It took at least a week before the enormity of the event and the challenges it would bring really sunk in. In my naivety I assumed I would be able to do it, simply because that is my attitude towards everything in life. I knew it wouldn’t be easy and that I would clearly need to put in the training, especially after everyone so kindly reminded me of all the hills between Watchet and West Bay. I was therefore going to need to get myself a bike as soon as possible.

As I mentioned, the last bike I owned was bought by my parents when I was a child. It was a surprise present and as such I had never had the experience of being fitted for a bike. I must say the various and intuitive ways bike specialists and sales assistants deal with this task has been interesting.

Once measured I needed to decide what type of bike I was going to get, a road bike, a mountain bike, a hybrid. I am reliably informed that they all have different benefits. In the end, after visiting three different shops and sitting on at least four different bikes, I opted for a road bike.

Completely out of my depth I dragged my husband along with me to these appointments to give me some guidance. I was especially glad of his help when he pointed out that you have to select pedals as an optional extra when buying a bike. Who knew! Had I been there on my own I would have taken home a bike without pedals. That would definitely have added to the difficulty of the challenge. Surprisingly the options for pedals are just as vast as the bikes themselves. I opted for what I will refer to as ‘normal’ pedals. No special shoes needed. It sounds perfect. Now I just need to get out there and start training.