Day 72 - Lost My Mojo

It's been 10 days since my last cycle ride and I can't help feeling I've somehow lost my mojo! The reason, well, the combination of a bank holiday away, a leaking roof and a DIY purge is my excuse for avoiding my morning excursion. I could also add to this, the return of the cold damp weather, the familiarity of the routes I'd previously had the enjoyment of exploring, the annoying rattle that I've now pinned down to the mudguards, the wet roads which without mudguards (removed because of the annoying rattle) would cover me in filthy spray and the lack of a good audio book, being in that trough of despair having finished my last thrilling read and not wanting to start another - not just yet anyway. Yes I have definitely lost my mojo.

That was, however, until I came across the World Triathlon Series from Yokohama Japan on the BBC.  I caught the start of the women's event and found myself transfixed, these are some courageous athletes.  This was particularly born out just short of mid way through the race, when after the first of 9 laps of Yokohama harbour, Maakie Caelers from the Netherlands collided and fell from her bike and slid for some distance along the road. I'll have to ask my good friend who does this, why they don't keep their wet suits on after the swimming, as bear arms and legs offer no protection for a fall like that! Ouch!

If I needed anything to inspire me to get back on the bike, this was it! So, with mudguards reattached - as naff as they look, they do a great job - I headed out again this morning for a gentle 5 mile circuit. It's amazing how quickly my stamina has tailed off as it was not as easy as I had hoped; even more reason to keep at it. I think a day or two's break between circuits is probably not a bad idea, but ten days is too long in my book.

Finally, the route art today is a bubble being blown through one of those plastic hoops or may be a pig looking into a shaving mirror ... see anything else?

Stats: 5.56 mi, 29m 08s, Avg 11.04 mph, Max 22.2 mph, 323 kcal