Kicking off (Training day 20)

So, nearly the end of week 3 - will I make it to the goals I've set for this week? There seem to have been so many interruptions and distractions. But, whatever these are, I must work through these - it isn't going to get any easier. Next week is half term, so my children will be staying with me - even more distractions to a carefully planned and orchestrated training regime! (?)

Set off the long way to work - 17 miles through Wotton and Ranmore Common. Ranmore Hill is the most difficult part of this - an 18% gradient which is great practice for the tour. The worst of the hills one the tour will only be very slightly worse than this aty 20% - that's a one-in-five for all you pre-metrication readers out there.

Even with my new road bike, this is quite a start to the day, but my legs feel less like jelly by the top of the hill compared to last week. And the sponsorship site is continuing to drive my motivation to complete - with the money pledged online and offline, there is now over £1000 raised for the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign.

Head for home in bright sunny weather and take the long scenic path. Through Ranmore, Gomshall and Wotton, this 22 miles is the longest single ride for couple of weeks, and leaves me with energy to spare. And that takes the total for the day to 39 miles - close enough to feel confident about my goal of 40 miles for a day this week.

Training summary: 39 miles today, 361 miles total