I don’t think I’ve ever felt so under-prepared for a 24 hour bike race. I’ve not been completely lazy since arriving in Scotland, but I’ve not done anything that I’d call ‘training’, nor have I been making an effort to drop some bodyweight in the few weeks leading up to this point, just a few days before the Strathpuffer.

Weirdly though, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m racing in the pairs with Daz. I’ve never raced in the pairs at the Strathpuffer – I imagine it’s quite horrible in a ‘flat out/shiver/flat out/shiver’ kind of arrangement and while the weather this week seems to be doing its snowy worst and I’ve hurt my back clearing out the shed last weekend (not ideal for 24 hours of fast singlespeeding and I’ve been on the CoCodamol all week), I have an inkling it’ll be a memorable weekend.

At the very least, it’ll get me right back into the frame of mind I need to be in for the stuff planned this year….

Happy New Year!