Foiled?

It rained steadily all night and I prayed and prayed that there would be an email or txt to say that Gearshifters was off. However I also knew I needed to get a ride in, and I knew that a little bit of rain wasn't enough to deter everyone. Never has it been so hard to drag myself out of bed! It's so dark in the mornings now, with daylight savings due to end this coming weekend.

Dee had originally planned to do the Moonshine ride, so I don't know whether I was foiled or saved. Moonshine would have been a real test of my hill legs, but I wasn't really in the right frame of mind for a big ride. With the rain pouring we ended up simply riding around the Bays, cutting through Miramar to try to avoid the Scorching tri. I kept up pretty well until we were almost to the cutting, then I started to get a bit dropped. I worked really hard and managed to catch up. We headed up Awa Rd (Leonie, I was thinking of you) and I overtook a few people, then it was down the other side to continue around the Bays. The triathletes were coming back the other way and it was as always inspirational to watch the leaders.

I got overtaken and nearly dropped again on the way round to Owhiro Bay but I hung on grimly. I was certainly riding quite fast, although I don't know how fast exactly because I wasn't keen to test whether my cycle computer was waterproof. By this point the rain had started to ease, thankfully. My butt was a little cold, but my sun glasses kept fogging up and my torso, with my Addidas running jacket and a sleeveless black vest of Duck's thrown over the top, was toasty warm.

I caught up with and overtook a few people going up Happy Valley. It turned into a bit of a sprint, with everyone seemingly keen to get the ride over with. At the top we turned and rode back down. Despite my best efforts everyone else flew past me. I'm not sure exactly how that happens. I was in a good gear and pedaling as fast as I possibly could. I got a bit grumpy as we cycled through Island Bay and towards Lyall. I should probably have eaten something. It didn't help that a woman drove up behind me and honked, right on a corner. A few choice swear words passed their way through my lips before I could stop them. I really should learn to control that ... I swear I develop Tourettes when a car gives me a fright. The woman in the passenger seat was waving apologetically as they made their way past, so I think she may have heard me.

I'd almost caught up again by Kilbirnie, but then got left at the lights. I don't think I was that far behind overall, but I am still a little slower than I would like. I didn't have the usual back of the packers with me today, so I was really feeling it.

So it was just a short ride today, and I'm a little concerned. I still haven't ridden further than about 60km. Thankfully Dee has a big ride planned for this Sunday, so hopefully the weather will be more favourable. I'm still battling a sense of being terribly unprepared. I'd like to take an afternoon off work some time this week if I can to go out for a bit longer. However whether that will be feasible I have no idea.

For now I'm sitting on the sofa with Ede on my lap, warm and dry and thankful I've got today's exercise out of the way!