Almost a year ago Guy expressed his concerns at the growing levels of inactivity and obesity in UK school-age children as well as the lack of organized outdoor sporting events for young people. Guy established a Community Interest Company called ConceptX to address this, with the aim of organizing outdoor activities specifically for under 18s. I share Guys concerns and therefore jumped at the idea of cycling Coast-to-Coast to raise money for these events. I had high hopes of being able to drum up a strong University of Bristol Cycling Club contingent, however one by one they dropped and unfortunately I was the sole survivor who made it to the start line in Whitehaven.
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The lego dance movie is an inspiration. My music video idea will surely lift off now summer has finally cracked.
The relaxing pasta party topped with gooey Ben & Jerrys was just what I needed. Shame I'm awful at conversations without saying something completely Non-Politically-Correct. Good for cheap laughs... until it gets old. Story of my life. Legs are gonna get burnt tomorrow! Bricking it. How far? How far? Legs are not impressed just thinking about it! Stress is oozing from my body causing me to feel constantly sleepy. Definitely rewarding myself with a snooze now.
So the day came. The sun rose over Bristol... waking Tom at 5am just for shits and giggles. The exam was merely a blip in an otherwise perfect day. With the sun beating down, the birds singing, a light breeze bristling in the air, it was time to go yonder and conquer the hills of Bath. Boy was it worth it! I nailed my first strava KOM on a hill, and it was pretty tough indeed (avg 6.4%). Previously I've only held records for running or flat bike sections. I got the encouragement I needed from Mads and zoomed off with form in the legs that Wiggo would be jealous of right now. All of a sudden it seems as though hills are not the formidable enemy they once were. (This may be redefined by some soul crushing climbs in the Alps).
Now, every cloud has a silver lining, and since the lining has just been laid on a plate with the sun shining, I thought it was about time to bring out that great big ugly cloud for a change of scenery. "Digital EPO" - the mere idea is blasphemous! It's a desecration of Strava and all that it stands for. We will no longer be timing our efforts based on segments or pushing for those last 20 seconds at the end of a ride to beat your previous time... Oh no. Times are changing. Because why bother trying when you can just boost your speed by 10% in a few simple clicks. I'm disgusted by the idea and the principles behind it. If there was a march against Digital EPO I would join it (only if there are free cookies. I love the cookies.) I can't end on a sour note, so here's a happy thought:
It is only 36 hours until I finish my exams for my second year of University, AND there's a rumour that Mads is bringing Ben & Jerry's to the pasta party to celebrate and indulge ourselves before THE epic ride to finish the year. BJs just make life complete. The hottest day of the year so far! Peaking at 22°C mid way through our 3 hour speedy ride to Cheddar. I was craving an ice cream when we stopped to top up water. The others were having none of it :( Probably for my own good though as we had yet to actually ascend the gorge. When I got home I definitely indulged, as can be seen below.
I'm proud to say that the Cycling Tan Lines are back! Now if that's not hot then I don't know what is :P Lots of good grub today, a quick snack of spicy, fried garlic prawns and onion. Followed by Pesto Salmon and Sweet Potato chips; topped off by a juicy ripe pineapple and some nommy carte d'or to make it a very very happy evening. Got a load of my chest to Robyn too which was lovely. Her room is so definitely the best in the house for a hang out in the evening. Bashful is at it again... Randy bugger! He is clearly not one of the 4 people who read my blog. How long can this go on? Robyn came in for a chuckle and listen before. Ironic how, now Bron has left, no one in the student house is getting any... Better get on it. Another early start to the day and a very disturbing noise/image accompanied my 6am revision! The less said the better, but let's say the dwarf (yes he is technically called this), next door got lucky! He will now be known as "Bashful"... ok a Snow White reference steps the line, but he asked for it. Well, his lucky lady did! Boy did she let the world know she was having a good time. Having left halls, and the sex crazed, drugged out W Block, I thought the most I'd have to cope with was occasionally hearing the couple who I'm living with. And that's only because I share a walk in wardrobe with her. Although who knows what dirty skype sessions Charlie gets up to. Desperate times call for desperate measures when the callings to your dick are on a different continent. (Long distance sucks). What's more incredible about Bashful, is that this happened at 11pm as well! I genuinely got up and looked outside because I thought someone was at it in the street. It wouldn't surprise me. Still, I'd high five him for the effort though; she's either well trained in faking/exaggerating, or, quite frankly, he's a stallion! I know which makes for a better story. So to Bashful the Stallion, keep it up ;) but keep it down... Cheers.
After thawing out in the shower I immediately went on my laptop as per usual and realised I'd received an email from the organisers of the Castle Triathlon Series for my 50% discount to any of their races. So £75 later I'm entered into the Hever Castle Gauntlet Half Iron Man event on 29th September! Marathon down, bring on the next big milestone! 5-6hours of pain is very very daunting indeed; the memories of my poor decrepit body after the Manchester Marathon are not too distant reminders of the horrors to come. Boy this is gonna be tough! I'm taking this on as a mini punishment for not being proactive and getting an internship this year. I'd much prefer to train for the next 3 months than be stuck at a desk anyway. A Half Ironman is a much bigger life experience surely? So, who knows what excitement tomorrow (or even the rest of today) will bring, but perhaps it's time to get back to the revision grind-stone again.
So close, yet so far! They're visiting Cardiff just across the water and it happens to be going to Liverpool, so I thought I'd spread the word about it. Made me jealous of anyone in Liverpool though... and that's always bad.
Sports Update Shattered after an awesome ride with Mat today. Legs were really hurting at end. Glad it was only an hour and a half. Really went for it though. We worked very nicely as a team which felt amazing seeing as I haven't been on bike in a while. |