12 April 2007

To cycle or not to cycle - that is the question...

There's only two nice things about living in NW-Wales: The mountains of Snowdonia, which are great for cycling in, and Cwm Idwal, one of the most important places - ever! - in the history of natural sciences. First things first, so I'll deal with Cwm Idwal in a later post.

My hobby is randonneuring (or audax'ing) - long-distance cycling. 2007 is Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) year so I have been on my bike since early January in order to qualify for PBP 2007 ed. I am going to Mallorca on 5 May in order to complete the qualifying rides - a 200, a 300, a 400, and a 600 km ride in a week. I actually managed to bag the 200 km ride on 24 March, so I might drop that on Mallorca. Only problem as of right now is the following: I have been sick with a chest infection for the last 12 days. Consequently, since 24 March I have only cycled 124 km, as opposed to normally ~800 km for a 3-week period. My legs are withering away and I feel weaker than weak. The anti-biotic is kicking in, though, so I hope to get out for the next 3 days before I'm off to sea with my work for 10 days (=no exercise); then hope I can get a few fast-paced rides in at the very end of April and the first 4 days of May before my departure...