I consider myself a bit of a wimp when it comes to sports, e.g. I would never dare bungee jump.
Growing up, the only certificate I won was for handwriting when my friends played rugby, cricket, etc for school and clubs. Whilst working, I won a cricket award when my employer’s team (Merz and McLellan) got promoted to the next division. Whilst I scored few runs and even got few wickets, I was never that good at cricket. I’ve played Badminton and Squash for fun, but never really competed.
When I turned 46 last year, I took on cycling, after taking a lot of advice from friends and taking into consideration the experience I gained by supporting two charity cycling events (Dallaglio Cycle Slam and Virgin Strive Challenge).
Since then I had one cycle accident, but kept on cycling even in winter. I’m someone who easily catch a cold if I get wet the slightest. However, strangely, this has not occurred since I started cycling. I’ve also got slimmer, e.g. the suit I bought to meet Her Majesty the Queen last May is now loose.
My aim has been to complete a 100 km ride before the summer, which I achieved this month. Thanks to MaccMafia’s encouragement, I signed up to complete 83km (50+ mile) Cheshire Cat which took place yesterday, the 29th of March 2015. My aim was to just complete, given that it would have been the third time I would have completed a 80+km ride.
The weather gods were not interested in making it easier for us. It started raining heavily and got worse when the winds picked up. But the results were astonishing. I was 5 mins faster than the cut-off time to win a Bronze Medal.
Nearly 3000 riders have entered the Sportive, but many did not turn up due to the poor weather. Even at the last minute before leaving home, I thought of cancelling. I’m glad I listened to MaccMafia guys and Hashini who encouraged me to complete.
And a big thank you to my wife, Nishani for racing to Crewe and back, and for the constant encouragement. Next Sportive is on the 3rd of May in Cheadle. I am hoping it would be bit more easier, but believe it has more hills to climb.