Sunday Driver

Here is a song what I wrote:

"The hills are alive with the sounds of cyclists
With slopes they have climbed for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the swiftest gear change
My bike wants to stop as my eyes fill with tears"

I think you get the idea. Music never was my strong point, but for some strange reason Julie Andrews had invaded my head today, as I seemed to spend a lot of time going uphill. So I adapted the lyrics a bit, let me know if you want to hear the rest.

The plan. Yes, the plan. Today was supposed to be about Endurance. I planned to cycle in a big loop down to the Quantocks (missus) and come back via Bridgwater and Mark. A few lumpy bits with about 2.5K feet of climbing, and 80 miles of riding. Get up early, (you can already see the flaw, can't you?), leave at 7AM, be back by early afternoon.

For reasons I won't go into, the windows in our bedroom were open last night, and around 3AM I was briefly stirred from my slumbers by the noise of torrential rain. I was soon asleep again but it obviously disturbed my psyche, because when the alarm woke me at around 6AM, I was convinced it was a cold, wet and damp day outside. It was a bit cloudy, and the ground was damp, but I think it was the lure of more sleep that made me hit the snooze button.

By the time i was awake it was 8AM, by the time I was fed it was 8.30AM, and by the time I was dressed in my kit it was about 9.15AM. The plan would need to change, and I reasoned that I would be doing a long ride next Sunday when I'm off to the Cotswolds for an "Evans Ride-it" event. I can do long distance, I don't need to spend hours cycling around the levels, in a stiff westerly breeze on my own, just to get to some hills I've not cycled up before.

So I decided to cycle to Wells, and then do as many ascents and descents of the Mendips as I could in the time left to me. Which was about 3 hours by now. It would also have the benefit of being able to cycle with a tailwind on the flat, and get some climbing practice, for the Pyrenees are only 5 weeks away. Skip is en vaccances en France as I type, and set me a text to say how great the cycling is over there. For sure. Mixing my idiomatic use of English a bit, but it's all continental isn't it?

Not so in Angleterre. What is it about Sundays in England? Especially after about 11AM. It's as if everyone rushes out to do stuff they have been avoiding all weekend, and are impatient to get it done. Too many cars today seemed intent on passing me in dangerous places at dangerous speeds at dangerous distances. In the end i resorted to cycling in the middle of the lane when I was descending. What they don't seem to realise is that I'm doing 35-40mph, and if they pass me with their trailer full of rubbish they create a back draft that sends me all over the place.

The other thing that got my goat today was the "it's a cyclist I can see in the mirror so I can pull out with impunity". No. You. Can't. I'm doing 15-20mph on the flat and I'll make a mess of your front wing.

So please, just wait, be patient and wait till it's safe. Rant over.

There were lots of nice things today though. Before the mid-morning rush, it was really very quiet and the lanes were not too hot. The weather brightened up, but not too much, and if you discounted the wind, or got it behind you, it was perfect cycling weather. I bombed over to Wells, and then cycled up through the Horringtons, then wiggled across to the TV mast on top of the hill over Wells. You can even cycle right up to its base via a tarmac path (17% though, so be brave!), which I did because you can. A buzzard swooped down over me as I was going up the hill, and I could feel the draft from its wings.

The descent down the main road to Wells was a blast, and even the climb back up the Old Bristol Road, didn't seem to bad today, a lot better than last time I did it. As I was climbing, a white butterfly flew through the spokes of my front wheel and out the other side. How did it do that?

Once at the top of the hill I followed the undulating road over to the top of Burrington Coombe and hit 43.5mph on the descent. From there it was across to Churchill, back up to Shipham via Rowberrow (where do you live RPM? I keep wondering every time I go up that road), before whizzing down Shipham hill and home again.

Just over 44 miles, but with much more climbing than I would have done had i stuck to the original plan. It was dry too and I'm re-energised by the whole ride, and looking forward to a treat-commuting by bike on a Monday. My new bike is coming soon too, but the way I was riding today I don't know if it will make me any faster, and I'm starting to really love cycling up hills. Is it a disease?

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42675534