I'm so happy and you're so kind

Today's ride is dedicated to my old mate the Mad Scientist, whose birthday is next week. Happy Birthday. Everyone needs a mad scientist.

Like a present from Vladimir Putin, the wind blew in hard, fast and cold straight from the heart of Siberia. It was -2 degrees C, with a 20mph north-easterly, as if that matters. In my face. In the dark. At 6.45 in the morning. On a Saturday. Remind me again, why am I doing this? Oh, yes, pleasure. So that must make me a masochist, without the other bit, because I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

That's the funny thing about having cycling as an obsession, sorry, hobby. There is never an end to the possibilities for putting yourself in uncomfortable situations, and then dressing it up as self-improvement. Why do I do it? Because at the time it felt physically awful, yet now I look at it with a warm glow of satisfaction, and can't wait to do it again. Which is good because the plan is for an easy ride with Skip and the Captain tomorrow. Have to find a way to avoid that wind though. We'll have to find a way to get an impromptu ACG train going.

But as Bunny (who is married, aren't you Bunny?) is always reminding me, "some days make you faster, and some days make you stronger". Well it was one of the latter today. I was working,facilitating for a team that can only get everyone together on a Saturday, so what better excuse did I need. The wind reminded me of that day to Inverness, so there was nothing for it to do some hills. At least that way I could shelter in the lee of the hill on the way up, and get the benefit of the gradient on the way down.

The breeze was a blessing in disguise actually. It kept most of the frost away at least on the A38. And the A38 on a Saturday, at that time, is a great training road. The route was quite direct though so I was delighted to be going underground into the basement by 7.45, and eating a bacon sandwich by about 8.30. Which was nice.

When I wasn't doing my facilitating I spent a few moments pondering the merits of Consequentialism versus deontology versus virtue ethics. Pretentious moi? Of course, always have been always will be. Full of it. Actually my son was interested in the whole subject of whether lying is ever right, smart boy, because I have not figured it out, which leads me the virtue ethics camp I think.

I decided to be virtuous on the way home and do Dundry and Burrington. Except I mucked up my geography and arrived at the foot of West Harptree Hill by mistake. Not wanting to go along that road to Blagdon, there was nothing for it but to go up. Back in September I breezed up it, but today, man it was hard.

Tiring now, I popped a gel at the top and bombed across the top. Now there are still a few icy puddles up there, and coming down the gorge I decided to go easy. No virtue in sprinting down and breaking a bone, whatever my ethics. Lucky I did (except I don't believe in luck do I?) because the wind was blowing me all over the pace as the gorge winds in all directions and gets some strange eddies and flurries. Fortunate for the teenager who crossed the road in front of me too, I was able to miss him because I was going so slowly.

So I crawled back up the Axbridge bypass to home, satisfyingly almost completing a complete loop of around 45 miles for the day, just my road at the start and finish. Quite slow but I couldn't give monkeys. I did plenty of climbing and I'm still alive. And as that ride retreats into the memory, I'm enjoying it more and more.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/65664038