Well yesterday I was in a similar boat. I'd had my enjoyment of stage 3 of the Tour spoiled by inadvertently switching on the radio on the way home, thus hearing all about Tyler Farrar winning the sprint. Then on Tuesday it was squeaky voice himself, yep, Cadel Evans, winning the first one (Bunny was watching) in Mur de Bretagne. Or should that be on Mur de Bretagne? Unfortunately I checked Twitter and found out the result in advance.
I knew Cav was in with a chance to win yesterday, and I wanted to see it unfold without knowing the result. But I had the school play to negotiate, and the other Dad I choose to sit next to is also a cyclist. It made for an interesting conversation but all the time I was nervous in case he brought up the result of the Tour stage. In fact he's off to do the Etape this weekend up the Galibier and Alpe d'Huez, so avoiding the Tour in conversation was problematic. But I managed it, and I also managed to remember to leave the radio switched off in the car on the way home.
Once home I settled miniMR down in bed, plumped up the cushions in front of Eurosport, and got ready to watch the stage. My phone beeped, it was a text, it was Bunny, I saw the opening line.....just in time I remembered where he was. And where he'd been. I averted my case and watch the race as if live. And so it came to pass that I saw Cavendish win a difficult stage on a windswept Breton coast. And then give an awesomely frank press conference.
If more people were like him the world would be a much more honest place. There would probably be a few sensitive souls getting upset, and maybe more fights, but at least everyone would know where they stood. Or rode, or something.
Bunny had been just 200 metres from the finish line, wearing a union jack cycle top, jumping up and down and cheering him on. I bet the French loved him, let's face it, they do all they can to stop Cavendish winning, so anyone supporting him must be unpopular.
So, today, the last ride before a whole week off the bike as I get a chance to rest and recuperate down by the seaside. I'm not even that fussed about the weather, as long as it's not cold, we can go on the beach, even if it's raining. This morning it wasn't raining, but it was wet, and a bit cold too. Puddles all over the roads, one of which I cycled through and discovered had a deep pot hole within it. It's my first puncture on my way to work for ages, and I thought that the super skinny tyres would be hard to change, but they were OK, and 15 minutes later I was back on the go.
With a lovely tailwind to spur me on I was into work in a pretty quick time. Even better the wind had dropped by the time I came to go home, so I wasn't too slow in the reverse direction. The torrential rain didn't help, especially as it slowed the city traffic to a crawl, and I really didn't want another puncture in that weather. So I was cautious and avoided a lot of puddles and cracks in the road, as well as going a bit more slowly on the downs.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97676212
I'm quite pleased with how I felt riding home. Although not busting a gut, and it was Thursday rather than Friday, I felt reasonably strong. I have eased up a bit in the last few weeks, and one or two things have sorted themselves out in other parts of the Mendip world. But I think I've managed to recapture a bit of the joy I had lost a couple of months back. The rejuvenation started on the Somerset 100, continued on the Dartmoor classic and reached a peak last weekend up Gold Hill.
I'm also entered for the Great Weston Ride on the Sunday after next, if you are local, come and joins us, and let's get a train of happiness going all the way to the wonderful world of Weston super Mare!
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