OK, now I'm officially a blogger and a new cyclist.

I think that means I'm the most 'faddy' I've ever been. I'll be watching X-Factor and tweeting my every thought next...

I've been cycling for two months now and, as many before me, have been completely bitten by the bug. I've followed pro cycling for a long while, although mainly limited to watching the Grand Tours and reading the odd biography of some hero of a bygone age, but have always resisted actually participating in the sport.

The reason for my reluctance to join the lycra-clad hordes until now is a simple one - I know that I cannot simply enjoy it. I'm quite aware that I'm unable to do any sport 'recreationally' and for fun. I have to immerse myself in it completely: measure my performance, read every bit of information and opinion on the subject, and perhaps most significantly, spend a lot of money on it. And cycling is a sport that you can spend a lot of money on. I don't particularly believe that the best and most expensive kit will make me better per se, but I find some kind of beauty in the precision and the technology of high-end kit, and it's that that creates the want.

So now here I am, I own my first road-bike and have found that I have taken to the sport to such an extent that every morning I look longingly at my bike and try to work out when I can next ride it. But already fun rides aren't enough. I need to test myself.

And that is why I will hopefully be attempting the Etape du Tour in 2013.

Which brings me to the purpose of this blog. Firstly, I'm hoping that logging all my training (or lack of it) will be a motivation to keep going. It's easy to lie to yourself that you're doing enough when it isn't written down to be analysed. My other reason for creating a blog, rather than just keeping spreadsheets full of stats is that this will be a mental as well as physical challenge (please be aware this will be the first cliche of many). I'm very aware that I have an acute fear of failure, often to the point where I won't even attempt some things because I have already convinced myself that I cannot succeed. If that happens at the foot of a 1500m climb, then I have no chance. Therefore this blog is my reference that I (hopefully) have done the work and have prepared correctly, and is a place where I can articulate my fears so that I can manage them and learn to overcome them.