And just like that, goal accomplished!

I’ve loved the challenge. It has pushed me to get back on the bike and boy, have I seen my fitness improve.

Huge thanks to those who sponsored me. Every little helps in the fight against cancer.

Oh the wind!

As the queen of inconsistency, I like a challenge to give me a goal and incentive to keep moving. So when my hip threw a wobbly and made running impossible - #goodbyeQueenstownMarathon - the Great Cycle Challenge came along at the right moment.

Sense might dictate that when you haven’t ridden more than about 25km/week recently, or ridden at all for a very long time before that, trying to cover 500km in 31 days might seem silly. Particularly for someone who just injured themselves trying to train for a long run…

But caution has been thrown to the wind. And boy was the wind blowing today.

Not that I realised initially. I rode gallantly up to Semaphore cruising at high speed (for me), delighted that a few days of pedalling regularly was resulting in new found strength. Go me!!

Then I wobbled round a mini-roundabout and realised that whilst I am doubtless getting stronger, the true cause of my effortless speed was wind. And now I had to go all the way home fighting it.

Luckily the endorphins had started to kick in so I merrily pedalled homeward, appreciating the lighter school holiday traffic and slightly surprised at how much was enjoying riding outdoors on actual roads. (I am typically freaking out THE WHOLE TIME).

So, the moral of the story is #justkeeppushing And in my case #justkeeppuffing

Still a few kms behind where I wanted to be at this stage but clawing my way back! 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️