Back in the saddle

Last week and weekend my Grandad, Ollie and Myself got the turbo bike and the Ribble (and Ollie’s summer bike) back into a maintained condition. Working and clean, I was able to go on my first ride last weekend. We live on a long road which goes through several villages, so I rode to each end of our road – 10 miles.  It was brilliant.

 

Today I went on my second ride, this time a 13 mile loop with some minor hills.

 

Whilst I was out, I was thinking about the things I missed, the things I hadn’t missed, and how things had changed.

 

What I missed:

• My bike
• The countryside
• Exploring our new area
• Wind (!)
• Hills (!!)
• Going fast
• Competition
  • Someone came past me today, and it really made me speed up, despite me not having any chance of catching him up.
• That tired ‘after exercise’ feeling
  • I’ve been exhausted for two months, but this feels different, and much better.

 

What I didn’t miss:

• Cars
• Drivers
• Potholes
• Always forgetting something and having to go back
  •  On my first ride I had to unlock the house and outhouse in order to go back for my helmet. So annoying!

 

What’s new: 

• Time Constraints
• Scar tissue
• Not fitting into some of my kit
• A new baseline of pretty much no muscle at all
  • I am almost certainly more unfit now, than when I first started cycling. It was really unclear as to how much weight I put on over the last 11 months; the figure on the scales wasn’t increasing much, and I assume that’s because I was losing muscle. So the scales couldn’t really tell me how much weight I had gained due to the pregnancy. So now, as I gain muscle, I expect to be the heaviest I’ve ever been, alone that is.
• No cycling partner
  • Ol has to stay at home with the little one
  • We live miles away from everyone else now
  • I wouldn’t be able to keep up with anyone anyway
• A reason to rush home

The kit which does fit is currently in the laundry in case I get an opportunity to go out again tomorrow.