Did I say it was windy yesterday ? I was wrong.

I made a pathetic plea for a show of support on Thursday. As I type on Saturday afternoon, I've had 12 responses which is 1 more than I expected. So, I'm happy.

Big thanks to those regular responders... Mark, JackH, nmcgann and Jacko. Hi to John Colv.

JackH has pointed out the lack of any serious hill work in my riding and he is quite right. I'm aware of this and it's making me nervous. I have been scanning the wall planner at work trying to see if I can get a week away between now and early July for a week of serious hill climbing. But I don't think I can do it. Too many commitments, things to do, weddings, gigs etc.

And yes, I think the climate is changing. I must take a photo of the banana plant which I've grown from seed in my garden.

Last night was a bit hectic. We went out for a pizza to belatedly celebrate my daughter's birthday, and then I got a text telling me we were supposed to be in Cowes so that my son could attend the end-of-season awards night for his football team. Off we dashed, arrived just in time, and he picked up a medal. I also picked up a small memento for my input as a coach. I managed to restrict myself to a half of lager. That's willpower.

I'm at the stage now where I have to plan my rides up to 10 days or so in advance. A week on Sunday is The Hampshire Hilly 100 (miles) so I need to taper for that. Ideally I would have gone for a big ride tomorrow, but the forecast is pants with a wet capital P, so I had to go today. I felt tired last night, so I passed on an early start and set off at 9-ish after endless mucking about getting my gear together. AND my iPod shuffle wouldn't work. I think it has died after being drenched twice this week. I thought these things were supposed to be bomb proof?

Anyway, off I went, and Boys Oh Boys, was it windy? Absolutely honking, from the south west. You know it's windy when the spume reaches the road at Compton Bay, and as I passed I got a big faceful of grit and salt. I struggled to steer at times. My mind was whirring as I tried to think of a route to protect me from the worst of it, but due to where I live I was only too aware that wherever I went, I was inevitably going to be heading back into the wind for at least the final hour or so. Over Brading and Mersley Downs it was horrendous. It was all I could do to reach 12 mph on the flat into the wind, and the gusts from the side as I descended had me all over the road. Good bike handling practice, though! Thanks to those car drivers who realised I was struggling and gave me a wide berth.

If it wasn't for L'Etape, I would have been out there kitesurfing today. I am 'enjoying' getting cycling fit, and some of my rides have been a real pleasure. But, faced with the prospect of 4 or more hours of pedalling hard-yacca (particularly in these conditions) versus 4 hours of kiting, the latter would win every time. Not today though.... I've got to be dedicated if I'm to have any chance of completing the course in July.

Something else.... after completing over 1000 miles on this bike, I got my first puncture today. Have I mentioned I've been carrying a spare inner tube, tyre levers and a carbon mini pump? Plus, a pair of plastic gloves so that my hands don't get covered in oil. Therefore I was able to change the inner tube, remove the bony spike which had caused the puncture (looked like an animal tooth) and pump up the rear tyre to a reasonable pressure and continue, as opposed to getting on the phone to the missus and begging to be rescued. Smug. (By the way, I've had gazillions of punctures on my mountain bike, usually from riding over gorse or from flint shards cutting through the tyre). My ebay bought Barbieri pump weighs in at only 60g and it really did the job. Good design.

One strange thing .... the tyre had an awful lot of water inside it, between the tyre casing and the inner tube. There must have been ingress during my rides in the wet, but surely that shouldn't be happening? Has anyone else encountered this? How can it get in with pressures of 120psi? I don't know. I suppose this means I've been carrying the weight of that water around with me, not to mention the extra rotatory inertia as I pedal. Not good.

So, I ended up doing almost 70 miles, and arrived home feeling really ker-knackered. Extremely. The wind made it so tough, but I take some strength from the fact that cycling into a 25-35 mph wind on the flat is equivalent to climbing a hill when it's calm. I hope I'm going to feel better than this during the real thing, because there's no way I could have done another 50 miles including two Cols on the basis today's performance. Worrying.

Tomorrow, it's Walk The Wight, an annual charity event where 5000 people walk the Island from Bembridge to Freshwater. It's about 26 miles, over the chalk downs, and given tomorrow's forecast for rain and wind, it will be a real hard test for most. Last year over £200K was raised. Good luck to everyone, and I hope the rain holds off. I won't be doing it. A bit of kitesurfing in the morning, then I'll be watching Wolves beat the West Brom.

The garden has been neglected this year because of all this cycling, so I need to get the mower out if it stays dry. I also need to check my bike over, clean it, and have a look in the tyres for more water!

Finally, thanks to mucker smooth-legs Jackson, who has sent me a new saddle (130 mm Toupe) and a pair of slightly smaller shoes. Cheers.