The Baynhams

Four weeks ago, a friend Charles invited me to join him in a big cycling event in Sydney. It was a 50km (30 miles) ride around Sydney and even included cycling over the famous Harbour Bridge.








I accepted the challenge because:

• I'd consumed too much wine
• It seemed like a good idea at the time
• It was a good chance to get exercising again
• I can't turn down any challenge

So, for the past four weeks I've been donning my shorts and t-shirt and whizzing around the local area. Not without drama I might add....after several scary moments with magpies and mynah birds attacking me I decided to stick fake large eyes on the back of my helmet, and whereas it scared the magpies away, the mynah birds still 'bounced' off my head almost daily!

When I first started training, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to complete 50km so I set myself a target of 3.5 hours. Before this weekend, my training had improved and was hoping to finish within 3 hours. Of course, no self-inflicted training regime would have been complete without the usual requirement to buy more gadgets....so once the cobweb-covered bike was cleaned down, I purchased a bicycle computer, new road tyres, a gel filled saddle and a bladder-bag (!) that contains water in a rucksack with a tube that you can constantly drink from draped over my shoulder.

Race day was this Sunday and after more drama in Charles' garage (my bike burst a tyre overnight) we were off racing by 8am - thanks to Mrs B for driving us to the start.

It really was a great course, passing some spectacular sights and finishing up at the huge Sydney Olympic Park. Charles and I whizzed around with 10,000 other cyclists stopping at rest stages for comfort breaks and chocolate...

I don't know if it was adrenaline or because the course was flatter than I expected, but my finishing time was a surprising 2 hours 23 minutes.

Am I:

- Fitter? Probably
- Satisfied? Yes
- Saddle sore? Definitely!