Once before I had taken the bike on the train from Inverurie to Dyce and then cycled back home, just to see if it would ever be possible to bike home. That really did kill me! I think I was so tired that I was hallucinating on the way up the last road to home! I then collapsed on the bed for 30 min, and couldn't move. The one amusing outcome of that day was being surreptitiously photographed at Inverurie station. Of course I had no idea at the time, but then was very surprised when I appeared in the GetAbout guide of train stations for the North East of Scotland!
Today, however, I was really up for it, the whole 20 miles.
It started badly. Straight up Foresterhill road from work, a thigh-burning hill climb. Then Anderson Drive (the Aberdeen ring road) was absolutely chock-a-block with traffic. 16:00 on a Tuesday, where was everyone going? Probably skiving off early like me because it was such a lovely day. So I cycled down the pavement until I was over the worst of it. This just meant that having to go up and down a few kerbs, the pannier jumped loose a couple of times.
By the time I had gone up Mugiemoss road though, the traffic was less, and I could concentrate more on the cycling. The thing that really broke me last time was the head wind. Yes, there are some steep hills, but it is possible to deal with this as long as there isn't a demoralising wind in your face the whole way. Last time I had to pedal hard going downhill just to go faster than slow-bicycle-race speed, and that really was energy-sapping. Not so this time! There still was some wind, most noticeably after Kintore and the golf club there, but nowhere near as bad as last time.
So I rolled into our drive 1 hour and 27 minutes after I left work! I didn't feel exhuasted; tired, but really pysched up. We even managed to go to Morisson's to do some shopping afterwards.
And of course this is all good practise for the Great Inverurie Bike Ride on Sunday!
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