Some days are better than others

Some days are dry, some days are leaky
Some days come clean, other days are sneaky
Some days take less, but most days take more
Some slip through your fingers and onto the floor
Some days you're quick, but most days you're speedy
Some days you use more force than is necessary
Some days just drop in on us
Some days are better than others

Not my lyrics obviously, see if you can work out where they are from? The rest of the song is pretty good, and if you are feeling very tech-savvy, go on youtube and have a listen. It's from a period most commentators rate as a bit fallow, but I think it's subversively brilliant.

The point of this? Oh just to say that today was so much better than Friday, in all senses of the word. What a whingefest I had on these pages, I apologise unreservedly for behaving in such a fashion.

It's amazing what a couple of good night's sleep can do for you, but I was still feeling a bit tired this morning as I bounced out of bed, bright and breezy at 7AM, all ready for a long, hilly day in the saddle. Skip had sent me a couple of e-mails last night, hinting that I may have overdone it a bit recently, and that my taper should start today. I could see the sense in what she was saying, so after a flurry of texts, I agreed to meet her in Axbridge at 9AM.

That gave me just enough time to do a quick loop up through Shipham from Winscombe, and then down the other side. After a couple of minor adjustments, the Red Madonne was all ready to hit, or should that be click, the road. It was a delight to cycle this dream of a bike. If K-1 is a sports car, the Madonne is a Ferrari. A few things are different. The brakes for one (new bike brake syndrome, first pull on them and nearly find you have left the bike 10 yards behind you) the lack of cables at the front gives a different perspective, the frame is a compact one, with sloping top tube, which I think feels easier when climbing, the overall set-up is slightly more relaxed, but that enables me to get on the drops more (perversely!) and then there is the saddle.

There was an advert years ago when a child got given a bike for his birthday and the Dad makes a remark about the raciness of the saddle. Well, my new one is rather hard on the "in-between" area. So after over four hours on that new saddle I feel a bit like Marsellus Wallace.

Anyway, I met Skip down in the Square, and she indulgently allowed me to plot a course over to Glastonbury that enjoyed a couple of hills. Once down on the levels we took turns along the long straight roads, and zipped into the heart of the town at a cracking pace. Actually she was more than just great on the bike today, managed to totally de-stress me with a mixture of perspective, humour and charm, which majorly contributed to a lift in my mood. Not only that, but even when in charge of route-plotting on the way back, she found a couple of hills just for me. So, thank you.

We parted in Cheddar, me heading up the gorge on my own. Apart from around 10,000 holidaymakers underestimating the speed of a Red Madonne. But I was good, I used the word "Look" to prevent any nasty accidents and didn't swear at anyone.

I climbed all the way to Charterhouse before peeling off and up to the twin Masts at the highest navigable bit of tarmac on Mendip and then really testing the bike down Burrington Coombe. It's fast, into a headwind Cateye measured 43.9 mph. Just think what it could do on a steep and straight hill.

There was just time to dip down to Butcombe (nothing to do with the saddle) then up to Redhill and down Long Lane to Wrington. I was shattered by now, so came home, a round trip of around 65 miles with about 3500 feet of climbing. As Skip said "you are as ready as you will ever be". I'm just going to do some easy riding for the next couple of weeks and do my best to take things easy and STAY CALM! I won't cut out hills completely, but I'll do just one or maybe two per trip. I've just got to remember that over training is caused by too high a load of stress overall, not just the riding bit.

One last bit of kit news is the "compression tights", they are just very tight lycra leggings and they seem to be working. A full set of stretches combined with these has produced no cramp today, for a change.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/45663082