Gearing Up, Getting Down

It hurts to move from a standing position to a sitting one. Seriously. I daresay, I have certainly been putting my body to the test as of late, especially the legs! I can't believe the Tip to Tip is less than two weeks away. I feel like I've not had enough practice rides on the bike, although I have certainly been doing tonnes of cardio and strength training at the gym, where rain and wind are avoidable. I did manage to get in a longish bike ride on Saturday - Jen and I hit the trails and did approximately 40 kms. It was a lovely day and I found once we got into the rhythm the going was pretty easy. I am just going to pray to the weather gods that we have sunshine, no rain and, most importantly, nothing more than a gentle breeze. For four whole days..in a row...on the Island that has wind test sites at either tip. Yes, I am a wishful thinker!

In addition to my long bike ride this weekend, I also did an 8 km jog Sunday morning, a pretty intense strength training session (focus on legs and abs) and then a 1.5 hour walk in the evening. Tonight I am going to a boot camp workout class, followed by a PT session. Yay! I shall look forward to more pain :)

OK, so now that I've done a practice bike of a decent length, I am a bit more confident I can pull of this whole 'biking 400 kilometers' thing. So now I turn my attention to gearing up for the ride. At this point in time, I am severely lacking in appropriate gear for the trip. I have two necessities - a bike and a bike helmet. Aside from that, I have nothing. I don't have a spare tube, or a bike repair kit, or even the appropriate clothing. I don't think I've EVER owned a windbreaker, so getting one for just four days seems kind of silly. And I have a great little rack on the back of my bike, but I don't have a saddlebag to put there.

I think I need to get this sorted soon. I've been procrastinating because I can't really afford to spend more money on this trip, and because I don't have a car to bounce around town in hopes of finding all the gear I definitely can't do without. Yes, yes, of course I could use my bike, and I will, but a car would be handy. I've been biking a lot as a mode of transport lately, it's all fine and dandy when the weather's great, but I'm still not a fan of riding in the rain.

Afterthought - they DO list trail snacks on the 'what to pack' list, so I will have to force myself to go to the Bulk Barn and load up. Oh the sacrifice!