I must admit things have been quiet since the Strathpuffer. I’ve been doing what I probably should have been doing after the 24 hour race before the Strathpuffer, which is taking time out of racing, relentlessly training and stressing over how many calories I’m consuming. (Instead I had a couple of weeks recovery and then immediately started training again, which quite honestly I didn’t enjoy at all).

Just going for a ride…

I’ve been running a fair bit, which is what I normally do in the winter months to keep me occupied anyway. Nothing like the amount of running Debbie does, but quite a lot for me. I intend to stick with it for a few weeks, maybe I’ll do a marathon in the spring or something. So anyway, I’m enjoying that.

I’ve also been ‘just going for a ride’. Which is what most people who ride bikes do, admittedly. I mean riding a bike with no real purpose apart from spending time with friends, riding to places I’ve never ridden to before (such as Grimsby!), just smelling the air…sometimes riding slow…sometimes a bit faster. Just getting the miles in really. Short rides, long rides, very long rides, rides on my own, rides in big groups. On-road. Off-road. A bit of both. Or maybe a lie-in instead. What I should have been doing months ago, like I said.

Riding with friends – joining Matt and Chris on their Welsh epic

I did a race yesterday but it was short, I rode a fat bike and I wore bright yellow baggy shorts. I finished 6th in the singlespeed category (on a geared bike….). Then we all went for a meal in a pub afterwards.

the Scott Big Ed ‘race’ bike. Not exactly Arse-up Head-down…

using The Force

What I have started to notice is how much fitness I’ve lost in the past few weeks! Always surprising how quickly a chap’s top-end evaporates

pointlessly on the front row

Only there for the post-race beer and chips

Temporary loss of fitness aside, in contrast to how I felt during the weeks prior to the Strathpuffer where I almost walked away from cycling entirely because it had started to feel like a job, I’m loving it again. A few weeks of not ‘having’ to go for a bike ride and not ‘having’ to knock out a few sets of hill reps when I do has left me full of motivation to get cracking with ‘proper things’ for the big races in the spring and summer….but not just yet. I’m far too busy enjoying just riding my bike and running in the woods for the time being.