Me cresting one of the final hills of the day

2nd month of training done and feeling much fitter than at the end of January.

I did 112 miles last month. I’m up slightly on that this month, February’s total is 132 miles. This takes me up to 244 miles for the year so far.

January – February Mileage

This mileage was helped by a visit from Chris and a 40 mile ride out to Strong Adolfos Cafe at Hawksfield, Wadebridge (for an amazing sandwich, coffee and cake) followed by a short ride the next day before church cut short due to hail.

Lunch at Wadebridge

The ride over to Wadebridge was lovely. The sun was shining, hills were rolling and I was keeping my energy levels up with regular eating (malt loaf). However, just before stopping for lunch we had to cross the camel valley. To cross we turned into the bridge and the side winds hit. As I dropped my chain, I had to stop. The wind was so powerful that Chris did not hear me when I called to him and I had to walk as I couldn’t get back on my bike without being blown over.

However by the end of February, getting on the bike was getting harder due to the weather. The freezing temperatures meant it was too much of a risk to be commuting and I had to use the indoor spin bike instead. As good as the spin bike is, I much prefer riding outside.

This month has also been a month of change with my stoma equipment. At the start of the month my supplier (SALTs Medilink) allowed me to use 2 piece bags alongside the 1 piece system I currently use. I also moved over to a new seal.

The 2 piece system allowed me to swap the bags without having to deattach and reattach to my skin. Perfect for running as I could use a smaller bag and on the bike I could turn the angle of the bag by 90° to create a more comfortable fit under my cycling shorts and jersey.

Although, the seals were not a success and leaks started to happen. This wasn’t a big deal at the start as it was only for a cm under the flange, but the leaks did cause soreness and irritation. Therefore, I have now gone back to Hollister as their seals were not leaking.

I look forward to a productive March as I build up to the 1st sportive of the year in mid-April. Hopefully it will get warmer and the roads will stay clear of snow.

In terms of sponsorship we are now at 15% of our target of £2000. If you haven’t yet donated, please head to http://www.justgiving.com/titanium-legs?utm_id=121 and read my story.