The 11th – 18th of July saw me take a week away from the saddle by way of resting and refreshing my body from the gruelling months which have lead up to this point. Rather than working on turning the pedals, it was a week where I made the most of massage, extra stretching sessions and plenty of sleeping. In fact, to ensure that I didn’t get on the saddle, I shot off to Germany.
There are no holiday slide shows to appear, but it was a week where I was able to gain some fat stores. It was the first time in months that I had been able to remove myself from all the thoughts and demands of planning this ride. This in itself was a valuable rest.
However, returning back to England meant the next day was a date with the saddle. Although missing a week had an obvious impact on how I was feeling, it was nice to ride feeling refreshed. I had really missed cycling and was relieved to get back on the bike and add to the mile count. In this last month before the main event, however, I am planning to build back up to higher mileages and then maintain that level of fitness. What started as an idea almost 24 months ago is now just one month from taking place.
A huge thank you to all those who have sent messages of support and another thank you to those who have been volunteering their time to come and keep me company for a few hours at a time.
