Cycling Target - Must Maintain Progress

So three weeks ago, I was in the lead up for our trip to France, and did no road miles. And then in France for a week without the bike - another duck. And then last week, no opportunity for any road miles either.

I realised last night that it was looking like I was starting to develop a worryingly bad habit of not making the time to do my bike thing.

Today I had the chance to start doing something about this, and set off at 06:40 to go the long way around to the client I’m working with in Walker - going via the Tyne Foot & Cycle Tunnel and the south side of the river, into the centre of Newcastle, and then back out to Walker. It adds about 10 miles to the journey.

I left so early because

• I knew there was a reasonably strong wind from the South West, and my journey route would be mostly head-to-head with this
• I absolutely had to be at the client’s premises for 08:00. I’m kicking off a daily briefing session with a new part of the shop floor today, and being late would be . . . well, not exactly setting a good example.

The Tyne Foot & Cycle Tunnel let me down though. It was opened in 1951, and is accessed via a pair of escelators at each end (that’s one up, and one going down, just to be clear), with a lift to provide back up. On the bike, the lift is always the preferred option - these escelators are the longest single rise, wooden escelators in the world, with a vertical rise of 85ft, over a length of 200ft. And on the southern side of the tunnel . . .

• The lift was out of service
• The down escelator was also out of service !
• Meaning that the only way up of down was to walk on the remaining, now stationary escelator. With my sturdy (i.e. damned heavy) cummuting bike, tool kit, luggage (including laptop, complete change of clothes, camera, various cables, etc), this was not at all funny. Especially as the location of the lock & bracket on my bike means that I can’t just sling it over my shoulder. Still - I’d rather be going up than staring into the abyss and trying to walk down - the three guys who passed me going the other way looked distinctly unhappy at the potential drop!

Still - at least I’ve taken a step toward breaking the bad habit that I was developing. AND I made it to the client’s premises with less than a minute to spare - Just in Time.

It seems that I really do practice what I preach.

Filed under: Cycling, Fitness, Newcastle, Wind