A week of seconds

The last few days have yet again been pretty good in the world of “Katie being on a bicycle” and it has also been a week of “seconds” (which will make sense if you aren’t already too bored to carry on reading)!

Firstly I have already cycled my target of 100miles this month. OK, for some of you reading this, it may not be that impressive to you, but for me it is quite a milestone and only the 2nd time I have achieved this target since starting out on my bike again. Yay me!

I’m also really chuffed as my lovely new yellow high visibility jacket arrived – so now I don’t have any excuses to not ride during the winter months. I wore it out for the first time yesterday and surprisingly I didn’t feel like a complete clown wearing it.

Talking of yesterday, it was my 2nd time venturing out alone. I decided to ride my equipped Globe and meet Mikey at work and then ride back with him (this way I can get some miles in before it gets too dark). I made short work of the draggy hill out of the village and then enjoyed the speed of the downhill through the next town, despite a howling crosswind. It wasn’t until I got out of there that I actually realised just how windy it was. The waves were lapping over the coast path and there was a treacherous wind coming off the ocean. Ah well, this was all part of the excitement and even though the thought did cross my mind to stop, I continued to pedal. After riding a very slow and difficult mile I suddenly realised that I actually had very little control of my bike – which I discovered when I stopped pedalling for a millisecond and was aggressively blown off the track. I was suddenly scared!

The normally full coast path was deserted – obviously anyone with any sense was at home, as unlike me they had heard the coastal weather warnings. I felt isolated and very vulnerable to the elements. Argh! What could I do? I was not even halfway but could see that the ocean was getting considerably rougher further along the path. Sadly I realised the only sensible option (for a novice like myself) was to go back the way I’d come, as I knew that even if I did manage to get to my destination I would be too exhausted to make it back again. Thing was, I wasn’t actually sure I would even make it back the way I came, as the sudden realisation of the wind’s power had stripped me of any confidence. Amazingly, I made it back to a where I could wait for Mikey - which itself was actually pretty hair-raising when a strong gust of wind threw me in the path of an oncoming car. Minutes later Mikey rolled up looking a little bedraggled and windswept. Despite my failure to make it across the coast path he seemed quite impressed I had got as far as I did as even he had struggled to maintain control over the wind. Anyway we then took the long way home through the tree’s which provided us with some shelter.

So, on to my next “2nd”… my 2nd ever puncture (this time on my MTB) and yep amusingly, you guessed it, yet again we had gone out without any spare tubes or a repair kit! Thankfully though, we were riding with my Mam, who must have been a good Girl Guide as she had everything we needed for a quick fix. Phewph! I guess, I really must invest in the bare essentials as it really is hopeless relying on Mikey! I have my eye on an Innovations Survival Canister, which I’ve seen on the internet, but being that we live in Cornwall, there appears to be no local stockists and I always like to see things to check the quality before I spend my hard earned cash!

Finally, this weekend I was able to attend the 2nd “Team VeloCake” CycloCross race where the boys excelled in their full team colours! (If you haven’t seen it already please visit http://www.velocake.co.uk/ for my full race review!) Kind of wished I had thought about racing myself, as it looked fun and with my new cycling skills and increased athletic ability (Oh ok, I’m not actually very fit but I am much fitter than I was 3 months ago)! I just know could have finished on the podium. Oh ok… It’s not my skill or ability that would get me a prize, it’s the fact that there was only one female entrant, so I could have been 2nd if I had made it to the end. The way I look at it, that would have been the best way to start my racing career…. And also a great way to end my racing career - as obviously I’d need to retire after getting such a great result!

In other VeloCake related news, I want to say a BIG thank you to a certain someone (I wont name them for fear of repercussions and poaching accusations!) who has cyc-logged (http://www.cyclogs.org/) their miles for Team VeloCake and taken us way up the leader board and into a much more respectable position. If you’re reading this, you know who you are, so a BIG thanks you from me.