End of April progress report.

Well it has been a while since my last post so got a fair bit to mention so this may be a long post so bear with me.

Firstly the fantastic news is that I've made the cycling team for Blazing Saddles Challenge - the only person who really seems to be shocked by this is me so I suppose the main thing is that I need to work on my self belief as much as anything else.

We retuned from our two week holiday in Cornwall to discover that the village had become the place that time forgot as the internet and a number of phone lines were down and BT didn't have anyone with the right skills to fix it (honestly). After nearly four weeks things got repaired on Wednesday this week so this is the reason for the long post (and the poor connectivity in our Cornish cottage).

Cornwall was great as my legs came back to me after the first less than inspiring ride down there. I did a number of long rides with nice 15% gradients being the norm on most of them. I think I have now discovered the best way for me to climb and that is by using my HR monitor to make sure I don't go into the red too soon and burn out half way up the climb. I also used Cornwall to work on my feeding for the long rides and have discovered that along with SIS Electrolyte fig rolls and peanut butter sandwiches work well for me. I was taking SIS Go Bars and gels with me but only used these when I really felt like I was on the edge of bonking.

I did a fair amount of walking in Cornwall and discovered that my legs are now very attuned to cycling as after 6 or so miles I'd suffer from soreness but I really enjoyed the coastal paths and the stunning views. I came home 6lbs heavier than when I went but I did my fair share of eating and drinking and have now lost the excess weight.

I've now had two rides back with the Twenty Club in from Lancaster and have noticed amazing improvements with my climbing. Two climbs that I'd really fancied doing but had thought too difficult have been completed over the past two weeks - I won't say they were easy but I didn't have to dig too deep into my arsenal of mind tricks to get through them so I'm really happy and it's been great for the self belief.

I'll do a separate post about the new arrival of my new bike.