“And now, the end is here…”

Yes, on Monday, at this year’s Mayor Making, I handed over the chain to my successor, meaning that I am no longer the Cycling Mayor.  I’m the past/ex/former/old/previous/prior/once upon a Mayor.  I’ve been trying to find a term that doesn’t suggest that I’m either dead, old, or was kicked out, and have failed dismally.

So, for those of you who have been reading this in the hope that a little of the Mayoral glamour would rub off on you, I’m afraid your time has come 😉  However for the rest of you, this domain remains mine to rule over, at least until October time, so I shall beg your indulgence and continue to document my cycling efforts.  The kit cost too much to replace just because it’s out of date, so I’ll be continuing to wear that too.  Besides which “the Cycling Councilor” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.  So it’s service as usual really  🙂 Plus ça change…

Right then.  Moving on.  Today was my first time on the bike since last Sunday’s event as due to my son’s injury I’ve been spending my time at Frenchay hospital.  My legs were fine for a couple of days, very painful on Wednesday, and then fine again, which was weird.  I’m guess that’s DOMS for you, so maybe a break wasn’t such a bad thing.  I did make it to the gym a few times in the evening in an attempt to not seize up completely.

It was a fab morning to go for a ride.  I did my bog standard training loop, in the sun, with music and me.  The world is in flower,  full of  colours yet to be washed out by summer, and wildlife is busy reproducing all over the place.  I do live in a very lovely part of the country 🙂  It was very good for the head, and very enjoyable.  Plus I was fair flying for parts of it – definitely in the zone.

Cycling time: 1:58:38
Distance: 31.76 miles
Avs: 16.0 mph
ODO: 4250 miles

I am presuming that the increased speed was due to the lifted weight of responsibility that was on my shoulders…*grin*.  Who knew the chain was that heavy? 😉

On a parting note, I’d like to thank all my sponsors and supporters – during my year the Cycling Mayor raised £1654.03 for AMR and cycled 4134 miles.  I had a great time doing it and it was a fabulous year.  Thank you everyone 🙂

“And more, much more than this, I did it my way”