Day 1 – Yep, people told me so!

Appledore, Kent to Brighton, East Sussex
66 miles

Right, so, yes, I have to be honest, I was bloody nervous. 2000-miles (give or take) and 35 days to do it. Now it’s started though, I am much happier. That’s not to say that it was an easy first day, far from it actually (but mainly this was my fault) what with issues with gearing and cleat learning! To cut a long story short, I came off my bike 5 times (including on my way to St. Pancras) and only two of these were related to the bike, the other three were because I had simply underestimated how bad I am at unclipping from the pedals and then clipping back in! I’m hoping that I will get better at this, in fact I’d better, otherwise this is going to be a devastatingly depressing cycle ride! So to those people who told me that I should have practiced more, you are right, definitely right and I am sorry for saying, ever so confidently,
“Don’t worry! I’m fine. It’s really very simple actually!” Well, my right knee begs to disagree with that!
But, onto the actual cycling. A great route involving the NCN (National Cycle Network) route 2. The weather held firm until about 20 miles or so from Brighton, and so that meant just about enough time to get everything very wet!
I tried also to do a good deed today. A lady waved me down on the road into Brighton and I pulled over (without falling this time!) asking her what the issue was. She had a puncture and no tools. “No Problem” I thought, “I’ve got everything”. We set about trying to fix it, with her trying to convince me that the best plan was to patch it on the outside of the tyre (hmm, not so sure myself) when I realised that it wasn’t just a puncture that was the problem, but that the valve was broken too. There was nothing left for it, but for her to run/walk her bike back to where-so-ever it was that she had come from. I took off too, feeling rather less manly having failed to help fix something, when I thought that I might have left my front light on the cycle path. I stopped, mind on other things, and yep, forgot to unclip and fell off my bike. There I was, sitting on a cycle path in Brighton (one foot clipped in, one freed in the fall), in the rain and having failed in a quest to prove my manliness! Safe to say, not the easiest start to Cycle England, but did I actually want anything different? Well yes, but now it’s happened, I couldn’t be happier – A challenge to begin a challenge – brilliant!