Exultant

I feel good tonight. After work I picked up my new mountain bike, an Orange G2 with Rock Shox Tora forks, Deore components and Hayes disc brakes front and back - and its British! £700 worth of hardtail MTB for £280 through the cycle to work scheme. Sweet:

"Cross Country is where it all began. Giving riders the opportunity to go beyond roads and experience new places in nature where no one else goes. It is a test of endurance and technical skills where one must climb up steep hills and descend down narrow trails through wandering trees and over rocks. Giving one an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and excitement with one simple ride."

Which is pretty much how I feel now, but I haven't been off road. I didn't get on the bike until 6:20 and it was already gloomy. I don't have lights on my road bike because a) they add weight b) I don't ride in the dark and c) they're a bit girly, so I cut my ride shorter than planned. Still, I managed just over 30km in 1hr 5minutes and thoroughly enjoyed myself. That's nearly 300km in 72 hours and I still feel fresh (although I don't smell it) and its also pretty much the end of my training. I have a spin class and gym session planned on Thursday, a couple of hours at the weekend and that's it. We're off. At the moment I'm buzzing and raring to go.

I'm made up with the the amount of sponsorship I've had. People have been so kind and I can't thank them enough. Now I have to reward their faith by a) completing the end to end and b) really suffering whilst doing it, to make them feel they've had their money's worth! To that end, I plotted a few more days of the route. Just take a look at what the profile does on day 3 at about 40 miles in (click the show elevation tab at the bottom of the map) : http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/sampford-peverell/277736044

That's rock climbing not cycling! Wish me luck. I love it.