TRAT 2010 - just two weeks to go!

Just two weeks to go before my end-to-end adventure begins and although it feels incredibly foolhardy to say so, I think I’m pretty much ready to go.

My Enigma came back from the shop this week following its pre-TRAT service. It looks beautiful, hums along almost inaudibly on its newly rebuilt rear hub, and feels taut and up for it. And thanks to the generosity of Chris and his team at Baker Street Bikes in Brighton, I only paid for the parts. What a nice bunch they are.

So now I just need to stock up on energy bars, pack some bags, say some goodbyes and I’m ready to go on 27 June.

It’s a bit late now I suppose but I’ve been seriously considering changing my saddle. My undercarriage issues continue (see previous post) and I am slightly nervous about the hitherto uncharted levels of discomfort I’ll reach during the big ride. So I’ve been looking at glossy pictures of outrageously expensive Ti-railed Brooks Swallows and high-tech Selle Italias with carbon rails, arse-long splits, gel inserts and the like. But it’s all gloriously irrelevant now because I can’t afford to shell out £100+ for a new perch and even if I could there’s no guarantee it would be any more comfortable than my really-very-nice Arione.

I’ve cut back dramatically on my training mileage – perhaps a little too dramatically. The plan was to keep up the weekly mileage until this weekend and then ease off, but before I went for my second Brighton Mitre social ride yesterday I hadn’t been on the bike for eight days thanks to a combination of work pressure and other real world stuff.

I wasn’t expecting this period of inactivity to have had much of an impact but I really felt the hills yesterday and although my recovery rate was pretty good, the legs felt a bit leaden. So I think I need to squeeze in at least one more medium sized ride this week before backing off.

The obvious opportunity to do that will be Thursday, when I’m taking the bike up to London for a photo shoot with Channel 4 news reading legend, cyclist and all round good egg Jon Snow, who’s the patron of The Race Against Time. It makes sense to cycle back to Brighton after the photoshoot – and since it’s the BHF London to Brighton ride next weekend, it might even be way marked!