February is a blue eyed monster...

I haven't posted in the last few weeks. It is no coincidence that these few weeks happen to all have something to do with February.

I hate February. All of it makes me lethargic, lazy. It is a relatively useless month that seems to exist as a buffer between January and the onset of spring. Imagine going straight from one to the next. Bliss. Valentines Day adds present purchasing pressure for the attached and solitary sulking for the single. The only redeeming feature is Pancake Day. And I have pancakes on other days so it's not that special anymore.

For cycling, February has its perils too. The cold, wind, and snow are stacked against you. Especially if you're still working off some holiday podge. As I commute on the bike, I tend to get to and from work slower, more ruddy-nosed, and with an unstoppable torrent of snot slicking the front of my jacket. Not to mention suffering from finger-devouring frostbite. I'm not kidding. I've lost so many I'm now in finger deficit.

Like I said, hate February.

Right now the idea of Land's End seems quite remote. The route planning has ground to a halt. I tell myself it is because Aimee needs to be in on it too and we're rarely together. But my planning method welcomes mistakes. I don't have much of an excuse. (Check out earlier posts for the laminated map method!)

Any further training is tough to work up to. I have a week off and a perfect opportunity for some long rides. But like a fool, I keep checking the Met Office website and convincing myself that such-a-day would be too cold, too wet etc etc.

Excuses excuses. Lethargic and lazy.

I learned something about myself on the Coast to Coast last year though. If it's hard, I can power through. The rewards are beautifully worth it. So despite the blue eyed monster named February dangling from my shoulders, I'll set off for a thirty mile jaunt around the hills this week. I may lose all my limbs to frostbite, and slick the asphalt with my nasal fluids, but this month is hard for me. So I'll power through.

By the time I get to John O' Groats, the results might just be worth it.