This week has been pretty miserable and although I have managed two short rides earlier on in the week my bereavement and then the trauma surrounding Mike’s dental surgery and the post-op complications left me unable to muster up any motivation to face the miserable weather to ride. So, unfortunately, yesterday I found I was still 7 miles short of my weekly target.
In a sudden brainless moment I had a ludicrous plan to get those miles…. the turbo trainer! Due to the torrential rain and stormy winds, Mullerton had put his bike on his trainer to keep up his momentum between cross races. Ironically, since he set it up it has just sat unused in the back room…. That is until today when I went over to the dark side of obsession.
The turbo trainer was the best & driest option to complete my mileage and it seemed like a good idea to just hop on Mikey’s bike rather than faffing to set my bike up on it. So that’s what I did - after all it was only 7 miles. It seemed like a good plan at the time! What’s the worst that could happen? ... This would be fun!
As I am quite a few inches shorter than Mullerton, I soon realised I hadn’t really thought things through when I hit Problem Number 1. The already too tall frame was impossible to straddle as it had gained a few more inches by being on the trainer. Using a dining chair as a booster step it still took some effort, but I finally got on to the saddle.
Opps… now I hit another little snag. Problem Number 2 - The bike was fitted with clip-less pedals and my slippers weren’t cutting the mustard. I would have to wear "his" cycling shoes. Hmm... Who’s silly idea was this? Mikey’s feet are considerably bigger than mine, so it was hard to tell where the cleat should be in relation to my foot in his HUGE shoe. Turns out I was using my toes to pedal! LOL! What a rubbish introduction to spuds!
Damn! I started to pedal and found a new problem! Problem Number 3. The length of Mikey’s bike! Just reaching the top of the drop handlebars meant overstretching. Thankfully, I didn’t need to use the brakes or gears as if I’d have needed to - my nose would have probably met with the stem with a bang.
The problems continued… Problem Number 4 - the saddle was at the wrong angle and it hurt when in an upright position and it cut me in half when I overstretched to reach the handlebars. Problem Number 5 – I had stupidly got on wearing my normal clothes (jeans & tee). Ouch! How I missed my padded shorts! Problem Number 6… oh nevermind... just let me tell you the problems kept coming - yet somehow I kept pedalling.
I suddenly started to realise I was like a drug/alcohol addict; ignoring all the obstacles just to get my fix! The only way for me now would be mugging a little old lady for her Werthers Originals.
It also suddenly dawned on me, I had reached an all new low. I used to laugh at people for using turbo-trainers when they could go outside for a fun-filled adventure. Eek! I have taken my dedication to an all new level… obsession.
Argh! I need help!
1 comment:
Hahahaha, that's excellent :)
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