New Year: start of something new

1st January, and the first day of new years resolution and I cycled to work. My normal day job is only kilometre or two down the road, so its not really a difficult challenge, facing the wet and windy weather conditions early in the morning, now that's the issue.  Today the weather could not have been worse, it was raining cat's and dog's with strong gale force winds. I'm proud to have achieved at least day one, with an early 7am shift start too, coming home in the afternoon it was just 8 degrees and   the MET office was issuing weather warnings, for flooding and high winds. (nice, not). Goodness knows how cold it was in the early morning.

Very windy, & heavy rain.

Sometimes I take on extra shifts in other locations, and have done the 17 or so miles in the saddle for a late shift just a handful of times last year.  Mid-morning pottering along Kent country lanes and cycle-paths, stopping for lunch, a sandwich before working the afternoon shift, and then riding home late on main road, quickest direct route home.  Late at night on a summers evening with little traffic on the road, a decent set of light, and lit up like a christmas tree heading south into a full moon it's a pleasure.  Getting in an hour or so later, and feeling as if I have had a great day at work, fully relaxed with an excellent work-out too,  No cost of gym membership or leaving any sort of carbon footprint. Not to mention the saving of petrol.

The challenge is to do it, what ever the weather.

I'm not too sure how I could cope with that distance when I have an early start, but aim high is what I say!  The target is to cycle in, at least three times a week.   Trips to head office are out of the question, it's simply too far -over 60 miles each way, and I don't fancy the idea of arriving after four hours on a bike, and then cycling home again after a days work, but I haven't ruled out the possibility of taking the bike on the train and riding home, the advantage of living on the coast at sea level, is that it's nearly all downhill on the way home.  Maybe in the summer when the evenings are light and longer, and hopefully I'm a bit fitter.   I'll see how it goes, if I do it just once, well it's an achivement.

Last year I achieved the London to Brighton bike ride, not bad for a first event.  So for 2014, I'm aiming a bit further.   I can't see the point of London to Paris as I live on the Kent Coast and it would mean going backwards, but Margate to Paris, via Dover, with a tent and a change of cycling kit, why not.