Cheer and worry

It's been a little while now since I last updated my blog. This has mostly been due to the fact that I haven't had too much of interest to write about. After the fatigue which greeted my bike ride a few Fridays back I decided to totally rest up for a few days. This was made easier by the fact that I had a few days off work, days that I spent in Exeter with the girlfriend.

So after a few days off I got back on the bike last Wednesday and it was unbelievable how good I felt for the break. Initially this was, again, because I had the wind on my back, but generally I did feel very refreshed. It got me thinking whether it would be feasible to cycle the length of Britain with three days of rest after each day of pedal. Of course it wouldn't be and it also means I may end up stuck in Glasgow (a randomly chosen city of course - I'm sure it's lovely) for a few days without much to do. Also, my employers wouldn't be massively keen on this idea.

Anyway, since Wednesday I have alternated between a bike day and a rest day. The biggest of these bike rides was on Sunday evening when I proceeded to get very lost in the Norfolk countryside, somewhere between Norwich and Dereham. Give me Suffolk countryside any day. Despite navigational difficulties it was a thoroughly enjoyable cycle. I love exercising outdoors in the evening. I've never been a fan of morning exercise, my body takes most of the day to wake up. And I sleep so much better after strenuous evening exercise. I also love exercise on a Sunday evening - during the malaise when it seems the world hasn't decided whether to squeeze the last out of the weekend or settle down for another working week. Somehow, by exercising you escape such decisions.

Having had a successful cycle and seemingly been back on track, Monday was when the problems arose. They arose in the form of very sudden, very sharp knee pains. My knees have been a bit dodgy ever since puberty struck and I grew about eight inches in a year. Obviously they take quite a pounding on the bike so this has caused some concern. Regardless of whether I'm exercising on a particular day I have been stretching for about 30 minutes. I have increased this further in recent days and my fears have been eased by a trouble-free day today.

The knees are a real concern, if something physically stops me from completing our challenge I fear they may be to blame. I'm currently in that horrible nervous phase before you begin a big challenge. I just want to get going. I'm bored of thinking. I want to do. I want to feel the pain.

My fellow cyclist Jonny is in France right now, currently preparing for a Mt Blanc summit attempt. I heard from him earlier after he had climbed to 3500m, including a 100m scramble with crampons and an ice axe. This pretty excessive training regime is a great reason to give towards our effort. If you have even the smallest amount of change, you can donate to Macmillan on our JustGiving page at http://www.justgiving.com/GarethJonnyJoe

Thanks for reading :)