I knew I wanted to get fit, but I didn't want to return to pre-tried (and short-lived) regimes that just revolved around the gym and/or running. I get bored with the gym very easily, and never particularly enjoyed running, although I could survive a 5km route at one point. I also wanted to stop smoking.
Looking back to exercise that I'd really enjoyed doing in the past, I remembered cycling. Rewind a little further to around 3/4 years ago, when I was living in Strand on the Green the first time around... I had a Specialized hybrid that I loved, taking it along the towpath to work in Hammersmith, to Teddington and around Richmond Park with other cycling pals, and up the Grand Union Canal from to meet friends for lunch halfway between Brentford and Rickmansworth.
Sadly, the Specialized was stolen. I replaced it with a cheaper Claude Butler which I positively hated from day one. Add in a couple of housemoves out of London and between East and West Sussex, chuck in stupidly long commuting hours that left me wiped out and... I just stopped cycling.
So I started looking for another bike. I'd moved back to Strand on the Green by this point and knew I wanted another Specialized. The fab A Fudge & Sons bicycle shop in Chiswick had ordered me a couple of Specialized Ariels to try - one with disc brakes, on with V- Brakes, so I just had to wait for them to come in. But I also knew I need a challenge to keep me interested and a target to aim for.
On Monday 12th March - a grey, cold, blustery day - I was having a quiet morning at work. So I was browsing through the Transport for London cycling website and ordered a load of free cycle maps (cheers Boris). Then I had a look through their 'events' section, which was linked to... this (scroll down to the Kenya link). And I started to get goosebumps.
But Jesus, 400km? And looking at the dates, it was 400km in 5 days. Could I even do that? I don't think I'd done any serious exercise for about a year at this point. But with a good 8 months until the trip, it should give me enough time to get my arse into gear, right?
I thought about it for a few days, during which time I bought my new Specialized Ariel (disc brakes). My first spin was from Chiswick High Road down to the river, along to Richmond and back home to Strand on the Green. In the rain. And I started to get excited about a Kenyan adventure.
So I got in touch with the organisers to find out more. My first question, perhaps bizarrely, was 'How fast can lions run, and can I cycle faster than them?' But then as my friend Matt pointed out, I didn't need to outpace the lion, I just needed to cycle faster than a few other people...
Joking aside and with questions answered, I signed up and paid my deposit on March 19th 2012.
The adventure had begun.
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