Today was the first official (ahem) training run of Team Lard, the loose collection of cyclists that I’ve managed to cajole into attempting the Bangor Coastal Challenge and Lap The Lough sportives with me this year.
It was a cold March morning with a moderate wind, but at least the rain stayed away for most of the duration. We met at 10am at the King’s Head pub on the Lisburn Road, with me having cycled 10 miles from home to get there. There were due to be three of us today, but Graham cried off with alcohol blindness or something. I have to be careful about goading him too much though, as he’ll be out eventually and show us all up, with a hangover, just out of spite.
So it was just myself and Dave for this inaugural run. We first headed up the Lisburn Road to Lisburn city itself. From there we took the back roads – Hillhall and Ballyleesson Roads – to Shaw’s Bridge, followed by a quick tour of east Belfast via the Knock ring road (A55) before heading back into the city. There was much bike chat and we discussed tactics for surviving the upcoming sportives.
I ended up with 38 miles on the clock. This is the furthest I’ve cycled recently and I felt it. The final 10 miles up the Antrim Road was tough, uphill and raining. I fell asleep in the afternoon while holding a coffee, then went to bed for two hours. Iron Man? More like Jelly Man Who Has A Headache And Walks Funny.
I’m usually out on Sunday morning anyway, but it’s much better if there’s a group, even if it’s just a group of two. We’re going to make this a regular training run and I’m already looking forward to next weekend!
Graham’s a wuss.