We're going to start this week with a Why? Or more accurately two Why's. The first ones easy, the second one's just been bugging me all week and I'm failing to understand the logic behind it, but lets start with the easy one first. Why, have I just filed the van up with supermarket fuel on my way to this weeks adventure, at the exorbitant price of £1.53 a litre, and then driven round the corner to find 3 more supermarkets at £1.51 a litre? It's only 2p a litre but that's still nearly £2 I've just wasted. But that's not the point, I mean, how the hell am I supposed to fund my adventures when that happens. Hurrumph! Right, now I've got that off my chest, how about this for a why? I ran into work on Thursday morning and it was pretty grim, in fact I actually got wet on my commute for the first time this year. But that's not the problem, a bit of rains an adventure and a test of character, certainly not worthy of half a page of waffle. What is worthy of the waffle though is the driver that thought it acceptable to come screaming past me, on a narrow country lane, in the half light and rain, but then 2 seconds later slammed on their brakes and came to a stop for a pheasant that was stood in the road! Now, that little act raised a few questions in my mind. Firstly did they not see me, but spotted the pheasant and acted? Was it easier to spot a little pheasant than me, a 6 foot man, with a flashing red light on my back, a reflective jacket, a high viz belt and a head torch? If that's the case, then I'll happily ditch all the high viz and lights and just stick a few feathers in my cap. Think of the money I'll save, there's loads of old feathers knocking around the roadsides, I'll just grab a few next time I'm out and I'll be invincible. Or, and this ones more likely. They saw me, but decided that I wasn't worth slowing down for! I'm only a runner after all. I'm predictable, I'll stay out of their way and it's my problem not to get run over, not theirs to take any action, or give me a bit of space to make my journey safer. The Pheasant on the other hand, is unpredictable, and cuddly, it will probably run in their way and make a mess of their nice shiny car, so it's worth braking for! And that my friends is what's been bothering me for the last few days. Is my life really worth less than that of a pheasant in the eyes of that motorist (and I'll tell you right now, that this sort of things not a one off). Have we really got to the point where we see people as so predictable that they're not worth worrying about, or just shouldn't be there in the first place? Well, if that's the case, then roll on greater automation and self driving cars. Let's take the arrogance, self importance and speeding out of the hands of people who clearly aren't capable of making sensible, rational decisions, and put those decisions into the hands of technology that can be programmed to make the correct decision and act accordingly. I think as a pedestrian, cyclist and runner, that I'd feel a lot safer knowing exactly how a vehicle's going to react to any situation, than the current situation where you've got no idea and take your life in your own hands the second you step out the front door!
Right, now I've got that off my chest, what have I been up too this week? Well for a starters, Saturday saw a bit of Audax fun, in the shape of the Chiltern Grit 200K. Another cheeky wee jaunt, starting from Aylesbury and heading down, on an out and back loop, towards Caversham (Reading), before heading off for a lovely afternoon taking in the sights of Buckinghamshire.
A drive up to Aylesbury after tea on Friday and a cosy night in the van, meant I was perfectly placed for an early start Saturday morning and was stood champing at the bit on the start line for an 07:15 start. Alright, maybe not champing at the bit, maybe, shivering and clapping my hands together on what was a cold, clear and frosty morning, with plenty of promise for a glorious day to come, but you get the idea.
With no wind this early in the morning, the low winter sun warming the fields alongside the route and the birds doing their best to break the silence, the run down to the outskirts of Reading and back was fast, and with only the briefest of stops for a proof of passage receipt I was back at the first checkpoint at Hartwell nurseries café, with 56 miles under my wheels just after 11:00.
Still too early for lunch, although the pies, cakes and sausage rolls looked divine, I opted to push on, making my way steadily across the lumpy terrain to first Winchendon and then Marsh Gibbon (who wouldn't want to live there) for the intermediate checkpoints. As the morning rolled into afternoon so the wind started picking up, and working my way up though the never ending building site that is HS2, there was quite a breeze blowing. Not a problem at this stage with it on my back, but that can't last forever and at some point I knew I was going to have to turn into it.
That point came only too soon, when after the Stony Stratford checkpoint the inevitable happened and I met the full force of the wind head on. Now I'll happily admit that I'm not built for ploughing into the wind. Going uphill, fine, into wind, no! I'm a skinny little runt and I've just not got the strength or power to plod interminably onwards against mother nature, as such it quickly becomes a suffer fest, with today being no exception.
Within 30 minutes I was starting to struggle, and soon after I could feel my desire to continue waning. Slogging on, with the impending sense of doom that no matter how hard I push, I can't get enough speed to make any decent forward progress is soul destroying and it's easy to slip into the black pit of frustration and despair. Sometimes, it's pointless fighting it and spotting a sheltered little spot I stopped, cracked open the biscuits, had a good stretch and a few minutes off the bike, in an attempt to restore my sanity. Stood out of the wind, with the sun warming my back, the birds singing their hearts out all around, and a chocolate biscuit in hand, it was hard to imagine that 2 seconds before I was on the verge of cracking. But that's the whole point of these adventures, pushing yourself until you find the limit, dealing with it and cracking on! What's the saying, "Without struggle, there is no strength".
Refreshed and reinvigorated that's just what I did. Coming up to the next Info Control I caught up with a fellow rider and we spent a while swapping positions on the road, suffering together, without words, as we slogged into that cold winter wind, making slow but steady progress towards the next checkpoint, where miraculously, another turn took us back out of the killing headwind and bought an instant return to normality.
It's amazing how quickly the suffering is forgotten. As soon as the speed picks back up towards the magic 15mph mark, the bumps and road vibrations are reduced as your wheels skip over the ruts and rough tarmac, instead of falling into every little hole and shaking your entire being to bits. And at the same time, with the increased speed it's easier to maintain that speed, it's a win all round and within seconds the previous pain and suffering is forgotten, the smile's back on your face and your having fun again! And fun it still was, the sun was still shining, the miles rapidly ticked down and before I knew it I was back at the start. 126 miles, 9 hours, plenty of highs and a few lows. But most importantly a brilliant day out, along a great route, with plenty to see to keep the mind occupied and more than enough challenges to make it a rewarding day out. What's not to like about that, and all organised by a great bunch of volunteers who gave up their Saturday so I could have fun, great people, great fun and a great day out. Roll on the next one is all I can add to that, although you can keep the wind!
Always keen to take advantage of any opportunity, I took the van back to Hartley Wintney after my Audax fun on Saturday night, ready to take advantage of a bit of running. My plan being to try and have a look at the last (or maybe first) leg of the Brenda Parker Way, ahead of my planned attempt at the whole length in a couple of weeks.
The only fly in the ointment of my brilliant plan was one of my own making and more of a disappointment than a disaster. Before I left Friday night, I'd looked in the freezer and spotting what I thought was a tub of Chilli, grabbed it thinking "Chilli for tea Saturday night in the van". Now I'm really partial to a good Chilli and I'd been looking forward to this all day. In fact I'd almost say that it was the thought of my Chilli for tea that had driven me on against that brutal headwind. Imagine my disappointment then when I tipped my Chilli out into the saucepan to warm up on Saturday night, only to discover that it was in fact Chicken and Pumpkin Curry! I can't really complain, because it was still delicious and filled a massive hole rather well, but it just wasn't what Id been looking forward too. Oh well, that will teach me not to label things!
Anyway, I digress as usual, although to be honest there's not a great deal to be said about Sundays run. I didn't get all the way to Aldershot, but got as far as the Basingstoke Canal, which was the aim of the day and covers the bit of route which I was unfamiliar with.
I'll also confess that it was pretty slow going on legs that were still tired from Saturdays efforts. But with a cloudless blue sky, a heavy frost still on the fields when I set off and some new and exciting paths to go down, it was easy to put the aches to the back of my mind and just enjoy the freedom of the miles passing under my feet.
8 Miles out and 8 back again, put another 16 miles into my legs and keeps the yearly total steadily rising. I've not done too bad this month either, specially when you consider that it's a short month. I've racked up 201 running miles in total, including 2 Ultra Marathons (Darkstar and Punchbowl) and done another 2 x 1/2 marathon distance runs on the other weekends (14 and 16 miles respectively).
That's not bad going for an old fellow, although sitting here typing this today, my legs and ankles are certainly feeling it. Oh well, what's the saying "What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger"?
The only other point of interest from the weekend (as if I need more) is a few hours on the allotment Sunday afternoon. With my seed order having arrived safely and the greenhouse feeling pleasantly warm in the afternoon sunshine I guess it's about time we got growing.
To that end, that's the first sowing of Broad Beans in, and the Sweet Peas too. I guess they will either grow, or more likely the temperature will drop off again and they'll rot, but there's not a lot to loose either way, and at the end of the day it's only a couple of quids worth of seeds whatever happens. There's plenty of growing going on elsewhere too with the first of the Daffodils proudly showing off their trumpets in the gardens and the Rose bushes and Clematis showing the first signs of new growth. Things are certainly looking up, best we prepare for snow!
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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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