Is it important that I’ve done far less mileage this year than this time last year? Probably not.
Is it important that I do some more miles to get ready for all the sportive ahead of me? Definitely so.

And with the slight disaster that was last Sunday’s Endura Lionheart, and with a day off and a forecast that didn’t involve snow, today seemed like a good day to start trying to even the score a little.  I wasn’t the only one thinking this back then, and a plan was made that involved three, was open to more…but sadly due to pesky last minute work commitments ended up being just the Pixie and Me.  It’s like the Scarecrow and Mrs King, only less retro.

The Pixie, aka Mark, arrived from further afield in time to faff in the sunshine. See look, no snow! There was some, oddly, along some of the roads around Wedmore and Edington though…so it must have snowed, or at least hailed heavily, at some point recently around here? How did I miss that?

Martyn had planned us a route, that he was then unable to join us to ride. C’est la vie! We didn’t 100% stick to it, since the last diversion to ascend Bleadon Hill proper seemed unnecessary, but we did mostly what we were told, using the breadcrumb facility in the Garmin for a change – ooh, the novelty. Maybe I should do that more often and try exploring some new routes?

We rode. The skies went grey, what a surprise ;). We did some hills, slowly. Again, no surprise. Mudgeley, Shapwick, High Ham…up and over. We did the unremitting unrelentless grey Levels which were at least, unsurprisingly, flat. We opted for just the one stop, rather than the possible two, as the first stop in Langport just seemed too soon, though we had an comfort stop at some point for the obvious reasons, for food, for drink, for the view. Admire the thoroughbred and the workhorse, side by side…

The main advantage to riding with a stranger to the area is that they don’t know where they’re going so can’t go hurtling off and drop you. Which he so could normally, even if he wouldn’t. The downside is that you have to lead the way, so end up going faster than you might do otherwise rather than show signs of weakness and also bore your company. Good for training, but quite tiring in the long run…I’m knackered now!

The coffee stop came a little late in the day for me, to be honest. I was gasping for coffee and a rest a good five miles before Burnham on Sea hove into murky view. We parked up, and then Mark re-parked us – happier to have the bikes in view. I just sat and ate gluten free chocolate cake and let him *grin*.  Incidentally, the cafe on the promenade there, which may or may not be the Bay View, now has a beans to coffee machine and does a very nice americano. We were chatting so much that I had to have two. Any excuse, right? :).  Just as well, since I’m not sure I’d have gotten home otherwise! Oddly the cake may have been nice (it was) but it was sadly lacking from a fuel point of view. Mark, on the other hand, ate chips – well he’s on holiday, and had expressed an urge to eat chips by the seaside, and we’re a very obliging bunch over here in Somerset ;).

It’s a good thing we were only the odd 16 miles or so from home. I’m not ashamed to admit I was tired.  I went right off hills, not that it stopped me having to go over them, though I got happier the closer I got to home and the blessed end. My legs felt ok, it’s just that for whatever, probably many and various, reasons, there’s just not as much in the tank at the moment as there has been known to be. Will that improve as the season goes on? Who knows….I guess we’ll see? *fingers crossed*

So now I’m happy, but tired, though in kind of a good way.  It was nice to get a ride in that was that bit longer. It made up for Sunday, at least partly. There are now more miles in my legs, hopefully meaning there will be even more miles in my legs to come. And it was about time that Pixie and I finally went for a ride…last time we planned such a thing we brought on a biblical flood!

Cycling time: 3:58:23 hrs
Distance: 63.7 miles
Avs: 16.0 mph.
ODO: 16271.69 miles