sawyl | Cycling to Dawlish

Taking advantage of the much improved weather, I went for an early evening ride down to Dawlish — a round trip of about 30 miles. I really enjoyed myself, although I found the journey back tougher than I'd expected after a nasty headwind picked up. But I still managed to get back without too much suffering — not that I'd have minded, I have a masochistic enthusiasm for hill climbing, which is probably just as well living in Devon.

I'm actually pretty pleased with how well my cycling is going at the moment. Everytime I go out and work a bit harder, I get a better feel for the limits of my stamina and how hard I can push myself before I run out of steam. I'm also starting to get a much better feel my bike — which, despite its understated paint job, attracts quite a few appreciative comments! — and how it handles. Rather pathetically, though, I've been forgoing my cycling shoes in favour of trainers so that I can get a feel for the way the pedals orient themselves without having to worry about align the cleats at the same time. Then, once I'm happy with everything else, I'm going to switch back to using my proper shoes.

I feel like I'm gradually starting to get my cycling groove back...