A red letter week

A bit of a me, me, me page today. Successfully completed 5,000 miles for this year and the photo was taken by a fellow Old Git about half a mile before the actual point was reached.  Note the 'high five'!  In the background is Birnbeck Pier, sadly, a rather dilapidated Victorian Pier (the only one in the UK to go from the mainland, to an island) and it has reached the point where court action is being taken against the company that own it to get it back to a viable building again. Sadly, each time a storm occurs, bits of it fall off.



Back to me.  After a stay in hospital at the start of 2019 for a fairly serious operation I signed up to the challenge of riding 5,000 miles this year not really expecting to achieve it but determined to give it a go. With cycling becoming more and more difficult as the ageing process trundled on I decided to 'go for broke' and purchase an electrically assisted bike.  What a difference that made. It opened up new horizons, like hills not normally attempted, and enabled me to ride further than before.  It was a pleasure to be out and about without it being a chore.  Over the summer the mileage built up to over the 100 a week that I had set myself, and frequently clocked up 150+ miles a week.  That reeled in the deficiency caused by the slow start to the year.  With several Old Gits also attempting a similar option, an element of friendly competition set in.  It has been a challenge to maintain the discipline but the enjoyment of being out on the road, often with good company, the miles have rolled by and by the start of November the end was well in site.  Starting off this morning for the usual Old Git's Tuesday ride I had 6 weeks to cover 2.5 miles.  It was done in ten minutes.  Thanks guys for helping along with this challenge, same again next year?  Hmmmmmm.