On yer bike!

Evening. How are you? Sitting comfortably with a guilt-free conscience? Or stuffed full of hot cross buns, roast dinners and more chocolate than Willy Wonka could dream of? Sadly I'm closer to the latter. This Easter business is bad for your clothes. It shrinks them. So does a lack of running.
It's now a full two weeks since I last ran and I'm getting panicky. I'm going to try the ankle out either tomorrow or Tuesday but given the amount of creaking and clunking that's coming from it, I'm not holding out much hope. Oh heck.
It was suggested that cycling is a good alternative to running when trying to maintain fitness but avoiding putting pressure on joints that are falling apart. I thought I'd better try to do something to stop me morphing into a large sofa again and therefore it seemed sensible to engage in my second most hated exercise.
I don't actually own a bike and neither does Matt after he lent his to a student and it promptly got pinched from uni. I was assured by people that riding a bike again after a long time not doing so is, well, like riding a bike. This presumably means that you don't forget how to ride a bike. I'd like to contest this point.
My friend and colleague very generously offered to lend me her bike for a couple of weeks. "Brilliant. That's great" was my reply. I was actually thinking "Uh oh. Not sure if can ride a bike. And I remember it being pretty hard work actually. Bottoms." But seeing as the lovely Emma was being so kind I arranged to pop over and pick it up. I arrived to find her hubby in his pj's, in the garage, pumping up the tyres of a very posh and professional looking bike. Ooh heck. He then proceeded to show me all sorts of fancy quick release systems and how to take the wheel on and off etc. All very technical. I'm sure my teenage bike that I dragged myself to and from piano lessons for which I had done no practice and underage and under-paid shifts at our local hotel had no such wheel-removing manoeuvres and only 3 gears. I think this fancy bike has 24! My Honda civic has 6 gears and I thought that was one too many. What am I meant to do with 24?!
Emma then enthusiastically showed me a pile of accessories. There's cycling accessories? Apparently padded shorts are the way forward and special gloves for something or other are essential. Now then, I have made a few mentions before of my bottom. If size is the aim of the game, then I am especially blessed in the rear-end department. When I was staying in Zambia, working at a hospital a few years ago (and probably a stone lighter), a man approached me and said entirely sincerely "Madam. You are so beautiful. You have a biiiig, biiiig bottom. It is like biiiig african bottom but on white lady. You are very beautiful indeed". I was a bit taken aback, muttered "erm....thanks" whilst looking for my friends who had presumably set this joke up, but no, he just liked big bottoms and I fitted the picture perfectly. Great. Bearing this in mind, I'm not sure I need any help in the bottom padding department.
I've posted a few rather unflattering photos on this blog but let's make one thing clear. There are to be no photos of me in massively padded cycling shorts in any form of public forum. Although if I reach the £2000 mark by the big day then I'll consider it so you lot can all have a good laugh. Get giving! Alternatively you can donate anyway and spare my embarrassment. Please?! http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/longrunlizzy

Anyway, I donned said shorts and covered them up with some leggings and set off for my first bike ride in more than a decade. Before I went for a proper ride I had to check I could still ride a bike. I climbed on and wobbled off up and down the, thankfully, wide pavement of Aspley Lane much to the amusement of smirking strangers all having a good giggle at my wobbly, frantic peddling. Katherine thought it was especially funny and Matt looked genuinely concerned that I might fall off. Not worried that I might injure myself but rather that I might injure the expensive, swanky, wheel-releasing 24geared machine beneath me.
I managed to stay upright and got the courage up to go a for a little ride. There was no way I was going to risk life and limb on Nottingham's ring road and so stuck to cycle paths and pedestrian crossings with Emma's cycle helmet firmly strapped down with a L-plates tied to me(alright, the last bit is an exaggeration but the wide-eyed terror on my face was the equivalent). I headed to Wollaton park, cycled through it and came back home in a whistle-stop time of 40minutes. It usually takes me well over an hour to run that far. I LOVE CYCLING! Hills are still evil on the way up but on the way down they are fabulous. What's not to love about hurtling down a hill, slightly out of control towards 3 lanes of busy traffic?!

So thanks Emma. You're very kind and I've not broken it or me..... yet?!

In other news, I went to see a sports physio and experienced new levels of pain with a sports massage that was particularly bad on my dodgy leg. He seems to think ill be able to hobble round on the day and that his magic (placebo??) tape will make all the difference. I hope so!

If you haven't sponsored me yet, please do so. I've raised nearly £1000 so far but my aim is £2500 so there's a long way to go. It's spring, there's pretty flowers and cutesy lambs, give us a tenner whilst you're in a cheery, enthusiastic mood. Ta.

Http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/longrunlizzy