Saddle sore
Had a surprise visit this weekend as icemachine flew into town for, ooh about 24 hours, and fortunately we were able to meet up with him for a quick bite to eat at a local public house :
This morning Claire and I went out on the bikes and rode into Reading to try out the route I'll be taking into work. Going there was no problem as much of it is downhill, but of course this meant that going back was, as erictheoffred told me last week in slightly less colourful language, and absolute bastard. The killer was a monsterously inhuman example of anti-cyclist road-planning, Kendrick Road, which is probably about a third of a mile of a steady, steep incline with absolutely no opportunity of getting any sort of momentum going before you tackle it, so it's all pedal-power. Even the bus labours up it. I managed to make it to around three-quarters of the way to the top before my lungs actually burst through my chest cavity and I thought I'd have to amputate both my legs beneath the hip to stop the pain from the build-up of lactic acid - but it's probably to be expected given that the maximum effort I've exerted over the last six months has been walking to get another slice of cake from the kitchen.
Now, it's true that erictheoffred did suggest to me an alternative route to take, but where would the comedy value be in that? No. Kendrick Road is now my Everest. I am determined to make it to the top at some point in the next six months without needing a supply of pure oxygen on standby. So with that in mind, I'm going to launch a new daily feature on this LiveJournal - How Far Did Jonee Get Up The Hill Today?
This morning Claire and I went out on the bikes and rode into Reading to try out the route I'll be taking into work. Going there was no problem as much of it is downhill, but of course this meant that going back was, as erictheoffred told me last week in slightly less colourful language, and absolute bastard. The killer was a monsterously inhuman example of anti-cyclist road-planning, Kendrick Road, which is probably about a third of a mile of a steady, steep incline with absolutely no opportunity of getting any sort of momentum going before you tackle it, so it's all pedal-power. Even the bus labours up it. I managed to make it to around three-quarters of the way to the top before my lungs actually burst through my chest cavity and I thought I'd have to amputate both my legs beneath the hip to stop the pain from the build-up of lactic acid - but it's probably to be expected given that the maximum effort I've exerted over the last six months has been walking to get another slice of cake from the kitchen.
Now, it's true that erictheoffred did suggest to me an alternative route to take, but where would the comedy value be in that? No. Kendrick Road is now my Everest. I am determined to make it to the top at some point in the next six months without needing a supply of pure oxygen on standby. So with that in mind, I'm going to launch a new daily feature on this LiveJournal - How Far Did Jonee Get Up The Hill Today?