Resetting the Compass (Again)
It’s been a while. Not in a “busy week, missed a ride or two” kind of way — properly off the bike.
Almost two months, in fact.
It started with a lung infection that flattened me for three weeks. Not the dramatic, heroic kind — just the slow, grinding sort that drains you of energy and leaves you staring at the bike like it belongs to someone else. Just as that began to lift, I managed to pick up two separate stomach bugs, because apparently my immune system decided to take the term off as well.
The result? Since January, I’ve managed four rides. Four!
Not exactly the steady, disciplined build-up I had in mind for this year.
The Dalby Devil Question
Which brings me, somewhat uncomfortably, to the Dalby Devil.
Six weeks out, and if I’m being honest — properly honest — the idea of rolling up to the full distance feels… optimistic. Not impossible, but not sensible either. And at this stage, sensible probably needs to take priority over stubborn.
So I’m seriously considering the shorter route.
There’s a part of me that resists that — the usual internal voice that says, you signed up for this, just get on with it. But there’s another voice, quieter but probably wiser, that’s asking a more useful question: what actually moves things forward from here?
Because this isn’t just about one event. It’s about the bigger picture — getting fitter, staying healthy, and building towards something sustainable, not just surviving a single day out.
Time, or the Lack of It
As if illness wasn’t enough, real life has decided to join in.
We’re heading into GCSE season, which means I’ve got over 200 assessments waiting to be marked. Evenings are disappearing into piles of essays, weekends are starting to look suspiciously like extensions of the working week, and the neat little idea of structured training has taken a bit of a knock.
And just to round things off, my wife is away for ten days over the holiday, which leaves me firmly on childcare duty.
So the training plan — such as it is — has been simplified dramatically.
Back to Basics (and Indoors)
Tomorrow is the restart.
Not a grand return. Not a heroic session. Just the simple act of getting back on the bike and turning the pedals again.
Realistically, for the next couple of weeks, that’s going to mean ROUVY. Shorter sessions, fitted in where they can be, working around school, marking, and parenting. Not ideal, but far better than doing nothing.
There’s something oddly reassuring about that. Strip everything back, remove the noise, and what you’re left with is very simple:
Ride when you can.
Keep it consistent.
Don’t get ill again.
Everything else can wait.
Where I Am Now
Fitness has slipped. That’s unavoidable.
The lungs are better, but not quite right. Energy comes and goes. Weight has crept back up slightly, as it tends to when riding disappears and recovery becomes the priority.
But — and this matters — I’m not starting from zero. The base is still there, somewhere under the fatigue and frustration. It just needs uncovering again.
What This Phase Is Really About
This next block isn’t about peak performance. It’s about re-entry.
- Rebuilding routine
- Reintroducing effort
- Relearning what steady progress looks like
- And resisting the temptation to overdo it in week one
Because that’s the real danger now — not doing too little, but doing too much, too soon, and ending up back where I started.
Looking Ahead
So, six weeks to Dalby.
Maybe the shorter route. Probably the shorter route, if I’m honest.
But that doesn’t feel like failure. It feels like adjustment. Like choosing to stay in the game rather than forcing a performance that isn’t there yet.
The bigger goal — Kielder, later in the year — is still exactly where it was. If anything, this just reinforces what that will take: consistency, patience, and the ability to absorb setbacks without letting them derail the whole thing.
A Simple Plan
For now, the plan is deliberately uncomplicated:
- Ride tomorrow
- Keep sessions short and regular
- Use ROUVY as the backbone
- Build gradually, not dramatically
- Get through the next ten days without losing momentum
That’s it.
No grand statements. No heroic promises.
Just a quiet reset, and a steady return to doing the work.
Because in the end, this whole thing isn’t built on perfect weeks.
It’s built on coming back — again and again — until the gaps get shorter and the rides get longer.
And tomorrow, that starts again.
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