Having said last week, that I was going up North with “The Emma” this weekend, a slight confusion on “The Emma's” part (Saturdays party, turned out to be afternoon tea on Sunday) lead to a bit of a change of plan and I've been at home all weekend instead. I'm still not feeling particularly energetic or enthused, so I've spent most of the weekend pottering around and catching up on odd jobs, instead of partying the night away. With the weekend free, the thought of a cheeky overnight "Bivvy" on the bike did cross my mind. But when push came to shove, I just couldn't be bothered, and you know what, having spent the weekend taking it easy I feel considerably better for it. There's no doubt that sometimes a change is as good as a rest, and I often find that spending a few days pottering around, making stuff and generally being productive, is incredibly invigorating and goes a long way towards resetting my batteries. To that end, Saturday morning I crept out early, leaving “The Emma” in bed sleeping off a night shift and spent the morning walking around one of my local off road running routes. I've probably mentioned before that sometimes it makes a refreshing change to walk, and it's surprising what you see that you don't notice when your running. Back home in time for a late lunch, I spent the afternoon, cleaning and servicing more bikes than is strictly normal. My commuting bike tends to take a bit of a hammering, being used and abused in all weathers, and I've finally got round to building a new rear wheel and swapping them over (the free hub on the old one has been on it's last legs for the best part of 6 months and like most things is now a discontinued item, so it was easier to just build a new wheel with a new hub etc than mess around trying to find bits to keep it going). While I had the bike stand and tools out it made sense to give my Audax bike a bit of a clean after it's recent epic outing, and whilst I was at it, the touring bikes been sat looking sad and lonely since my 500K weekend at the end of July, so that's had a bit of TLC too! That's the problem with having multiple steeds (although I suspect that there's plenty of people with more toys than me), they all seem to get dirty together and I'm a firm believer in regular cleaning, maintenance, and lubrication. A clean and oily bike's a happy bike as far as I'm concerned! Sunday morning, I meandered up to the allotment with a flask of tea and packet of biscuits and had a lovely, productive morning, tidying up, pricking out Sweet William seeds and generally pottering around. The Sweet Williams will join the Hollyhocks and Foxgloves in the cold frame for another few weeks, before being planted out into the borders at home ready for some spring and early summer colour next year, joining the Wallflowers that have been sitting patiently on the allotment all summer. The bit of rain we had last week has worked wonders on the allotment too, with everything already looking greener and healthier than it has for a long time. No matter how much watering you do, it's never enough, but a good few hours of rain makes a massive difference. Another bucketful of Tomatoes, a few more Chillies and another Cucumber from the greenhouse and a couple of punnets of Blackberries to join the ones already in the freezer followed me home after my productive morning, and even if I do say so myself, the plots looking really good at the moment! The glut of greenhouse produce needs using whilst we've got it and too that end I made a large batch of Pizza / Pasta sauce last weekend, and this weekends haul turned into roast vegetable soup. Onions, Peppers, Courgettes, Garlic, Chillies and Tomatoes got roasted with a bit of Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar, before getting whizzed down with a bit of Vegetable stock. Delicious! Whilst the oven was on it seemed rude to waste all that heat, so a lemon drizzle cake found it's way in when the veg came out. Delicious too! And whilst that little lot was cooking, the Blackberries got added to the ones from the freezer and a couple of cooking apples to make a few jars of jam. Although I think it's actually a jelly as it's been sieved to remove all those pesky Blackberry pips which get stuck in your teeth. Whatever it is, I know that it's going to be delicious in my morning porridge! Bank Holiday Monday I actually dragged my lazy backside out for a few leg stretching miles on the bike. Nothing too serious, just a local 50 mile loop that takes you around the outside of Basingstoke, picking up a few of the outlaying villages on the way. But I must say that it was lovely to finally get back out again. The late summer sun worked it's magic and rapidly drove the chilly early morning away, and whilst the first signs of Autumn are definitely on their way, it was still more than warm enough. Back home in plenty of time for lunch I spent a few productive hours baking bread to join yesterdays soup for tea, whilst having a bit of a tidy up in the gardens and cutting back the overgrown Honeysuckle that adorns the back fence (wall). And that's it, another weekend gone in a flash. I must say though, that I feel a million times better than I did at the end of last week and I'm really looking forward to getting back to a bit of running and cycling again. It's quite amazing the restorative effects a productive weekend pottering around and making stuff can have.
Roll on next weekend, there's running to do!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
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