On Tuesday the bike people said our bikes had been delivered, which they hadn't, and Guy had to get Very Cross with Parcelfarce so that eventually they delivered the bikes. In HUGE boxes. Because he had the dogs in the car and no bike rack, he couldn't get them home from his office. Hey ho. So on Wednesday he took the bike rack instead of the dogs, unwrapped the HUGE boxes and brought the bikes home. We have BIKES!
On Thursday (yes, we would have done it on Wednesday, but we have Dog Obedience School, so no time to play with bikes) we assembled the bikes... They were mostly put together, but there was a large long package attached to each bike. I thought it was a bicycle pump. Guy pointed out it was the handlebars, which I hadn't noticed were missing. Yep, that's about my technical level on bikes... So Guy did the attaching handlebars stuff, we added pedals and we cycled up and down the lane very carefully. Boy, those saddles are sharp! Fit Mark (who's about to do the 20 mile Brecon Sleepwalker so doesn't get to play with bikes) texted me to suggest that we alter the angle of the saddles... ooh, that's better.
On Saturday morning we cycled a reasonable route near home (hill, past pub, hill, forest hill, tracks, puddles, downhill, local farmers market for a cupcake having padlocked the bikes to a lamp-post, big hill, ice cream parlour, home) and it's FAB! The bikes are really lightweight and very speedy. Mine was even more speedy when I found out I was using the wrong gear thingy and got the right one sorted. We stopped at the ice cream parlour to see Ice Cream Sian who made suitable admiring noises. Her dad thought we'd simply found another way to expend energy, called them 'instruments of torture' and said we only had ourselves to blame...
As is customary, Ice Cream Sian and I posed for a 'first training session photo' of our IceBreaker training - the first time on bikes, at least. I think Ice Cream Sian's might need a little work...
On Sunday Beagle Nic was brave enough to come for another run, and this time I was sensible with my New Feet so we aimed for 8k. We started at Ice Cream Sian's house and went on the muddiest paths we could find in the hope of some proper shrieking from Beagle Nic. She sadly disappointed - she was still supremely elegant and WAY fitter than either of us - Ice Cream Sian asked how often Beagle Nic ran and got the answer '3 times a week'. She shouldn't have asked... it just makes us look bad really. There were a couple of promising squeaks (well, a little 'ooh' and a little 'eek') but it really does need work...
We did, however, find fabulous mud...
And we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in the sunshine. I think we may have a new team... So we posed for a New Team Photo.
Notice how we ALL have the one knee bent in the best Posh Spice fashion... so that's all three of us who went to the same finishing school then! And if we have a new team I must remember to tell Fit Mark he's, um, not part of the team any more. Only because he's WAY too good for us - he outruns us on every occasion and by some significant margin. Maybe he'll want to come back with us now his Sleepwalker is over - it took place last night. We hope so - we're missing the insults. And talking of Sleepwalker, Fit Mark found himself two new team-mates, both of whom chickened out before the race. Pah. Obviously Ice Cream Sian and I would have stepped into the breach, but Ice Cream Sian had an ice cream parlour to clean and I had a long-standing engagement with Strictly and a glass of wine.... Otherwise OF COURSE we would have been there...
What are ex-team-mates for, eh?
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