I had to nip down to the shops this morning to buy some more printer cartridges, and thought I'd take Petunia the Mixte for a ride in the lovely spring sunshine. I deliberately haven't ridden her since I bought Penelope, as I wanted to get to know Penelope inside out and get used to riding her with her extra 7 kilos.
So I was astonished today at how much fitter I seem to have become in the last three weeks. Honestly I think I was channelling Cadell Evans this morning :-). I was pelting up the little hills in a higher gear than I used to ride Petunia in, and not even blowing by the time I got to the top. Doing the same route on Penelope leaves me gasping, with aching legs, but perseverance is the key, and today's little exercise tells me Penelope is doing me a lot of good.
I'm lucky to have two lovely and very different bicycles to ride, luckier too that spring is here and the sunshine is a siren song to get out there and enjoy them both.
Ah, how familiar this sounds! I basically have the same set-up as you, where one of my bicycles is a Pashley and the other a vintage mixte. Riding the mixte may feel more sporty, but I think the Pashley is what really gets me in shape.
ReplyDeleteOh, for sure! I'm noticing a difference in my strength rather than increased stamina (yet).
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