Keep your mouth shut

I’m writing this, one again, on a train. You know how the saying goes – you write all your best stuff on the train – or did I just make that up? Personally, I quite enjoy train rides. Admittedly, I could see how they could get very tedious if you rode one every day of the week, particularly if your destination is London! Anyway, the point is that I like train journeys and there’s something quite romantic about writing a piece for a blog while occasionally glancing wistfully out of a window. Or maybe all this cycling has gone to my head...

So, myself and the boys travel up to John O’Groats next Friday (24th). Without wanting to sound as if I’m harping on about trains, this really is going to be the mother of all train journeys – we’re getting an overnight train from London Euston to Inverness (11 hours in total). And, being as tight as we are, instead of paying for a sleeper cabin, we’re travelling up in the luxury of a reclining chair. It should be fine though, I’m reassured it reclines to a full 45 degrees. If you’re an optimist you could view that as half-way to a bed. If you’re a pessimist you could suggest that we’re not exactly starting our trip in the best way. Either way, it’s something I’ve never done before so it adds to the sense of adventure. We then travel from Inverness to Thurso on the Saturday. Thurso, I’m reliably informed by my Granddad, is the most northerly train station in Britain. This is comforting, seeing as our next destination, via bicycle, is Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on the British mainland. From there we will make our way to John O’Groats and check into a hostel, ready for an early start on Sunday.

I went on a bike ride yesterday and it went alright. Not good. Not bad. Alright. I carried some weight and managed 55 miles. As always, I thought a lot, simply because there isn’t much else to do besides checking for traffic. These thoughts I grouped mainly into optimistic and pessimistic ones. Here are a few.

Optimistic thoughts:

My knees weren’t too bad. Certainly not as bad as they have been. Not ideal, but manageable. To summarise, I now feel I have the knees of a 50-year-old as opposed to an 80-year-old.

I like my bike. It’s comfortable and it rides well. If it goes the distance I will love it. Maybe I should name it...

Pessimistic thoughts:

I haven’t had a puncture yet while training. Surely this means I will be riddled by them in 10 days time?

It’s barely rained while training. I had one light shower to contend with, which lasted all of five minutes. I’m not totally certain that has prepared my for the range of meteorological conditions I could face.

Norfolk and Suffolk aren’t very hilly. This is quite obvious. For those of you who know Norwich, is the hill up The Avenues really going to prepare me for the Scottish Highlands?

The pessimistic thoughts list could continue, but I feel I should stop it there. I’m in the process of winding down on the training. I’m hoping to do one more large(ish) bike ride on my day off on Monday. And then I’ll rest up until I begin the following weekend. The kit is pretty much there, I’ve ticked virtually everything off my kit list. The few things that aren’t ticked off are all minor and not necessities. I’m conscious that once more this is quite long and equally as boring. Therefore, I will tie it up, but not before leaving you with a few other thoughts I’ve had on the bike:

CYCLING SHORTS? I bought two pairs with the plan of saving my nether regions from considerable abuse. Yet they seem to cause more pain than they prevent.

KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. Where have all these bugs and insects come from in the last week? Apparently I cycle with my mouth open because, wherever they came from, most have met their end at the back of my throat. Failing that, in my eyes.

GET A HAIR CUT. I still haven’t and my hair still falls across my eyes...