Cycling a long way hasn't just increased the size of my legs, it's increased the size of my....

...warmth for other cyclists.

What else did you think it was going to say?

Riding through town and back to work today I found was really flying, up in 22nd and 23 gear out of 24.

I even got into the aero-tuck along the Sankey way cycleway, until a school kid on a bike went "WAAH!" as I went past and nearly panicked me into falling off.

The long trek to Bristol appears to have paid off.

There's a night-time endurance ride starting on June that I quite fancy - 100 miles.

And my long ride also prompted lots of questions from friends and relatives - mainly didn't your bum hurt?

The answer is no.

Not even from spending a night with an unlocked hotel door in the Hereford, a town with a gene pool a toddler would struggle to splash in.

You just get used to it.

But the biggest spin off was my new found love for other cyclists.

All the way there I nodded and waved hello to other riders, a great comfort after a lonely few miles in the saddle in the middle of nowhere.

To a woman club rider out on the flats south of Shewsbury, a BMX kid near Hereford, and to another soaked to the gills cycle tourer on the steep hills of south wales.

You never get that with motorists, except for Citroen AX drivers, strangely.

They're are probably just excited to have hit 30mph. I know. My family used to have one.

Now I plan to do the same in Warrington.

Wave and nod to the passing cyclists, even the kids. Even in Orford.* I might even say hello to the grumpy postie.

Or I might just shout "WAAAH!"

* Especially for Naboo from the forum.