Guess what? You got it. It’s raining again! On top of the rubbish weather, I’ve been flat out with work recently, so in an effort to create a bit more time for “playing out”, which, at the end of the day is the only reason I go to work in the first place, I thought I’d try the old wheeze of turning the weekend around. A nice little trick in the summer is to leap on the bike straight from work on a Friday and bang out a few miles, before finding somewhere to pitch the Hammock for the night, followed by an early start the next day and be back home for lunchtime. Leaving the rest of the day for other stuff. With the weather still being a bit unpredictable for camping (if I could guarantee not to have to spend the night sleeping in a puddle I’d still be well up for it mind), I lined up a cheap Travelodge room in Warminster for Saturday night, leaving the morning clear for a bit of allotment time. A couple of hours on the allotment saw some good progress, with another few meters of winter digging done (the grounds still too wet for a fork, but the spade goes in OK and I think that breaking it up helps with the drainage and drying it out). A few more seeds planted, a bit of general pottering around in the greenhouse, all interspersed with plenty of diversionary chatting and standing around watching the birds fighting over the freshly dug worms, before nipping back home for lunch with “The Emma”, all adding up to a worthwhile use of a morning. By 13:00 I was fed, watered, changed, had a saddle bag packed with a change of clothes (and the ever present waterproofs) and I was on my way. It’s surprising how familiar I’ve become with a lot of the roads around home, and even further afield for that matter over the last few years. I suppose there are a limited number of roads that are good for cycling, so you tend to use the same or similar routes if your heading in a particular direction, but it’s not uncommon to suddenly think “oh I’ve been here before” when I’m miles away from home, and this weekend was no exception to that rule. The route down to Devises (60 miles) is one I’ve ridden on a regular basis. It’s an easy ride, following the route of the Kennet and Avon canal for much of the time, which, with the assistance of a tail wind made for some quick miles. A short pause for a brew and a biscuit sat in a little roadside bus shelter (you can’t say I don’t know how to live) broke the miles up nicely and offered the opportunity to sit and watch the world go by for a few minutes. Things got a little hillier after Devises, but still nothing too taxing, and I rolled into the Travelodge at Warminster, having popped into the supermarket on the way past for a pint of milk and some bread and cheese, just after it got dark, with 75 miles under my belt. Having pointed out to the nice lady in reception that “No I haven’t got a vehicle registration number or car parked in the car park”. You would think that having wheeled my bike into reception, being dressed in 50 layers of clothes, and wearing a cycling helmet might have been a bit of a giveaway. I settled down for a good stretch, a light supper of bread and cheese and an early night. Maybe not the most exciting of evenings, but still a whole lot better than sitting at home wishing your life away! Up early Sunday morning I was back on the road for just after 07:00 and heading for home. The route back was initially a lot hillier than the route out, with a fair bit of climbing as it dropped down towards Shaftsbury and then turned towards Salisbury. It’s a lovely part of the world though, with some idyllic views, plenty of beautiful little villages, some stunning churches and houses, and at that time on a Sunday morning traffic free, apart from the odd early riser, all of which more than makes up for having to work that bit harder.
A short stop for a brew and a hot cross bun, which in my opinion should be high on the list of ideal cycling treats, carbs, sugars, fruits, all rolled into one tasty little treat, lovely. Followed minutes later by another stop to fix a puncture, saw me rolling through Salisbury just as the 10:00 must get to the shop’s madness started. Not ideal timing, but it could have been worse I suppose (I could have been going shopping!). And that was about it, another brief stop for a sandwich later in the morning and a small diversion around a flooded road saw me back home with another 85 miles completed by 14:00, leaving plenty of time for bike cleaning, and a few other odd jobs, before settling down for tea and a well deserved glass of wine with the lovely, long suffering Emma. Not a particularly exciting weekend in the big scheme of things, but another 160 miles in the legs, every one of which will count towards “Summer smiles” when the days finally lengthen, and the weather warms up. In my opinion well worth the £45 the nice people at Travelodge charged me for a bed for the night!
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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
March 2024
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