So, building on the success of my epic 37 mile cycle at the weekend, I decided to make the most of the sunny weather and headed out on my bike.  I didn’t have a specific destination in mind but I could feel how tight my calves were and only a few hundred yards in I was reminded of saddle soreness!    I checked out Strava for some near by routes and plumped for the 10 mile A77 Time Trial so headed off out of Neilston towards Newton Mearns.  It must have been 20 degrees and my legs were complaining and my breathing was heavy on the first climb after Kirkton Dam (now a dry field) then past a small cluster of houses and farms.  There are a lot of pot holes and rough bits of road here and I could feel every little bump!  Fortunately I soon picked up speed down to Walton Dam but hammered on the brakes catch a picture of a swan as it went across the reflection of the sun…   I was surprised to see more wind farms have sprung up to the left of the Neilston pad – I think they have been breeding overnight! 

Ok time to get a wriggle on…  legs were warming up a bit so I tried to do a bit more technical cycling by changing up and down the gears so I could keep my legs spinning.  I also tried to create equal pressure throughout the rotation of the crank shaft so I would maximise the power and keep the momentum going.  Once again I surprised myself when it worked out better than expected!

I had a quick stop to double-check the TT course then made my way slowly up a shallow hill to the start of the time trail on the A77 just past the Malletsheugh (Malletshoe?  Malletshug? there will always be a debate on how to pronounce the name of the pub that I frequented in my early drinking days – especially after a couple of beers!)

‘OK HERE WE GO…   ‘ I mentally charged myself for the hard workout ahead (to be honest I’ve actually driven over in the car, parked and embarked on this TT before but the horrific head wind that day put pay to me reaching the half way point and I gave up using the excuse that I was just looking for a short trip to try out my new shimano shoes and cleats!).  Today I felt strong, I pedalled smoothly, spun my legs and I was relieved to know that there is a cycle path to the side of this very fast and busy road so I had no concern about cars approaching round corners! I sped down into the cooler air of the Motorway underpass then up past the iconic red house marking the start of the windy moor.  I sustained a good pace up the long hill and passed some friendly cyclists no doubt inspired by the good weather and the current Tour de France.  I am not sure that having a hydration pack on my back or having shimano cleats is going down well with the cycling set but it will do me until my first sponsorship deal! haha Aye right!   Ok so I have no idea how I managed it but I was soon round the roundabout near Fenwick and heading back towards Glasgow.   I lost a bit of power when I felt a bit tired going back up a slight hill but it was amazing how thoughts of writing about my experience on here actually motivated me to try harder, pedal faster and dig in!  So, just for the record, thanks for reading – you are helping me train better!

The downhill back to the underpass was brilliant although I’m a bit scared of cornering fast and flashback to the Harry Enfield “Women, know your limits!” I took it easy on the bend and pushed (and pulled) my way back to the start… I was imagining the likes of Victoria Pendleton coming into the crowd at the finish line to motivate me to get to the end of the TT and clock my first proper distance time.   It was also exciting to think “can’t wait to get home to see what speed I was able to sustain over that course” which might sound a bit sad but I’m keen to track my progress on fitness, fatness and endurance over the next couple of months and see how I improve and I just love the gadget side with my heart rate monitor linked to Strava – after all I am a techno geek in the IT industry!

Rather pleased with myself I headed past the Malletsheugh Inn and then “YOWCH ya wee BANDIT!” thought I had some sort of stinging insect in my shoe at my toe! (These fancy cycling shoes have a hole  under the toes at the front I guess for airflow purposes!  I quickly found a small ramp off the road onto the pavement and disembarked as fast as I could to see the perpetrator… but alas it was all in my mind – the shoes with their velcro and ratchet system can certainly create some pressure and it was just pins and needles I had been feeling!

Back on the bike and 200 yards down the road with my phantom bee sting behind me, I noticed a handsome cyclist at the side of the road who was in the midst of changing his inner tube!  With a “Oh No! Good luck!” shouted over my shoulder on the way past I put on a show of speed and accelerated off down the Ayr road past the shops and Parklands but then lost a bit of momentum as I thought about where to go next?!

I popped in to Rouken Glen Park for a quick drink, a photo, a look at a map for ideas and to see what my current milage was… 19.5 miles done I reckoned I had about 30 in me without loosing daylight so I headed for Paisley.I’m lucky that I don’t have a fear of heavy traffic and there was loads as I came through the M77 / Darnley motorway junction and past Macdonalds.  However, I got to the lights outside the Mill and was in another world trying to decide whether to go up the road or loop through Paisley before heading home…  I wasn’t exactly paying attention to the fact that the lights were still red and I’d already inched forward as far as I could without being able to say I’d not jumped them!  So I got that awful feeling… “OH NO I’m going to fall over!” and lost forward momentum and keeled over in front of 20 cars with their drivers and passengers looking on!   I put my hands out to the pavement to save myself then when I was fully lying on my side on the pavement I still couldn’t un-clip!   Next thing my legs and bike were up in the air as I wrestled to get free of my bike!  Then I heard people shouting “Are you okay?”  just as I managed to break free!   So filled with complete embarrassment I stood up, took a bow and put my thumbs up while having a good laugh at myself!  I couldn’t face waiting for the lights to change or getting back on so I walked round to the pedestrian crossing and thought briefly about going straight home to heal my pride but then I reminded myself of the 110 mile challenge in a few weeks and that gave me the impetus to carry on to 30 miles.

The rest of my journey into Paisley and up through Neilston Road was pretty uneventful in comparison but I could really tell I was running out of energy towards the end and I significantly slowed down and did a very slow time up the very steep hill next to the Neilston Mill before heading back for a shower a quick dog walk and a well deserved dinner and bed!  Out like a light!

Here’s the details of the TT – sustained 16.5 mph average pace 171 bpm heart rate and am rated 2nd overall against women aged 35 – 44 (i’m 38) Yee to the Haa!

Beautiful sunset out with the dogs ended a lovely day…

Update – only a small bruise on the inside of my right knee and a bit of a scrape to my shoes and the heel of one hand to report – looks like all I really hurt was my pride!