New friends

 Well it was back to the bike full on this week, I totalled 170 miles and met some great people along the way. With Paris getting ever closer, three weeks away, preparations have really hotted up.
 The week started with a 50 mile ride on Tuesday, it was a day with lots planned so an early start was the order of the day and with he alarm raising me from my pit at 5.30am I did question my sanity on my day off. Getting out by seven it was great to hit the roads with little traffic, the rush hour was all heading in the other direction, I felt good and was soon eating up the miles. It was my normal route out towards Southend, Wakering and Wallasea Island, a path that has become well worn over the last few months and one that only held the challenge of time and how quick I could master it. Well I impressed myself arriving home at an average speed of 16 mph and in time for a slightly late breakfast at 10.20. Later in the week my shift patterns at work allowed me to cycle home on Thursday and back on Friday, this was a very useful additional 56 miles to my weekly total. It still amazes me the difference in car drivers attitudes when your on the road in the evening rush hour, these people must lead very stressful lives to hurl that kind of abuse at cyclists.
 During the week there had been a lot of activity on the London Paris facebook page and with ride packs due out and new contacts made I was getting more excited or maybe nervous about the impending challenge. Having done all my training alone I was keen to get together with some other riders to experience a bit of group riding, so I was delighted to make contact with a group of guys also doing the London Paris ride. We arranged to meet at the "Tour De Tendring" on Sunday, a 60 mile sportive from Harwich to Clacton and back. Before that we were all waiting with baited breath for the rider packs to arrive as promised from LLR, true to their word we all had them before Sunday and so would be sporting the full kit for Paris, at least we would look the part if nothing else.
 So Sunday came and I waited at Harwich for my new companions to arrive, Lee and James dully obliged but we were two men down. Keiran had not risen from his bed and Georgie was catching us up later. There were many riders and we set off with the pack, soon to be joined by Georgie and later on Keiran. I had a great day sharing stories and learning loads about group riding, thank you Georgie. Best of all I felt I had gained new friends, how four strangers all be it with a shared goal can make you feel so welcome and belong within the group from the first minute amazed me. By the time we had finished the ride I felt I had known the guys for far more than four hours and look forward to meeting up again on the 6th June, what amazed my most was the pace of the ride as we all did our fastest ride and I finished the 60 miles at over 17 mph.
 With new experiences and new friends I feel far more confident now than I did a week ago, with only 17 days left and the fund raising going well I am starting to look forward with excitement rather than fear, all that remains are the final preparations and a few more miles. "Roll on Paris".