Sonning bridge

I've always had a bit of a thing about numbers, and my business training and work on market analysis hasn't helped. I do sometimes wonder, though, whether the complicated set of cycling targets that I have set up is getting a little out of hand. Or to be more honest, I already know perfectly well that it is over the top.

Today, though, it worked as it should.

The idea, as regular readers know, is to set myself a series of goals, as an incentive to keep riding when the novelty wears off, and hence avoid my cycling getting usurped by less important priorities.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've not been doing too well. A combination of bad weather, more travel than usual, and pressure of work meant that all the graphs were starting to move in the wrong direction.

I did a little bit better over the first three days of the long weekend, and the forecast promised better weather today, so I was looking forward to a longer trip, and getting back on top of my targets.

It didn't quite work out that way.

The weather was still grim this morning, and by lunchtime I was beginning to wonder whether I should go out on the bike or not. In the end, the pressure of the numbers won out. I put on an extra t-shirt, packed a waterproof, and set off into a cold wind and light rain, hoping things would improve.

They didn't.

By the time I had covered a dozen miles, the rain had turned to sleet, and the wind showed no sign of letting up. Still, I pressed on rather than turning back. After a few more miles the rain cleared briefly, and things began to look better. However, on the way home, it all turned worse, and I was hit by a heavy shower of hailstones. By then there wasn't much I could do, other than press on.

Finally, as I covered the last few miles, the clouds cleared, the sun came out, and the wind got behind me, instead of blowing in my face. By the time I was home, and treated to a large mug of hot chocolate, I could see sunny late afteroon light through the window.

So was it worth it?

Yes - no doubt about it.

Apart feeling good after an afternoon's exercise and plenty of (very) fresh air, I have the satisfaction of having braved the elements, and overcome temptation. I also have another 37.5 miles on the log. That doesn't break any records, though it is among my longest five trips, and contributes to quite a lot of future Eddington numbers. It also means that I shouldn't have too much trouble achieving this weeks targets, and might even be able to bank some extra miles to cover future shortfalls. The graphs are starting to move in the right direction again, and I've covered some new routes around Sonning.

Job done.