I researched the Great Divide Trail in detail. It is a challenging and exciting prospect.

Jamie said we would start on a section that would take 8 to 10 days.

I will need to carry a considerable load and cover up to 50 miles a day.

One of the websites advised older riders to consult their doctors or get a medical examination. So I arranged one.

A lot of the trail will be along unpaved forest roads and some of it along forest paths. That’s why mountain bikes are advised.

The going will sometimes be very difficult.

The training schedules from the British Heart Foundation include exercises like riding up the same hill six times for 5 minutes each time to build muscular strength.

Or interval training: you ride at maximum intensity for 90 seconds, then slow down for 90 seconds, then speed up again, alternating for 20 minutes or so.

Sometimes I just had to stop, leaning over the bars, gasping for air.

I began to be more aware of my body. I said that to Maureen. I started to read about how my muscles and lungs worked. Things like that.

Maureen said: “I think Jamie has given you an assignment. You will have to do it of course. I wonder what it’s all about.”