After two weeks of inactivity, we finally got back on the bikes this morning. it's been two weeks because Richard had a mild bout of pneumonia (I say ‘mild’ simply because this time he didn’t have to end up in the hospital). I could have gone riding in the mornings without him, I suppose, but that would have taken far more willpower than I seem to posses. And lately, since he’s been feeling better, the wind has been far too strong. One downside to where we live is that it’s smack dab in the middle of a wind tunnel this time of year. I remember days in college where it was faster to walk my bike than try to fight the wind, and this weekend it was just about that bad.

Since, of the two of us, I’m the one who’s the most out of shape, I am usually the one who dictates how far we ride. This morning, we only went five miles, and by the time we finally made it back home, I was completely exhausted. My legs hurt, there was a crick in my neck from hunching over the bike handlebars (I’m sure my bike posture is atrocious) and my nose was running because it was cold outside. In other words, I was feeling pretty miserable and angry with myself. Two weeks ago we’d managed to work ourselves up to six miles for our morning rides, and I could maintain a speed of at least ten miles per hour. And in two weeks time now I’ve reverted to barely eight miles per hour by the end of the trip, and even that five miles was pushing it. Granted there was a slight breeze blowing against us on the way back, but it wasn’t strong enough to blame for my complete and utter lack of speed.

The trips we take on weekends are more for distance than endurance, and so if I drop below a certain speed I don’t worry about it. But the morning rides are more for endurance, and after the ride this morning, I’m feeling pretty discouraged. We’ve been at this now for two months, albeit sporadically sometimes, and after my dismal performance this morning I don’t feel as if I’ve progressed much beyond where we were at the beginning of March. I know we’ve got a year still to prepare for this trip, but today I’m not entirely convinced that we’re going to actually be able to be ready for it, or rather, if *I’m* going to be ready for it. If I’m having this much trouble maintaining speed in a little breeze, on completely flat roads, I’m going to be a complete and utter failure when I have to face all those hills in Ireland next May.

I know that once we’re back in the habit of riding, after a week or two, I’ll start feeling more confident and the speed will start slowly coming back. I know that I’m merely reacting to a two-week hiatus and that once I get a few morning rides under my belt, things will get better. But right now, after how poorly I did this morning, that knowledge is a very small consolation.