Essex is cool!

Literally, that is! We are here visiting and on the coast there is a breeze and it is sooooooo refreshing after the mugginess of the countryside. I slept properly for the first time in weeks and weeks last night in our cosy campervan. Even felt mildly chilly at one point which is a miracle...well, you know what I mean!

So yesterday was Monday and Alex, Beth and I gathered at 8am for our 40 miler. A bit ambitious of Agent, I thought. He hasn't ridden for weeks and has had a busy weekend of umpiring and gardening. Hey ho tho'...he knows best. So we headed off into another beautifully sunny day in the Sussex countryside. As is his way, Alex dashed off at speed keeping Beth and I on our toes and upping our average speed for a while. We stopped off at Alex's mums house for our break which was lovely and beat the Texaco garage at Storrington hands down for hospitality! Thanks Diana! This was 25 m into our ride and we all admitted to jelly legs on our next hill after the stop! Downhill was a thrilling 30mph but then as we hit the upslope I felt like I'd hit a brick wall! Anyway Beth and I recovered somewhat but Alex really suffered from thereon in for the rest of the ride. We tended to him with leg massage and water but he was definitely a tired greyhound! We are all having to make the mental adjustment to training for the long distance endurance ride rather than the greyhound sprint. It is becoming clear to me that it's a matter of pacing ourselves, poley poley up the hills to conserve energy and higher cadence to be more efficient at managing that energy. Not an easy lesson and sometimes a bit painful.
My pain today was the saddle soreness from trying a ride with no padding! Not a good idea. One I need to give some serious thought to.
Anyway its been a great weeks riding. Really feel like I am getting fitter. Though the weight continues to rise week by week. A combination of stopping smoking and putting on some muscle. I try and remain philosophical about it but, again, it ain't easy!!!