Out There

This time in two weeks time I expect I'll be lying in bed, unable to move and gasping for someone to come massage my legs and feed me sips of some sort of electrolyte laced drink. In a moment of insanity earlier in the year we signed up again to do the Ride to Conquer Cancer. It's a 200km ride over two days - except last year it turned out to be 230km! There's a new route this year; if you believe what you hear, it's a little easier - there were some hellish hills last year….and it poured rain all day on the first day and half the night as we huddled in our little tent - admittedly dry and cosy but wondering how much longer the tent could withstand the downpour!

My offsider won't be riding. Last weekend he went walking up to the top paddock, across the back of the farm and then down again, looking for the fox/es that had attacked 3 nights in a row (on my watch, while he was away). He wore his gumboots and complained of a sore ankle/foot later in the afternoon. In hindsight it appears he may have stumbled/fallen into a hole because, after two doctor's visits and an ultrasound, it turns out he's torn the muscle from his left achilles tendon - the same one that he snapped when playing football 12 years ago. We have an MRI booked for tomorrow; that will determine whether we need to visit a specialist who may recommend surgery.

So. I will ride alone - well not really alone. The company we work for has entered a team again - last year, 31 riders raised around $175,000. This year there's over 40 of us and the target is $200,000+. We have riders from stations near and far and they've been featured in print media and on radio across the country. The guys from the NT stations have a great story to tell.

So. I started training yesterday, 30km; another 30km today. I'll try to fit another couple of rides in before the 15th but we won't be here this coming weekend so that's out. I'm not too worried about not making the distance. There's a rest/revive stop every 25km or so with food, drink and toilets - I'll just break the distance up in my head to be 4 x 25km rides each day, certainly doable - that will help me get through it! I'll be looking for my tent though!

I've missed riding. I love riding. It's always the thing that get pushed aside because there's something else that needs doing. It's such a freeing thing to do and it's great for clearing the mind. I need to add it to the list of weekend jobs; that way it might get done (although I've had 'mop the floor' on the list for a while now and that job hasn't happened).