So time to ride again.  It looked a mite chilly out there first thing this morning, so what better time to try out my new jersey?  Did I not mention I had a new jersey?  Ah – time to explain then.  See, I am becoming a massive Rapha convert.  However I have yet to win the lottery so my meagre collection only extends as far as my Etape jersey, which clearly I had to have and which started me off, and a t-shirt that was a gift from the people behind sportive.com for the possible inclusion of my Etape blog on their website.  Both of them are very, very, lovely.  Which led me to thinking that maybe I’d like some more.

Now in the absence of disposable funds, this clearly means investigating other avenues, staring with ebay.  Unsurprisingly I am not the only person to have considered this, and competition for those few Rapha items there is fierce, with the prices getting out of my reach fairly quickly.  Time for Plan B.  Having the odd contact out there, I approached the twitterverse, and a nice lady from Condor who I met at the Cyclosport party.  Amazingly it turns out she had a nearly new men’s long sleeve jersey going spare, that she very kindly offered to post to me.  I can’t tell you how excited I was, and probably shouldn’t anyway since it is without doubt sad to get that excited about new cycling kit *grin*.  To gild the lily, when it arrived it fitted me perfectly.  How fabulous is that?

my "new" rapha jersey

Having tried it on and marvelled at the fit, comfort, and so on, I was dying to get an opportunity to wear it, and the degree of perceived chill out there this morning provided the perfect excuse.  There, have I explained myself?  Now all I need is for it to get cold enough out there for me to get the new winter jacket out.  Not Rapha but also very lovely :).

Which, dear reader, sees me heading out at 9:00am ish, clad in the aforementioned jersey plus gilet, on my way to pick up George at her place again.  Deja vu?  In consideration of George’s handicap I was thinking we’d probably stick to the flat, so I threw in Notting Hill again on the way there, just to scratch my hill itch.  I was right, and we did indeed stick to the flat.  Back down the way I’d come, out via the Webbington, around Brent Knoll, to Burnham, back through Mark and, in my case, home via the Nyland loop.

For some reason I was finding it hard work today.  George is back to her usual inexorable speed on the flat, but I resisted the temptation to drop back and made myself stick alongside her and chat as usual.  But it still shouldn’t have been as hard as it was.  There was quite a bit of wind around from time to time, and never in our favour, which possibly didn’t help.  I was also much thirstier than usual, which was weird.  Excuses excuses.

Cycling time: 2:15:06 hrs
Distance: 36.28 miles.
Avs: 16.0 mph
ODO: 11150 miles

I got home, got off the bike, and instantly realised I was a complete wreck!  Totally wiped out.  Judging by my inability to use my hands properly, or my brain for that matter, I think I’d possibly become a lot colder than I realised, even in my snug and immensely comfortable jersey.  Just not enough layers?  I didn’t feel cold when I was out there, but I’ve made this mistake before.  You’re supposed to learn from your mistakes, right? 😉  Ever since then, even having had a restorative nap, I’ve been feeling a bit like a lethargic zombie.

Thursday.  I never could get the hang of Thursdays…