After only a little over two months of waiting the big day has finally arrived. My new bike has landed in the flat. Its been a bit of an anxious wait because:

  • I don’t know what i’m doing when it comes to bikes
  • I’d never seen it
  • I didn’t know if it would fit

So it was a bit of a relief when I first got on it and everything seemed fine. Actually fine isn’t the right word, I first got on it and LOVED it. It was only a 10 minute ‘is-everything-fitted-and fixed-in-place’ scoot around the car park, but even so I left with a big grin on my face!

So when you get a bike, you want to get on it and get out right? Well, i’ve been a bit silly there really because despite having two months notice I have neglected to buy either an indoor trainer or anything you need for outdoor riding in the winter (lights, warm clothes, etc etc). So I’ve been restricted to a very small ride in the light after work yesterday. I loved it.

Things to note:

  • there are a lot of pot holes in Manchester.
  • my bum is sore after spending about half an hour on the bike in 4 days.
  • I have currently been banned by Pilla of calling it/her a she or naming it.
  • Im not sure i’m ready to buy tights yet.

So I need to sort out some gear, some routes, some stuff to keep me distracted on indoor rides and i’m good to go.

In other news, i’ve been swimming 2-3 times a week. I feel like i’m getting a bit faster and I really enjoy *some* of the drills (i do hate some other. ‘Fisting’ the water is not fun). My endurance in the pool is really not up to scratch, and i’m only getting 1500m at most from my sessions.

Also, Chrissie Wellington (4 time world ironman champion) was at the same pool as me on tuesday. Her book is at least partly responsible for me doing this, so it’s a shame I didn’t bump into her. Although that probably would have been an akward conversation in your swimming outfits!