Am I still doing this for fun?

I remember one day around twenty years ago I was out cycling in the Peak District with my brother in law Paul.  As we both struggled up a very long and steep climb called the Snake Pass, Paul pulled alongside me and said “Remember Danny lad, we’re doing this for fun!”

And that comment of Paul’s has been coming back to me a lot over the last few weeks as I’ve been training for a Coast to Coast Ride that I’m doing in September. I’ve been up in Teesdale training and the problem with that area is that you never seem to be able to go more than half a mile in any direction without the road starting to go steeply upwards. And a  number of times as I’ve struggled up difficult climbs it really hasn’t felt like fun and I’ve been increasingly asking myself why I keep on putting myself through such pain.

Don’t get me wrong I still love cycling but it’s the long hours of training for long distance rides that I’m really not enjoying anymore. I’ve done a number of these long distance events over the years, I’ve cycled Coast to Coast a number of times and I’ve even done London to Paris twice. But lately they seem more of a pain than a pleasure so why can’t I just stop doing them?

I suspect the truth is that it’s all linked in with not wanting to admit that I’m getting older. Admitting that I don’t feel up to long rides anymore feels a bit like the start of a slippery slope. Before I know it I’ll be shopping at Greenwoods and taking Saga holidays. And I’m really not sure that I’m ready for all of that just yet.

So for the time being I’ll continue dragging my poor ageing body over the climbs but don’t expect me to say that I’m enjoying it!