The Tour of Britain came to my home town on Saturday. In honour of this week-long race for professional cyclists, Uckfield pulled out all the stops; roads were closed, bunting strung up, crowds turned out, and our community radio station went into overdrive.
I waited on a hill outside of town with my sister Rachel, her husband Terry and my nephew and niece. Mark was also there with his better half Wendy. We cheered and waved flags and took photos. And that was just for the police motorbikes.
I watched in awe as the cyclists cruised up the hill. They were halfway though a 226 kilometre stage. That's approximately 141 miles. 141 miles!!!
They made it look effortless.
Back home, I watched the conclusion of the race on television. A helicopter-mounted camera streamed footage of the riders racing into Brighton at breakneck speed for mile after mile. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
How do they do that?
Needless to say, I was inspired by what I saw. So much so that, during my ride this evening, I imagined myself attacking up Ditchling Beacon and sprinting along Madeira Drive to win the stage.
Reality didn't quite match the fantasy. I hit a couple of potholes, the zip on my saddle bag broke, and I spat gnats. But I did move one step closer to being able to cycle to work and back:
I cycled 29.10 miles!
No comparison with the professionals. But then I'm not comparing my ride with theirs. Or that of other cyclists. I'm comparing it with my first ride of the month. At twice the distance, it makes me feel pretty good. :-)
What is your wish of the month? Wouldn't you like to see yourself improve?
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