100 Miles in 30 Days

Day 8: 32% Complete

Okay, so the challenge is to move myself 100 miles in 30 days in whichever form of exercise I can manage. Be this cycling, running or walking - I might as well scratch off all other forms as that is all I ever do.

In the past 8 days I have cycled to work, gone running on my lunch hour, gone running on the treadmill after work and cycled in the forest.

Cycling in Sherwood Pines was by far the most challenging thing I have ever put my body and mind through simultaneously. I figured 13 kilometres would be a doddle but what I hadn't bargained for was that the track snaked through the forest dangerously and was only a foot wide. Not quite the fire tracks that I have been used to when navigating the woods in the past. Especially not on my own.

The rain had created some rather large water logged areas that meant my tyres, which are mostly road tyres, kept slipping and sliding at every given moment. The key was to continue 'momemtum' which is easier said than done. When you are potentially going to faceplant a 100 year old pine tree going faster is not really what your brain is programmed to want to do. Regardless, I manned up and did indeed go faster and got through it all.

After about 3 kilometres I was slightly perplexed by which way the arrow was pointing. Did I continue on the fire track or did I head down the path which was bombarded with roots and fallen branches? It was a Beauty and the Beast moment where Phillipe the horse is bucking away to stop Belle veering down the eerie path. I looked behind me and there was a man ploughing through the mud heading my way, I asked him which way it was and lo and behold it was the eerie path. I braced myself for a bumpy ride and continued on my way. At the next crossroads he was catching his breath and pointed me in the right direction.

At the next confusing section he cycled up behind me as I was catching my breath, he thought that I was lost again so kindly offered to guide me around the rest of the track. Terribly sweet, I thought, but in the back of my mind I was worried he may well be one of these elusive axe murderers. Fortunately he was not. Woodland folk are all rather friendly and seem to look out for each other. I am now part of this elite group and feel rather excited about it all.

At one point on our journey we got to a section where there was a choice of continuing on or doing an extra kilometre and after he asked me what I wanted to do I thought 'why the hell not', so off we went again on another bendy, twisty, section of track that brought us out exactly where we'd started. It was an easy kilometre though so no harm done.

Next came the 'jumps' section which I had been a little bit apprehensive about. Anthony had been pepping me up for it for the last hour or so and it was not easing my mind at all. The thought of hurtling myself, and my bike, off a rock into the unknown was somewhat beyond my capabilities, for the best past of the last three months I've mostly been cycling the streets of North Leeds...

Anyway, we got to that bit and it was possibly the most fun I have ever had! I had to put a lot of trust into my bike and constantly reminding myself that thousands of people have cycled this track before and if it was that dangerous it would have been changed. God bless the car park fee.

Two and a half hours later we made it back to the car park. Unscathed, completely worn out and, surprisingly, only slightly tarnished with mud. I have never been so happy to see Go Ape in all my life.

Bring it all on again next Sunday.