know that I'm bloody excited about it!

On a cycling front, a solid 80+ miles notched up this week and I'm just over 100 miles from my target. Not a bad week after all.

Weekly Total: 88.23 miles
Overall Total: 1904.10 miles

Thurs already?

Is it Thursday already? Normally by now my legs are starting to complain and I'm thinking up reasons why I can't cycle in tomorrow but the bike in this morning seemed very easy - I'm obviously not pushing myself hard enough.

Weekly Total: 77.65 miles

Wind Assisted

Finally, a day when the wind is a tailwind and not a headwind. I got a lovely 'push' all the way back home, just had to take it easy and keep spinning and made it back with hardly any effort at all.

I did have to make one stop along the way and pick the kids up from school, but I've got that technique sorted now, so we were all home in only a few minutes and with only one or two speed wobbles...

Weekly Total: 67.05 miles

Pack Horse

I had to pick up a couple of packages from the Post Office this morning, unfortunately both were fairly bulky and neither would fit into my pannier bag. I had expected this, however, so I had armed myself with and empty rucksac and a bungee cord (the kind you use to strap things to cars).

Anyway, after finally managing to arrange the packages in such a way that they didn't dig into my back or get caught up in my bike wheels or even fall off the bike, I set off on my journey into work..... which is when I realised how un-aerodynamic I actually was and also realised quite how windy it was.

I did make it in to work, however, along with a few hairy moments along the way where it looked like I was destined to end up in the hedge and another moment when I scared the living daylights out of a fox (I was downwind of it, so it never knew I was there until I almost ran over its tail).

Weekly Total: 55.44 miles

No Rain, Just Wind

It was quite a nice ride home tonight - no rain, but a fairly breezy headwind to contend with. Not the most exciting journey home, in fact I'm getting quite bored of the route I'm taking at the moment so I'll need to see about finding myself a new way home.

Soaked

I left early this morning, I had to be in work before 8.30am. Unfortunately my departure time coincided with a rather viscious burst of rain which pelted me for at least 30mins before easing up and leaving me alone... by that time I was soaked. Not under my new waterproof jacket or my lovely GoreTex trousers (cheers Jimbo) but my socks, shoes and gloves were drenched.

Still feels good to have cycled in, however.

Weekly Total: 32.95 miles

Heart Attack??

So there I am, enjoying the early Monday morning ride, not really thinking too hard about the day ahead, just feeling relaxed and content.. when all of a sudden I felt this incredible stinging pain in my chest!

An immediate pit stop and some quick self-diagnosis later (accomanied with a few growls and yelps of pain) and I realised that I'd just been stung by a bee or wasp. The little bastard had flown down into my cycling top and felt the need to complain about the general odor in that vicinity by stinging me.

Sore as hell, not much fun.

Weekly Total: 22.37 miles

Broken Record

Yesterday was a record breaking day - a nice finish to a fast week (although there was a pitiful lack of cycling).

I had decided to time my efforts to see if I really was going faster this week (or whether I was just imaging myself as some sort of phenomenal time trialist) and was pleased to make it in to work in 37mins 53secs despite the soggy canal path.

Thats 2 mins faster than my previous timed journey which leads me to believe that I could make this journey in under half an hour if I really went for it (with the right conditions etc).

Weekly Total; 66.36 miles
Overall Total: 1815.8 miles

No shower, no bike

I couldn't take in the bike today because I had a meeting first thing. Wednesday's are difficult days because the Clydebank Playdrome (where I get my morning showers) doesn't open till 10am, which means I either have to go in later or go without a shower - neither was an option today.

I'm cycling tomorrow but then another day off on Friday because I'm playing squash and heading out to see Bov on Friday night.

Old people need love too...

Yes, the tyre repair held out well today (thanks for asking, Iain).

A lovely day to be on the bike - sunshine and no rain - perfect. The only thing that was slightly alarming, was the strange old granny in the pink rain jacket who blew me a kiss... that almost sent me straight into the canal!

Weekly Total: 44.87 miles

Fast journey, slow puncture

I was flying today - never seemed to take my foot off the gas and just kept
pedalling like mad. The canal path was lovely dry, hardpack and the tunes
were awesome. Arrived at work bathed in sweat and with a big grin on my
face - brilliant.

The journey home was equally enjoyable, at at least for the first 30mins. After that I noticed that I'd picked up a slow puncture and spent the remainder of the journey pedalling furiously in the (vain) hope that I could make it home before the tyre went completely flat. As it was, I ended up having to re-inflate the tyre only about 500m from the house, which was annoying.

Fixed the tube when I got home so should be no problems for tomorrow (I hope).

Weekly Total: 22.39 miles

Lazy

Its been a lazy week.

A curry instead of a kickboxing lesson on Tuesday, no cycling on Wednesday because I had a puncture and couldn't be bothered to fix it, then cycling on Thursday but at a really slow and lazy pace then a final day of abstinence on Friday.

I intend to do a lot better next week, the finish line is in site and there is no need to make this drag out any longer than it needs to.

Weekly Total: 34.07 miles
Overall Total: 1749.5 miles