....Two weeks down and now 170 miles under my belt! woo hoo....  I'm not going to lie, this has been harder than expected.  

Having persuaded a friend to sign up too (even though it was after the official start date), we set off on our first ride together on the first day of my second week cycling, Wednesday 9th August.  Planned as just a 30km leisurely ride to Ferring on the Sussex coast.  Sadly it all ended in disaster when not much more than 20 minutes into our ride she came off her bike (and she's a much more experienced rider than i am).  Concussion and a broken collar bone in the blink of an eye!

Thankfully my kindly neighbour came to get me and the two bikes while she went off in an ambulance.  We still have no idea what happened (she has no memory of it), and it really goes to show how in the blink of an eye, your 'normal' life can be turned upside down. Fingers crossed she is well on her way to making a full recovery, although this obviously may take some time..  Shaken up myself (I've never had to call an ambulance for someone who was unconscious before), I didn't ride for a couple of days.  As time was ticking by I knew I needed to get back in the saddle fast if I wanted to reach my goal. I've had to resort to my trusty exercise bike in front of the TV due to some days with strong winds (I'm really a fair weather cyclist).  Rain or winds above 12mph and it really is no fun!  Thank heavens for Netflix is all I can say..

Moving into week 3, I've decided to ramp things up a bit.  As I plan to participate in the Northfleet & Ebbsfleet Cycle round Brands Hatch on Friday 18th August, I am hoping to complete the ride there!  Effectively this now gives me less than a week to complete over 100 miles - I'm sure I must be mad...  

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