I do wish it would warm up out there. I mean I know it’s warmer than it was, but it’s still not warm enough. I’d have been wearing my legwarmers today if it wasn’t for the fact that someone had put them in the washing machine this morning when they weren’t supposed to… As my longs are geknackert, I had to hope that shorts and a couple of top layers plus gilet were going to be enough and, though it was a close thing, it just about worked. I left the route to George since I knew she wanted to do hills, and the only way for her to get what she wanted was for her to plan it that way. Apparently this meant Westbury and East Harptree. Well, that’ll teach me to let someone else take charge right? 😉 I have to admit to my heart sinking when she told me though… Well I wasn’t really feeling in the mood for hills, as however good I’ve been on the eating front, for some reason I was in some pain this morning and had had to resort to paracetamol for the first time in ages, which meant I was definitely a tad grumpy.
Still, riding the bike is frequently medicinal, and I’m perfectly capable of going up hills these days right? So I buttoned it. I did not protest too much, and I prepared myself to follow along in George’s wake. We set off in the nippier than it ought to be air, around Nyland, and then some gratuitous wiggling to take us to ascend Westbury Hill, because apparently today’s ride was about taking the scenic route… It’s a long slog of a hill, but we still managed to chat most of the way up, so it can’t have been that bad, right? I wonder if the shoes do make a difference, or whether I just think they do? I’m not sure the placebo effect applies to footwear *grin*. Actually, bearing in mind how much I love shoes, do my many and various pairs of killer heels make me look better or just feel better, and does it matter which? Discuss…
This picture did the rounds a while ago…maybe I could combine two of my passions and have these? 🙂
Enough with the shoe fetish stuff (wonder how many hits I’ll get now I typed that in? ;)). Once we’d slogged our way up to the top, we discovered that that’s where the wind was (surprise, surprise), in more than ample very chilly quantities. It’s May, right? Well it felt a lot like October to me… It was a relief, and a pleasure, to take the long descent off the Mendips to Chewton Mendip. I do love descending :). Echoes of the Mario Cipollini Gran Fondo, as we went past Lynda’s loaf and the curb stone with his name on it ;). I really must pop in there properly some time and try some of their gluten free (hopefully safe) stuff.
Look, a new sign for you! Well, I was running short of things to take photos of…which is presumably why I’ve victimised George again 🙂
The stretch along to East Harptree was much more pleasant, and fairly fast, which mean that all too soon we were turning left to go uphill again. A scenic hill presumably. I quite like this climb, in an odd way. It seems nicer than the other climbs up along here – it’s mostly less wiggly, longer, much quieter from a traffic perpsective. George told me she’d meet me at the top, which met with my usual snort of derision…but actually, just for once, that’s how it actually worked out! My getting on with it turned out to be faster than her getting on with it, and I waited for her at the end of the road.
It was quite tempting to take refuge inside though…but the sign wouldn’t point me in that direction 😉
It’s a sign that’s clearly seen better days… We came home via Charterhouse and Tynings Farm, and my favourite descent… Where I ended up having far more fun than I ought to have. Three quarters of the way down the hill the quarry lorry that was ahead of me ended up not far enough ahead of me at all, and meant me having to slow down and follow it. Way to ruin a perfect down :(. So when we got around the corner to the straight bit and there was nothing coming the other way?… I put my foot down, pushed through my new shoes, and overtook him with, if I say so myself, quite some style *grin*. What a buzz! As I flew past and pulled back on to the right side of the road in front of him, he tooted at me in appreciative fashion, and when he finally caught me after I’d kicked away from the junction and was on my down the bypass he did the same again. And it was definitely a friendly toot not an angry blast. I had a massive smile on my face as I cruised into town :D.
Cycling time: 2:28:04 hrs
Distance: 35.48 miles
Avs: 14.4 mph.
ODO: 13758 miles
I’m doing the Black Rat on Sunday, and the plan was to do the 100km route, not the 100 mile. Now that I’ve done hills today, I may well stick to that…but I guess we’ll see. I really should as it was supposed to be a rest weekend! It’ll depend on the weather on the day and how I’m feeling when I get to the top of Burrington Combe, having already climbed that and Failand Hill and Goblin Combe. I don’t have to do 100 miles every weekend you know ;).