London Calling

Just a quickie today (as the actress said to the bishop).

After spending last night in Crawley and having a night I never expected (more to follow on this in future posts - perhaps!). Today brought my maddest idea of the year so far. I took my bike down to Crawley yesterday so I could cycle from Crawley to work. Its only 30 miles or so. Not too far you say- but factor in, my longest ride this year has been 15 miles and I've not done a 30 mile ride non-stop since last July. Now remember that I've never cycled from Crawley to London and have no idea of the route oh, and I am due to be at work by 0930. Seems not so straight forward?

I set off at 06:00 am this morning in sub zero temperatures and with the roads covered in ice. Oh, did I mention it was foggy as well. I have to confess to wishing I had taken the train, however, London was calling.

As it got lighter, I had progressed faster than I expected. I had allowed myself 3 hours to do the 30 miles, thinking I might need a stop on the way. I managed the 30 or so miles without a stop in 125 minutes at an average of 14.4 mph. I was impressed with myself and celebrated with a nice breakfast sandwich from the cafe next to work. That'll have undone the god work done by my cycling!

Tonight, I cycled home via the Redbridge Cycle Circuit to pick up some papers, meaning I cycled a total of 50 miles today. My knee stood up to the ride with no undue problems.

London here I come