Blazing Saddles

Previously, I talked about starting Cycle the Month, where I would cycle 300 miles as part of a team to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. This was with a few others from my workplace. Well, the month is up and we finally succeeded!

Here is a round-up of all the journeys throughout the month:

After all that, we raised over £1,000 for the cancer charity, which is much better than I dared hope. Well done to everyone who donated and supported the cause.

I think a lot of people would probably look at the challenge and say "that's not so hard". However, I haven't really cycled for a long time. Really, I haven't cycled properly in a decade, outside of one key incident.

Also, I must stress this, my area is actually very, very hilly. You don't even notice a lot of hills when you're walking, but when you're cycling and the simplest areas become a struggle to ride through... then they're noticeable.

If there's one thing that's come of the Cycle the Month challenge, it's that I've noticed basically everyone else in the area, and over the month, rides e-bikes. These type of bikes have a motor in the them that helps assist them over hilly terrain and longer rides, meaning they can do a much higher speed over a much further distance without much effort at all. So, whilst I would love to say I want to use my fold-up bike more after the challenge, I also know how difficult it is to cycle in this area. It's made me want a fold-up e-bike! Alas, that won't happen anytime soon (they're stupidly expensive).

But then... at least I'd be cycling to places on the everyday again...

Ah well. Time to look forward to the rest of the year!