Let it go

Parky. What a great word. Only the English language could have such a great expression to describe temperature. It's said that the Inuit have 50 words to describe snow, whereas we must have thousands to describe the weather. If you are one of my readers in, what we now describe as, most of the world, this may all be lost on you. We also find it remarkable to be having a mini heatwave in the middle of April. Temperatures are not tropical, but they are high, up into the 20s Centigrade.

But not at 6.30AM this morning, just after sunrise it was a bit nippy, misty, cool, requiring a lightweight jacket, but not cold enough for leg warmers or long fingered gloves. But beautiful too, the sun was a sight to behold as it rose above the mist and the hills, and as I cycled up Long Lane out of Wrington I was struck by how lovely the landscape round here is. If you are in most of the world you should come and have a holiday in North Somerset. Hire a bike from the Leadman at Cheddar cycle store.

Where the Red madone is going first thing on Saturday. When I was a kid I had a reputation for trying to fix things that were slightly broken and making them considerably worse. Well my chain was rubbing against my front cage and you can guess the rest. So I was back on K1 today which made a pleasant change.

I also decided to do the full Dundry Hill, and even went exploring along Whitchurch Lane. Big mistake. I have never seen a country road with so much glass on it. All along the strip down the middle, it's a single track road, and in patches at the sides. Such a shame because the views from up there are marvellous, but I'll never ride up there again, pleased to get away with it today. It's also a rat run, which was very nervy on the 18% descent, with a blind bend and a car coming up fast towards me.

On the ride home, where it was distinctly hot, the hottest ride of the year by far, I decided to take a wrong turn, and head out across Kenn Moor for some time trial practice. The sharp-eyed will see that the mileage is a tantalising 49.9. I knew this was going to happen because I know how far from home I am at certain points on the route. That I chose to do nothing about it is a sign of progress. All I have to do now is have a really enjoyable ride in the Cotswold Spring Classic. It's a bad sign that I'm thinking about all the classifications for Monday, I need Skip to keep me in check, and help me to take this enjoying business seriously.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/372838