Every adventure starts with one small step
Where to start… I suppose the basics would be good. This blog: to share my story and encourage you to part with some money for our fundraising pot. Why? Because a small group of us have decided to cycle from London to Paris this August so that we can raise lots of money for SANDS (stillbirth and neonatal death charity).
I know, every week we are bombarded with gentle or sometimes more forceful requests from friends/family/colleagues/vague acquaintances for money towards some mad cap idea they’ve got to push themselves physically and mentally. Believe me, I know it can tough to keep up with all the requests, you want to help everyone but your pockets aren’t a never ending pot of gold. And believe me again when I say, I never thought I’d be ‘that’ person signing up for something crazy. But I can blame Rachel for this little adventure. Her persistence has worked and we’ve all actually signed on the dotted line for this ride.
The most crazy or humorous part of my story so far is the fact that I don’t even own a bike. Well, I tell a lie, I do own a bike but it’s not the type you ride from London to Paris on. It’s the type that you pedal gently down the road with your kid in the seat on the back and pop your handbag in the basket at the front. And it’s also the type that has been lying idle in my garage for the past 5 years. I’ve learnt pretty quickly over the weekend that it’s one thing to have major FOMO and wanting to be part of the fun & games that your friends are all excitedly talking about, and it’s another thing to actually get yourself prepared for months of training and the ultimate adventure at the end of it.
So off we went to Evans Cycles to start looking at road bikes. We were met by the wonderful Frank who handled our excitement and clueless-ness perfectly. Clearly the important questions were asked, “What colours do you do? Can I get colors to match my shoes?” and then voila, 2 hours later I walked out with an order to make myself the proud owner of a proper cyclist’s bike, shoes, helmet and the all-important sun glasses (we are talking August through France). I am now officially in the gang, I’m a member of the lycra clad amateur cyclists gang who you see pelting around the roads on a weekend. I’m hoping at some point a love of cycling will kick in.
Our training is still mainly WhatsApp based – lots of talk, grand ideas, enthusiasm and shock that we’ve actually signed and paid our deposit. I consider this an important part of our adventure, vital team building exercises that will hold us in good stead when we need our resilience to kick-in en France. Over the next week or so I’m sure it’ll transfer in to actual cycling…
