Woodrup, up and Away!

OMG it's a rocket! On the other hand I think it was a tailwind that had me moving along the Embankment from Battersea to Blackfriars Bridges with a rolling average of 16.5mph!! Woohoo!  The additional up in the speed may be the element of fear - London's Embankment is not exactly cyclist friendly and so you definitely have to pick your timing when to use it and you really have to keep your wits about you double time. 

I popped into Fitzrovia Bicycles to thank them for such a fabulous bicycle and saw they are having a bit of a road bike sale

 

Then I headed north towards Islington as this was my official inaugural ride on my new bike now that it is complete! What a fab bicycle it is too. 

The pièce de résistance is the bike fit that I had at Mosquito Bikes in Islington, another local bike shop that knows its stuff.  The whole thing took two hours and they have made a template from their measure-bike that needs to be mirrored on my bike. 

I will find out on Monday how far off the mark mine is - although we are potentially talking millimetres but if it turns out to be centimetres then minor adjustments will be made. Once that is complete my journey of building a bicycle is over.  Now all I have to concentrate is riding it the way it was made to be ridden.  Like a dream come true!
 
However, the whole measuring thing was another learning curve. It seems my cycling posture is poor. I never realised how much slouching and rounding of my shoulders I was doing rather than using core strength to keep my back straight. Also by keeping my arms less straight would draw more power into the pedals as it will ensure I use my glutes. 

I was given an exercise to do on the bike, arms by my side, roll the shoulders a few times then put my hands on my tummy, engage my abs (that'll be a first!) and lean forward from the pelvis as far as possible before putting my hands on the handlebars. Then checking that my back is straight and keeping my shoulders open. It is going to take some practice as clearly I have picked up a few bad habits! 

There also followed a great conversation about stretching - yoga in particular - and how a few exercises after cycling can really help. This has made me pick up my rather abandoned copy of The Abs Diet for Women (written by the editor-in-chief of Men's health?!!) The push up, squats, side bridges, modified raised feet crunches, cobras and cows all look and sound ridiculous but are definitely going to be reintroduced into my schedule. Any other recommendations or suggestions gratefully received!

It wasn't all bad tho - apparently I have higher than average flexibility in my glutes and my ham strings (I think that's what I was told) - and I can also touch my toes!! Result!

I rode home in fog. London in fog looking wintery and slightly eerie. Another dimension of the Capital from two wheels.

 And this is only the beginning of my cycling with my new bike...!