Ok so it’s been 20 years, a few more kg shouldn’t matter. The bike seems sturdy.

Ok sod it, let’s get some lycra shorts, despite having bought a mountain bike, and let’s get out there 😣😂

Now friends I know cycle. Work colleagues of mine at Nando’s cycle. They all use an app called Strava, cycle loads of miles each week, 40 miles at a time.

How hard can that be?

The 7 mile ride 🤷‍♂️

So here is the map, my solo flight on my beautiful Boardman… How can I only have done 7 miles in 1 hour 20 minutes? I swear I look back now and laugh, but at the time I thought I’d cycled the length of Britain. Could I really be this out of shape?

So on my first ride in 20 years, 2 things happened. 1st, my son Jake showed me just how unfit I am. Bloody hell he made it look easy!

My legs felt the burn as he cruised past me asking “Are you ok Dad?”, needless to say my response was less enthusiastic than when I purchased the bike in the shop 🤬

Honestly, 30 minutes in I thought I’d made a mistake. “Crap I should of bought the ebike” “My legs aren’t strong enough” “I’m too overweight for this”, these were thoughts going through my head. I was gutted.

It didn’t help that the first 23 minutes of the ride I was pushing the bike up a 600 foot elevation. Rocky Road (despite not being rocky) went on forever!

But then we got to the top of Rocky Road. It started to flatten out, we then got some downhill, the lactic acid started to dissipate from my thighs. My god was I actually starting to enjoy this?

As Jake and I flew through the woods, I realised why as a child I loved cycling so much. I felt the spark reignite after 20 years. Had I finally found the thing my body needed, and something to keep my interest.

Could I Pedal myself Healthy?