Cycling days

I’ve never really had a bad bike ride. I mean, sometimes its cold, wet, and windy, and other times you’ll get a puncture, and some days you just don’t want to get up, but once you make the journey from bed to shed (the hardest of them all) and get on your bike you never regret it.

You always feel great, like you’ve achieved something, seen a bit more of the world, made peace with life's challenges and made a memory that inspires you to do it all over again. And sometimes the sun shines and it’s a glorious day… which is always the icing on top.

Legs are strong

so the hills feel small

Rich was always into cycling whereas I’m a bit of a latecomer. We ride together as an excuse now to meet up and catch up, grabbing bits of conversation between climbing the hills to tell stories and hear what each other are planning next. We’ve cycled all over the world but whether it’s the highlands of Scotland, the Yorkshire Moors or legendary alpine climbs we always have a stop in mind where we can look at how far we’ve come and have a super tasty treat to celebrate and fuel us for the ride back home. Ideally washed down with a cappuccino (if it’s before 11).

The best part of a bike ride for me is around the half way point. I’ve warmed up, I’m in the zone, the legs are strong and so the hills feel small.

It never gets easier - you just get faster, but the more you ride the more you see and the more you realise away from the news, and social media, and work and hubbub, how awesome the world around us is. And even when the legs are empty, the KMs are dragging, you feel like you’ve been going forever and you’re only half way up the col d’Izoard, if you lift your eyes and see the magic of the road, the colours of the sky and the sunlight catching the snow on neighbouring peaks you can only be inspired to dig a bit deeper and turn those pedals to discover what vista is around the next switchback.

And the very best part of all of that, of a good day, or a bad day is sharing the story with others, either writing it in the moment with your best mate, or retelling it again and again. For sure, the best moments are always best when shared.