A Bit of Background

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

OK, not quite that much background.  It all started in the Plockton Hotel, in May 2007.  Helen, emboldened by half a pint of Lancaster Bomber, wouldn't let drop Stuart's comment that he "bet she couldn't complete the Munros by the time she reached a certain, significant birthday".  At the time, that meant 250 mountains in 2.5 years.  The bet would be settled by by a "slap up meal in the Plockton Hotel, and us much ale as she could drink".  Frankly, the second part of that was never going to cost very much.

Now fast-forward 2.5 years of frantic Munro bagging.  Numerous pairs of boots had been bought and trashed, the car had put on many thousands of miles, but the challenge had been met.  Amazingly, for those who have ever played board games with Helen, she didn't cheat once.  It was agreed that the bet would be settled in Chester for various reasons, especially Dave and Nic's burgeoning bump, so off we trooped.

(Hang in there, I will get to the point eventually...)

After having enjoyed a splendid meal (and Helen had made the most of "all the ale she could drink" - pathetic), conversation (not involving Stuart) turned to the fact that it was now Stuart's turn to face a challenge. Cycling is much more his bag than walking, and so I suggested a cycling challenge in the Lakes.

By the next day, preliminary Googling was complete, and the basic stats (112 miles, 3000m ascent) were burned into my psyche.  We all trooped off to dinner chez Bernard (a splendid effort at almost no notice) and I popped the question to Stuart.  To "sweeten" the pill, I offered to join him in the endeavour.  After minimal cajoling, Stuart accepted - I think secretly he wanted a focus for some training, as did I.

So here we are, both training like mad towards a deadline in September.  Stuart's in Chester, and is being coached by the ever-helpful Dave, who recommended that he start his training by going back several months in a time machine to build a base level of fitness.  Oops!  No such professional help for me, just getting in the miles, and enjoying the opportunity to tart up my slightly tired (or tyred?) steed.