Yesterday was a rest day which I finally felt, having had a successful event, that I had earned.  Not that I really felt like I needed it.  Which’ll larn me.  I really should remember that these days it’s day 2 post-event that makes me feel like I’ve been hit over the head with a blunt instrument.  However yesterday I felt fine, although I did discover that if I prodded my thighs my muscles were pretty painful.  Simple – don’t prod your thighs ;).

So, as I was feeling ok, it was time to go ride the bike again, a ride that I’d arranged last week with Mim.  Details were finalised by txt as usual, and I picked her up at her place at 9:10ish.  The plan was to spin our legs for a couple of hours, nowt more, since we both have events on later in the week.  It was warmish and dry, but as windy as ever, and as we headed out into it, it was definitely making life harder, which was a tad concerning considering our goal to take it easy…

First off – out to Wedmore.  I must have ridden that stretch of road literally hundreds of times now.  Every time I ride down, or up, it, I find myself trying to work out precisely how many times, as such mental meanderings get you at least half way to where you were going.  I can point out all the potholes & obstacles, have my “racing” line down pat *yawn*.  However this is probably a good thing when you’re really just out for a spin and a chat and not to concentrate too much.  There are worse roads to ride down.  Like the A38 for example.

By the time we got to Wedmore, my knee, neither strapped up nor drugged, was quite keen to remind me that at least one of those things would have been a good idea considering that it had not really been rested since Sunday.  As usual though I was travelling equipped, and popped a pink pill as we headed out of Wedmore towards Blackford and Mark, which did the trick soon enough.  I hit Somerset 100 deja-vu as we turned left to go through Bason Bridge and up the climb through Woolavington which I didn’t even try to do well up.  I just engaged pootle mode and got to the top.

We wiggled along the pretty roads to Shapwick, and then straight back through Wedmore on that same road and out to home.  Which did involve going up Mudgelely Hill.  Another hill I have no doubt done better in my time, by which I guess I mean faster.  However I started at the bottom, and I got to the top, and that’s the point right?  Yes it was harder work than sometimes, but it wasn’t too bad…  Besides which detouring around it would have made our ride take even longer, so it was just the easiest thing to do.

We may have been re-tracing our pedal strokes from thereonin, but with the wind behind us my favourite road was even more blissful than usual, even without racing down it :).

Cycling time: 2:19:33 hrs
Distance: 35.96 miles
Avs: 15.4 mph
ODO: 9090

Considering that I really wasn’t trying hard, quite deliberately, even going so far as to ease off the (metaphorical) gas if I felt like I was pushing it at all, it turns out that we were going fairly fast.  Interesting…

However pretty much ever since I walked back through my front door I’ve been a complete waste of space.  I’m knackered!  Practically asleep on my feet, and that’s even after a little while spent being asleep on my sofa! *grin*.  On the upside my cat likes me more since she can clearly sense that whenever I sit down I’m liable to be there for a while, so she can sit on me :).

I’m thinking I need to make a conscious effort to take it a little easy between now and Sunday, which as some of you know, is not something that’s going to be easy…