Good news cheapskate, bodging fans, I've fixed the little Peugot (again)(I hope). After it's recent MOT failure for a lack of ABS light, I've done bit more investigating and a bit more learning and narrowed down the source of our problem to the ABS pump. Brilliant, I hear you say, well done and all that, diagnosis is half the battle. Well, that's not quite the case, because a wheel sensor's £10 (which would have been my first guess) and an ABS pump module is closer to £500! and there's no way I'm spending £500 on a car that's only worth that to start with. Luckily, with a bit of digging through the bodgers favourite website (E Bay), I managed to find one with identical part numbers from a car breakers, for the princely sum of £30 delivered right to my door. Now, there's lot's of tales of doom on the internet, and plenty of naysayers, who will tell you that if it's not an identical part, or if it's from a 5 door and not a 3 door, or if the moons in the wrong place, it won't work, or it will be impossible to fit and subsequently you can't bleed the air out of it and all that jazz. But at £30 it's got to be worth a punt, and at the end of the day, what's the worst that's going to happen? It's broken now, so it's unlikely to get any more broken! Anyhow, it turned up courtesy of the postman, just as a got in on Friday afternoon. So, with a couple of hours daylight remaining, I donned by Thermals, Overalls, Bobble hat, and anything else that I could find to brave the arctic gale that seemed to be whistling around the house and set too. Helpfully, the Haynes book of how not to fix your car, says that the ABS module is a dealer only replacement, so that wasn't much help. But, with a careful bit of fiddling and a big bit of bar to undo some of the unions, it was out within about 30 minutes, and in less time than it takes to have a brew, the new one was in. Granted, I'd had to take the headlight out to do it, but that's just par for the course on most jobs. The big problem with these modules seems to be bleeding the air out of them, so with an unusual bit of pre planning on my part, I'd already got as much new brake fluid in it as I could before installing it and cracked off all the pipes to ensure that there was no air in there before plugging it in. And what do you know, plug it in, turn the ignition on and hey presto, the ABS light comes on, runs through it's test cycle and goes back out again, just like it should! Another half hour, dodging the rain showers whilst I fully bled it and put the front end back together again and job done. I've run it round the block for half an hour and run it through the start cycle a few times and all seems to be good. So fingers crossed that's that job sorted and all for the princely sum of £30 and half a litre of brake fluid. "The Emma's" going to whip it back up to the garage on Monday morning so they can redo the MOT and hopefully by Monday afternoon I'll have a nice new, shiny MOT certificate, in my dirty, grease stained fingers! I'm sure that you'll agree that's a bit better than the £500 for a new one, plus diagnosis, plus fitting etc, that it would have cost from the garage. Not only that but this time I know it's actually fixed and not just hidden from view. It does make me wonder if the last person got stung for the full repair cost whilst the cheeky monkeys just covered up the light and pocketed the cash though? You've got to be careful out there people, there's some unscrupulous people around and if your not careful they will have your pants down quicker than you can say "can you fix this for me"! Just in case you haven't already figured it out from the fact I'm wittering on about fixing cars, I've not actually got much to talk about this weekend. That's mainly because, unusually, I've been at home all weekend. I've been away for the last 3 weekends Audaxing and running and contrary to popular belief (and what I try to tell myself) occasionally, even I need a bit of a rest. I'm back on the bike next week and running the one after and then it's Christmas. I need to catch up on all the little jobs that need doing around the place too, more of which later, and pretend that I've actually got a life other than playing out, oh and a wife that I'm supposed to spend some time with. So, a weekend at home it's had to be. Not that I'm missing much, as I'm sat here now (Saturday 07:00) failing miserably to find the enthusiasm to go out for a run as it's sleeting outside! But, whilst I am wittering on about nothing in particular, how about these pictures from earlier in the week. Having dragged my sorry backside out of bed, well before 05:00 the other morning and ventured out into the cold, to run the 10 miles back to work (and I can assure you that the run in to work is worse than the run home. Not only have you got a full day to look forward to and an early start, but getting your legs moving at silly O'Clock's never much fun). I was lucky enough to be treated to the delights of running towards the rising sun, on what was a cold and frosty morning. With nothing but a head torch to light the way, limiting your vision to the few meters around you, and your breath, illuminated like a dragons flame, billowing around you, in the glow of the torch, it's a pretty special time to be out and about. The paths and roads are still quiet, too early even for the commuters, the night animals are making their way back home after their nights out. Deer and badgers crossing the road in front of you, caught momentarily in the beam of the torch, the daytime birds just starting to signal the return of the sun from their hedgerow hideaways and the sky slowly changing from jet black, to pink, to mauve and eventually to the clearest pale blue in front of you. Yes, it's not the easiest or the cheapest way to get to work, running shoes cost a kings ransom I can tell you. But, on a day like that, when the worlds still asleep, the sky's clear, there's no wind and your the king of your own destiny, it's probably the best way to get there and the best start to a day a man could wish for! To be honest there's not a great deal else to report from this weekend. I finally dragged myself out of the house and into the sleet on Saturday morning for an easy 10 mile run around one of my local trail routes and apart from getting a bit chilly it was good to get out of the house and into the fresh air. Saturday afternoon I wandered up to the Allotment for a couple of chilly hours to take the roof off of the fruit cage. I suspect that any snow accumulation on it would be enough to tear it to shreds, so for the sake of an hours work it makes sense to roll it back for the winter and secure it to the frame at the far end. Although there's still plenty of crops still to harvest (Cabbage, Sprouts, Parsnips, Leeks, Beetroot, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Kale and Chard) the birds don't seem to make much of an impact between now and March, so it's worth rolling back. Plus it gives the birds a chance to get in and hopefully eat some of the bugs that tend to still be knocking around. Whilst I was there I picked, Leeks, Beetroot, the last of the bell peppers and a couple of Long Peppers from the greenhouse and some potatoes, which all roasted up a treat for a tasty tea, along with a nice bit of Pork. It's a shame I've not got space for a bit of livestock, or we could be pretty much self sufficient. There's a couple of Butternut squash that need using up too, so I'll roast one of them in the week which I suspect will go down a treat with a bit of left over pork and a few Baked Beans (homemade of course) for an easy midweek dinner. Yummy! After Saturdays strong winds and sleet showers, Sunday dawned a bit calmer, but still a touch on the chilly side. Putting on my brave face, I ventured out on my bike for a few early morning miles, taking great care to avoid the frozen puddles and areas of black ice created by the cars driving through the puddles and then depositing the water back onto the icy road surface. With the sun shining strongly, it was a beautiful morning to be out, but by golly, was it cold. Even with all my winter gear on it wasn't long before first my fingers and then my toes went numb, making what should have been a pleasant day out into a bit of an ordeal. Not to be beaten though, I plodded my way around 60 miles of glorious Hampshire countryside, and I think that in the whole time I was out I only saw a handful of walkers, a couple of runners and 3 other cyclists, stupid enough to be out. If nothing else though, it makes coming home for a brew and a warm up all the more welcome! And finally! You might remember back in the mists of time that as part of Project Patio I made a Log Store.
Well, you'll be pleased to know that nearly a year later I've finally put a roof on it. I think that I commented at the time "I'll grab some roofing felt next time I'm at the Allotment and pop a roof on it" Apparently great things come to those that wait, or at least dry logs.
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Here's a top jape for you all. If you've got a dashboard warning light on, an acceptable fix is not covering up the light. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not still on. I'm pretty sure that you figured out that when you close you eye's, you don't become invisible, when you were about 2 years old, well the same applies here. What am I on about now, I hear you say. Well, the Bangernomics Peugot went for it's first MOT under my ownership last week, and to be honest I was expecting it to fail, probably on emissions if I'm honest. At the end of the day it's had a hard life, I'm the 7th owner and probably the only one that's ever changed the oil! It's been a runabout all it's life, and it's getting on now. I don't know how car years equate to people years, but if it's anything like a cat, it would be the equivalent of 119, so it's an old lady really, and an old lady that had a hard paper round and then spent her working life as a hod carrier at that. Anyway, what it actually failed on was no ABS light. What should happen is the ABS light comes on with the ignition to tell you it's working, runs through it's self test and then goes out. Or in this case, never comes on, hence the fail. Now, seeing as I'm too tight to pay someone else to fix it, I thought I'd best have a look myself, after all I'm supposed to be an engineer of some sort or another, and imagine what I found. Yep, you got it, some cheeky monkey has covered the light in question up with sticky tape and seeing as it failed the last MOT because the light was on, we could probably hazard a guess at which professional outfit did that can't we! So, now that I've fixed one problem, I just need to get the light to go back out again like it should. Hence a bit of head scratching and a lot of swearing over the last few evenings whilst I've tried to figure out how an ABS system works. A task that would be a lot easier, if any of the wiring diagrams that I've found matched the system in the car, and if it hadn't been played with before, by persons unknown. So far, I've found all the screws missing out of the fuse panel, the main plug on the ABS module broken and the Left rear brake shoe lining detached from the shoe. But not the source of the problem. I'll get there though, if nothing else I'm a persistent fellow and I'm learning at every step which is always a plus! Whilst I'm wittering on about making and fixing things, "The Emma's" been on a mission over the last couple of years to fatten up all the little birds in the vicinity and it seems to be working as she's got a right little bird restaurant going in the front garden. Since the completion of Project Patio there's been an increase in bird life out the back too, which when you consider that for the first 9 years that we lived here I don't think I ever saw a single bird out there has to be a good thing. Saturday morning whilst we were having a brew we stood and watched some Blue Tit's picking bits of the Apple Tree and "The Emma" said "If I got one of those stand things, like a shepherds crook, I could put a feeder out there for them too". Well, thought I, I've probably got just the thing in my treasure collection. So, one quick wander out to the workshop of wonders for a bit of ReBar left over from the allotment fruit net, start a couple of bend off using the plumbing pipe bender (not recommended as it chews up the formers) followed by a good heaving on with a bit of pipe in the vice, and would you believe it! Apparently, it's just the thing. Total cost probably less than a £5 for the bit of ReBar, or free if you consider it's left over from another job. Total time, probably less than 10 minutes, and I didn't even need to leave the house. Brownie points, 100, and another tool I never knew I needed, added to the list as it would have been even quicker with a proper bender. Now, that's a result in my books! I had planned on getting away in the Van Friday night, ready for a bit of cycling on Saturday, followed by a shorter trip up to Wendover for the weekends main event of the Wendover Woods Marathon. However, having pulled the Peugot apart Friday afternoon in an attempt to fidentify the ABS problem and then ended up replacing the rear brake shoes amongst other things, I'd sort of run out of time, and couldn't really leave the Peugot as it was. So, in true tradition, plans had to change. They didn't change that much though. As by the time "The Emma" dragged herself out of bed on Saturday morning (just before 9), I'd been up, had breakfast, stripped the back wheel hubs back off the Peugot to check that my efforts in the dark the night before were right, bled the brakes, adjusted the handbrake, put the centre console back in, tidied up, put all the tools away, washed my hands and was just brewing up, leaving the rest of the day for playing out. On the downside it was a bit of a grey and damp day, certainly not ideal for my planned cycling route which covered a lot of windy, hilly roads which in the damp conditions and covered in leaves would have been a bit of a slippery mess. So, plan B, or as I like to call it "quick, think of something else to do" was called into action and I grabbed the van and headed up to Wallingford for a few miles of walking on the Ridgeway path. And lovely it was too. The views from the top of Wallingford hill were as spectacular as ever, with the Red Kites soaring majestically over the surrounding countryside as majestic as they always are. The Autumn leaves lay thick underfoot in the wooded areas, bringing back memories of Conker hunting and childhood walks as I shuffled through them. The few trees that hung on to the last of their leaves, yellow and golden in the subdued afternoon light and the damp Autumn air bringing a stillness to the world at large. I always enjoy the Autumn, despite being the end of summer, the shorter days and the feeling of decay and lethargy that it brings. On a day like today, when it's still warm enough to be out without getting cold, it's not raining and there's no wind, it's still pretty special! Just on the off chance that anyone's waded through the drivel above and is still actually interested (or still awake), I suppose I'd better mention the weekends main event, the Wendover Woods trail Marathon. A cheeky wee number, consisting of 4 laps around Wendover Woods which sit on the edge of the Chiltern Hills and unsurprisingly for the area is a bit hilly! Now, I've got some memories of being forced to run up this very hill during my initial RAF Trade Training, at nearby RAF Halton and I can tell you that they're not particularly fond memories. The thing that really sticks in my mind is it being very steep and spending most of my time blowing out my arse whilst the PTI berated us all for being too slow! If nothing else, today proved that my memories are correct and some of todays route was pretty steep. I've obviously got better at running, and fitter than I was when I was 18 though, because there was significantly less blowing from my nether regions today than back then, which can only be a positive thing. Now, as I mentioned at the start, todays course consisted of 4 10Km loops, with some pretty steep climbing and descent . The Marathon started at 08:30 and after an excellent nights sleep in the van I was ready and raring to go. Oh, Ok, I was stood shivering in the cold morning air, wishing we could just get it over and done with! I didn't have to shiver for long though, as after a quick race briefing we were off, and off pretty fast too! There was no messing around today and the guys on the front set off at a fair old pace, too fast for me, but not to worry, it's still a long way to go and lets see what happens over the first few miles. As often seems to be the case, once I'd warmed up a bit and the pace had settled down a bit, I started picking up a few places and by the time we finished the first lap I was up to 7th or 8th and seemed to be holding my position without too much effort. One lap down, 3 too go and as I started the second lap, so the half marathon runners were released right behind me. Within seconds any sense of position was gone, as the faster 1/2 runners started coming past. This could end in tears if I start trying to keep up with these guy's, they're only going 1/2 the distance and trying too keep up is a sure hiding to nothing. Run your own race and ignore everyone else, was the mantra of the day and by the time I'd completed my second lap I hadn't noticed any of the other Marathon runners come past, so had to assume I was still holding my position. Lap 3 then and I'm feeling pretty good considering this is my second Marathon in 8 days, possibly not the best race planning, but it's not all about winning, it's more about having fun as far as I'm concerned! By the end of lap 3 I'd started catching the first of the Marathon back markers and was settled into a steady and sustainable pace. Last lap then and a chance to thank the marshals for their efforts and encouragement over the previous laps as I went past. Without their giving up their time to marshal, none of this would be possible, so a few words of thanks is the least I can do. Steadily pushing on, focus on the next backmarker, close the distance, a few words of encouragement as I pass and onto the next one. If nothing else it gives me something to focus on. Coming up to the 23 mile mark, I catch sight of someone starting to close the gap behind me. That's not good, I'm pretty sure that I've not slowed down, but maybe I have? Within seconds they're lost in the twisty turns and trees behind me, all I can do is keep pushing on and hope they don't catch me at this late stage. Mile 24 and it's all up hill from here, but not far to go now. Drop the pace on the steepest bit's. but keep pushing on, I can't let the guy behind catch me now. At mile 25 I get a bit of a surprise when I spot a runner wearing a 100 Marathon top in front of me, they're unlikely to be a back marker, could it be that I'm going to catch someone in front instead of being caught? As the hill flattens slightly, I pick the pace up a bit, and slowly, almost imperceptibly, the gap is closing. I'm not sure if there's enough time to catch them before that finish line now though. 300m to go and I'm almost with them, there's nothing to lose now, I might as well throw caution to the wind and give anything that's left. 200m to go and I'm right behind them. I can't bring myself to just blow past though, and as I come up behind I say "come on buddy, don't let me get you at the line, push"! and the race is on. As soon as he hears me, he picks up the pace and I have to give it all I've got to keep up and slowly pass. I'm still not sure If I can hold him off for the final 100m though and I'm pushing as hard as I can, with 26 miles in my legs. I can hear him, pushing equally as hard just over my shoulder, but with only a handful of meters still to go I know I've got him! Coming over the line in 3:39:37 was good enough for 6th place from the 90 finishers, beating my last minute competitor by a whole 3 seconds in the end! That's a pretty good result as far as I'm concerned, my second marathon in 8 days after last Saturdays 40 mile Ultra and a total of 120 miles of running in the last 15 days certainly gives your legs something to think about.
Yep, I'm more than happy with that!
Right then running fans, it's been a little while since I've done any decent running, so it's about time to break that dry spell, and what better way to do it that, than with the Test Way Ultra. 40 Miles of downhill fun, from just shy of the Highest Point in Hampshire, down to the sea.
Having walked the Test Way back in the summer of 2018 over a glorious summer weekend, I'd got fond memories of the route and I'd been looking forward to this one ever since I signed up for it back in the spring. As I said at the start, it's a bit unusual, as it's got more downhill than up, and when it's not going down it's pretty much flat, but more of that later. Oh, and unusually for me, it's a point to point run, which means the logistical nightmare of getting back to the start to collect the van, although in this case I'd signed up for the well organised bus trip back from the finish at the end of the day. I just needed to get to the finish to take advantage!
A night out in the van, saw me ready and raring to go for the 08:30 start, and as I stood on the start line with the 60 other like minded souls, watching the clock slowly tick down, it was with that sense of excitement and trepidation that comes with a big undertaking. Nervous excitement, is probably the best word to describe it, a real desire to get things underway, coupled by the feeling of "what the hell am I doing here" and "can I just turn around and go home now"?
The start of an Ultra seems to be a bit different to a normal race. Normally everyone's trying to get to the front and away fast, even those that have no reason to be at the front seem to find it necessary. There's been plenty of occasions that I've lined up at the start of a big event where your often split into groups based on predicted finish times and then spent the first few miles trying to get past people that have no hope of ever running at the pace they've lined up with. Why do it, It's just soul destroying having people steaming past you like your stood still! The longer the event, the less that seems to happen though, and today proved no different, the man with the big watch said go, and with a few shrugged shoulders, a bit of looking at each other in the hope that someone else would go first, we were off. Well almost. "I'm not going first". Well someone's got too or we'll just stand here all day looking at each other, and so it continues until eventually some brave soul takes the bull by the horns and were all away! Not only were we off, but having said it's mostly downhill, we were straight up what was to be the steepest climb of the day. Heart rate from zero to 160 in 30 seconds is never much fun, but things soon settled down as we crested the hill and started spreading out a bit, and the view from the top, over the surrounding countryside more than made up for the initial effort.
As often seems to be the case, it took a few miles for my legs to start coming good and my pace to settle down, but by the first checkpoint I'd moved up through the field and was sitting in 3rd place, closely followed by 4th and 5th and being chased hard. 1st and second were long gone, more of which I'll get too later, but even at this early stage I wasn't holding much hope of catching them. It looked then like my race was going to be for 3rd, if I could just hold on, and there was a lot of holding on still to do. 30 more miles of it to be precise!
Climbing out of St Mary Bourne, I took advantage of the uphill to strip off my extra layers and gloves, it being considerably warmer than I'd expected, and to be honest I'm glad I did, as shorts and a long sleeve top was more than warm enough for the conditions. I find it hard enough to get enough fluids on board on a long run as it is, without making the situation worse by overheating and sweating more than I can take in. What is it they say? Dress for the 3rd mile, when you'll have warmed up, not the first? By the half Marathon mark (13 miles) I'd managed to open up a bit of a lead on the following group and was starting to enjoy myself. Once you've got a bit of a gap, you can almost relax, safe in the knowledge that those chasing are going to have to cover the extra ground before they even think about getting past, and by the time I got to the second checkpoint at Wherwell, I'd got enough of a lead over my pursuers to have left the checkpoint before they arrived, not that I hung around, only stopping for long enough to fill my water bladder and get on my way. Wherwell, signifies the first crossing of the River Test, which becomes your companion on and off for the remainder of the route, as I suppose it should. After all, the whole trails named after it, so I suppose it should feature quite prominently. It also signifies the end of the downhill and the start of the flatter terrain. In fact a couple of miles after Wherwell you pick up an old disused railway line (Sprat and Winkle Line) and the real slog fest begins. Personally, I find the flat terrain of disused railway lines and Canal towpaths a real mental struggle, with disused railway lines being top of the list. They're pretty much pan flat, so there's no opportunity to use different muscle groups. Being flat they're fast, so there's no excuse to have a cheeky little walk, like there is when things go uphill and worst of all, they tend to be tree lined with embankments either side and dead straight so there's nothing to occupy your mind. Just a long, straight, tree lined corridor, that seems to drag on for ever, and today was no exception. Picking up the Railway a few miles before Stockbridge it stretched interminably on until Mottisfont, a good 8 or 9 miles away and just seemed to go on and on. Eventually though, with nearly 30 miles under my belt I struggled into the next checkpoint for another refill of the water and a quick look behind to see if my pursuers were in sight. Luckily not, and I was straight off again and into a bit more varied terrain and the chance to stretch out muscles that hadn't been used for the last hour or so. There's a few wooded sections in the next few miles and dancing around the tree roots and muddy puddles, whilst admiring the autumn colours of the leaves piled underfoot, made a nice distraction after the endless railway line. The 30 mile mark, came and went in under 4:30 which isn't bad going and despite my legs really starting to feel the miles I was still maintaining a reasonable pace. I just needed to keep going and I should be good for a finish.
At the 35 mile mark, I started counting down the miles, having avoided doing so up to this point. As soon as I start counting down, my brain seems to think it's job done, but with miles still to go that's not the case and I need to focus. Coming up to what I had as mile 38 the final checkpoint hove into view. For some reason I'd not realised this one was there, thinking that the 30 mile point was the final checkpoint and it threw me a bit.
It threw me even more when the guys manning the checkpoint cheerfully announced that it was only 4 miles to go. 4 miles? I'd got in my head that it was only 2, aaarrrggghhh! Oh' well, nothing for it but to knuckle down and keep plodding on as fast as I can. By mile 40 I was really starting to struggle to maintain focus, but eventually, coming up to the 41 mile point I started picking up the marker flags that signified that last few meters. A few directions from a marshal manning a road crossing and the final run in to the finish. 6:08:44 got me third place, with the winner, who I later found out holds the record for running from Lands End to JOG, having had time to get changed, have something to eat and be on his way home by the time I got there, and the guy in second's not to shabby either, having been the first Brit home in the Spartathlon race. They're both way out of my league, and boy am I glad that I didn't try to chase them down at the start.
I'm happy with that though, 3rd place from a field of 61 and in a pretty respectable time too. Not only a good result, but a great day out too, along a lovely course, at a well organised and well supported event. What's not to like about that, and with 4000 calories burned off during the day, the chance for an extra slice of cake and chocky biscuit too!
I spotted this projected on to the side of a church when I was out and about at the weekend and thought it quite poignant too.
It's always worth remembering that without the sacrifice of others we might not have the freedom that we enjoy today!
A strange thing happened last weekend, which is why there's no Blog entry.
I actually chickened out of an Audax ride! I should have been out playing bikes on Sunday. In fact I'd even got as far as loading up the van and traveling down to the start the night before. But when the morning broke and the weather forecast looked to have come true, I pulled the covers back up and stayed in bed. I must confess that it was absolutely throwing it down and the wind was howling through the trees and power lines. In fact, the roads were littered with fallen branches and puddles the size of small oceans as I made my way back home with my tail between my legs, so maybe it wasn't the best of days to be out playing bikes. The most annoying thing though, was the fact that by lunchtime it had turned into quite a nice day, and had I actually put on my brave face and got out there I'd probably of had a good day! Sometimes though, I suppose it's easy to take the easy option. When the rains being thrown in your face and the winds blowing you across the road it's not much fun. Or is it? It's certainly more of a challenge, and with a challenge comes reward, and the bigger the challenge the bigger the reward! Likewise I know that no matter what the weather, if I actually get out of the house, I'll probably have a good time. Once your wet, your wet. So, why is getting out there in the first place such a problem, why the procrastinating and the finding excuses not to go. Why not just pull on the waterproofs and get out there? If anyone knows the secret to over riding the desire to stay in when it's dark, cold and wet, then please let me know. It's only the start of November and I've already had enough of the winter, and this can't go on! Come on Perratt, get off your lazy arse and lets go and have some winter adventures!
Now I've got my dirty little secret from last weekend off my chest I suppose I'd better make amends and what better way to do that, than with a cheeky 200Km Audax, in the form of the Upper Thames.
But first, lets just back track a few hours, because this week also marked a bit of a landmark in the fact that I ran into work and back for the first time in 8 weeks. It's taken that long for my pesky right foot to feel good enough to risk punishing it with two 10 mile road efforts within 14 hours, but it feels like things are on the mend and I could be back in the game. I'll carry on taking it easy for a few more weeks yet, specially as I've got a 40 miler lined up for next weekend, but I'm hopeful that normal service is about to resume. Anyhow, back to this weekend. With Saturdays Audax starting from Cholsey near Wallingford, I thought that I'd extend the weekend a bit by escaping from work a bit earlier on Friday afternoon and taking the van up to Streatley for the night, and whilst I'm there I might was well take advantage of the trip and get in a few easy walking miles up the Thames path. And jolly nice it was too. It was nearly 16:00 by the time I got there and the temperature was starting to drop off, but wrapped up warm, I probably did 6 or 7 miles through the dusk and into the dark proper, before heading back to the van for tea and an early night. Cold or not, the river bank was quiet and deserted, apart from the plethora of wildlife making ready for the long night ahead. Groups of Geese lifting from the flowing water in formation, a number of Herons fishing for one last meal in the dying light, Red Kites overhead making their way back to their roosts after a successful days scavenging and a single Kestrel, hovering majestically, over the far bank. I don't do as much walking as I should, hopefully there will be plenty of time to walk when I'm too old to run! But, whenever I do pull on my walking boots I come home thinking "I should really do more of that" it's such a nice way to travel. No car's, no peddling, no puffing and panting, just the world moving steadily past with plenty of time to stop and stare.
Right, enough, I'm supposed to be telling you about Saturdays Audax, not wittering on about a load of old rubbish, and it's a good one this too. I'm guessing the fact that I know it's a good one, gives the game away that I've done it before. In fact, this was the first Audax ride I ever did, back in 2017, and I've done it every year since (except last year when it didn't run due to the Covid palaver) and I'm pretty sure that it's rained (normally heavily) every year that I've ridden it too!
Except, this year looked like it might buck that trend, because after a great nights sleep tucked away in the van, the morning dawned still, with a light cloud cover and as the sun came up it cast some lovely Lilac and Mauve light across the sky. A quick visit to the start control to pick up my Brevet card and then on the road before 07:30. An anytime start (between 7 and 8) took care of the normal mass grouped start and ensured Covid safety in this still uncertain world, whilst still giving a bit of normality to proceedings. How long this Covid lark is going to continue for is anyone's guess, but if sensible precautions can help life to continue then personally I'm all for it.
It's a bit of a ride of 3 halves this one, with the first half taking your through the Chiltern Hills with their multiple, short sharp climbs, before moving into the Cotswolds with their characteristic long slow drag hills and descents before a final, mainly flat few miles back to the start. The Chilterns worked their normal magic in the early morning though and it wasn't long before I was puffing and panting my way up the first of the days leg testing hills.
Nothing to stop me today though and after a few hours of ups and downs, the first manned checkpoint hove into view. Not before the drizzle started though! I knew that I should have kept my mouth shut earlier, but then again it wouldn't be the Upper Thames without getting wet! Luckily the rain didn't amount to much, and after a quick checkpoint stop I was soon on my way towards Bicester and the start of the second set of climbs for the day.
This second leg always seems to be a bit of a grind, not only is it somehow all up hill to Chipping Norton, but the wind always seems to be in your face too and just to add insult to injury, it's a pretty long and uninspiring slog of a leg. Finally though, after what seemed like an eternity, Chipping Norton arrived and with it the chance to stop for a few minutes and grab a quick sandwich, along with a receipt as proof that I'd actually been there.
I didn't hang around though as by early afternoon the wind had picked up considerably and had an icey edge to it. It was Ok all the time you were moving, but as soon as you stopped it cut straight through my thin jacket and base layer. Sitting on a bench in the cold eating a sandwich is hardly the height of luxury any way, so within 20 minutes I was back on the road for the final few miles of the Cotswolds and the delights of the final flat run for home.
Tackling the last couple of climbs with the wind in my face to get through Minster Lovell wasn't much fun and a short rain shower added insult to the misery and was made even worse by the sun making it's one and only appearance of the day, adding it's blinding brilliance to the rain as it dripped from my helmet.
Not to worry though, this is the final stretch and within a few minutes the rain had abated and the road flattened out. Dropping of the Cotswolds Plateau it wasn't long before the humped back bridge over the River Thames appeared, somehow signalling that it wasn't far to go now. A Left turn shortly after shifted the now strong wind to my back and with a wind assisted helping hand on flat roads, my speed picked back up to sensible levels for the first time in a few hours.
That bit of wind assistance made a real difference towards the end too and surprisingly, pretty much 9 hours after setting off I arrived back at the start control. Granted I'd probably only spent a maximum of 30 minutes stopped all day, but 9 hours for 130 miles, isn't bad going by any stretch of the imagination.
It's not supposed to be a race though, that's the whole point of Audaxing. It's all about challenging yourself, being Audacious, seeing some new parts of the countryside and having a good day out while your at it. And I'll happily confirm that todays fun was all of those things. Hilly enough to be challenging, rainy enough to get you damp without getting too wet, windy enough to make you think "this is hard work" but still fun enough to be sat with a big smile at the end of the day and the feeling of satisfaction that comes from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone!
Before I go, I've got a bit of a Chilli problem on the allotment. To be honest it's the same every year and I end up with tons of the things that I don't know what to do with. Some go in the freezer for use when cooking throughout the year, some I normally dry for making Chilli oil and some normally get made into Chilli Jam or sauce.
This year though I've found a recipe that just involves wizzing them up, adding a bit of sugar and Cider Vinegar and leaving to mature. And I'll tell you something for nothing, those jars now contain possibly the hottest thing known to man. I'll report back once they've had a couple of months to mature, but I've already got the feeling that this could be a bit saucy! Watch this space!
And finally (I promise), check this bad boy out. Parsnips truly are the roast veg of kings. You can keep your Spuds, I'll have some of this action with my roast please. Especially when it's gone from plot to belly in a couple of hours!
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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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