Here we go again then, the sun’s shining, the birds are singing, the Daffodils are in full bloom, I’ve had a very productive weekend and everything’s looking good in the world. Unusually, I’m going to start off this week’s exciting installment with a bit of a strange tale and a word of praise for some very much abused members of our community; Planning on getting in a long run early on Saturday morning, (more of which later) I’d taken the van up to one of my normal little hideaways late Friday night and settled down at around 10:30 for a good night’s sleep. There was no one around when I’d gone to bed and surprisingly, I was woken a couple of hours later by the sound of a large diesel engine pulling in too the space next to me. Judging from the engine note it certainly wasn’t one of the normal boy racers which frequent this area and it didn’t sound like fly tippers or illicit lovers either. Not giving it much more thought, I turned over and was just dozing off again when there was a gentle tap on the van window. Wide awake now, I lay there for a moment considering my options and wondering what to do. Should I just ignore it and lay quietly hoping whoever it was would lose interest and go away? Or should I go out all guns blazing? Before I’d had too long to consider my options there was another louder tap and I knew that whoever it was wasn’t going away. Taking the bull by the horns I pulled the curtain to one side and peered out. Not that that helped much, as the other vehicle’s lights were shining at the van stopping me from seeing out. Oh well, only one choice, open the door and face whoever it was to see what they wanted! Sliding the door open and expecting trouble, or at least a load of grief, the wind was somewhat taken from my sails as I was faced with a pair of extremely apologetic policemen, apologising for waking me up! Not what I was expecting at all, and certainly a better outcome than I was expecting to face. A pair of very nice chaps they were too. Who, after apologising again for waking me up explained that they were just checking I was OK having seen the van parked up, seemingly all on its own, tucked well out of the way, during one of their routine checks of the area. Now I think the police do a fantastic job in unbelievable circumstances, and whilst you might think otherwise, I think this was a great bit of community policing. Their willingness to approach an unknown situation (they had no idea what I was doing, just as I had no idea who they were) could have resulted in a totally different outcome. For all they knew I could have been a dog walker who had fallen and broken a leg many hours ago out on the hills unable to return to my vehicle. The van could have been stolen and dumped there by some low life or another. Or I could just have been in bed getting some well-deserved sleep prior to an early morning run. Whichever it was, it was as likely to end in a load of grief for them as my initial thoughts had been for what I was going to face when I opened the door. Despite the shock of the unknown when they tapped on the window, and the disturbance of being woken up, I’m more than glad they did. As I mentioned, personally I think that’s a great bit of pro-active policing and should be applauded. I could sit here and rant and rave about the police state checking up on me, invading my privacy, getting in my face etc. Or I can see their concerns, their genuine, polite, friendly and approachable manner and their professionalism and dedication to doing their duty. I’d say that was a job well done gentlemen and as I said at the time, thank you and please don’t apologise for waking me up. They were doing exactly the right thing and it makes me sleep a bit better at night knowing that there are people like that out there at all times of the day and night, in all weathers, doing an incredibly difficult job, looking out for all of us. So, thank you guy’s and please don’t hesitate to knock again. Oh, and bring your mug’s next time and I’ll make you a brew for your troubles! Anyhow, moving swiftly on. The real reason I was out in the van in the first place was to get March’s Marathon a Month effort ticked off. With a planned early start I’d had hopes that I’d still have enough of the day left (and enough energy) to do something more useful with my time once I’d finished True to form I was up early and ready to go just after 07:00, with the plan being to run the route I’d previously run in June 2020 from Kingsclere up to Combe Gibbet and back. A handy 13.2 miles each way and all off road to boot. It’s a lovely little run this, provided it’s not too windy as the wind tends to absolutely whip over the hills here making for some hard going and sapping your morale on bad days. No such problems today though and despite there still being a chill in the air due to the early hour, there was no wind and only a slight cloud cover which looked like it would burn off later. With the sun still rising behind me it was all up hill for the first half (and seemingly not all downhill for the return leg), but the trails were dry and firm and despite the uphill gradient my legs felt fresh and full of energy. I’d been taking it easy all week as my ankles were both giving me a few problems and not running on them had certainly helped. I’m guessing that they are always going to be my weak spot, or Achilles heel, and if I’m not careful it’s easy to overdo it and hurt myself. No problems today though and things were feeling good, almost too good in fact and I had to keep on telling myself to slow down. This is a marathon and not a sprint, there’s no point in killing myself in the first couple of miles. Things soon settled into a steady pace, and it was great being able to look down on the surrounding North Hampshire countryside as I made steady progress along the ridge line. After the first couple of miles it’s a steady drop down to cross the A34 before a long slog back up through woodlands to regain the height again. You can appreciate why there was so much opposition to the routing of the A34 through this area, as it’s an unusually unspoiled for the South of England, with no other hint of human interference apart for some long barrows and other prehistoric earthworks for miles around. No time for archaeology today though, it’s onward, ever climbing, with stupendous views over Burghclere and Highclere (home to Downton Abbey) with Red kites and Buzzards soaring at head height along the ridge in front of me and the Sky larks singing in the fields alongside, it’s a lovely day to be out in the fresh air. A short pause at the half way mark to take in the view from the high point at Combe Gibbet whilst stuffing my face with a hot cross bun (the running food of champions) and then it’s back the way I’ve come. It’s amazing how different things look from the other direction though and there’s still plenty to be admired as I make my way slowly back towards the van. Having seen only a small handful of people in the proceeding miles it’s a bit of a shock to the system as I get to within a couple of miles or so of the finish and the numbers slowly increase. It’s amazing how close most people stay to the safety of their tin cans, never venturing more that a mile or so from the car park and all seemingly congregating on the same parking hotspots. By the time I get back to the van, 4 hours after setting off, the car parks heaving, with people queuing to get a space. Some change to last night then when I was the only person for miles around! A fraction over 4 hours for 26.5 miles of off-road fun and another marathon a Month ticked off. What started off as a “Can I do a marathon every month” 17 months ago has now become a bit of a ritual and has given me something to look forward to and aim towards every month during the long Covid lockdowns and restrictions. It’s not been easy though, finding the motivation to get out there through the winter on my own, knowing that I’ve got at least 4 hours of running ahead of me and trying to keep the routes different and interesting. Hopefully not much longer now though, with the end possibly in site and a return to more organised running and the opportunity to spread my wings a bit further afield drawing ever closer. Fingers crossed I’ll see one more socially distanced marathon effort in April and then we’ll be able to get involved with a few more people to brighten things up a bit. A bit of competition will hopefully do my pace wonders too, with people to run with and someone to pace against making the efforts a bit easier. It’s all to easy to fall into the “taking it steady trap” when you’re on your own. Watch this space and let’s see what the rest of 2021 brings. After Saturday’s marathon efforts and an afternoon on the allotment when I got home (Brassica’s, leeks, early peas sown and a few other odd jobs ticked off) Sunday called for an easier day. Things didn’t quite work out like that though, as once I finally got going, I managed to get a fair bit done! I’ve been saying for ages that “Project Patio” is nearing the finish line and after a good day’s work on Sunday the backs finally broken on it (The patios back that is not mine. I’m made of stronger stuff than that). There’s still plenty of finishing off to do of course, but all the slabs are now down, the washing lines ready to go back up, hopefully to coincide with the better weather, and there’s no more piles of mud, bricks or sand to trip over. The tool buckets been emptied, and the cement mixers wrapped up safe and sound for a few months awaiting the next project, the wheelbarrows gone back to the allotment and all that remains now is the good bit. Sowing seeds, planting plants into the new beds and kicking back with a few beers to admire my handiwork. Like that’s going to happen; I’ve been ignoring the allotment, bikes, woodworking and other projects whilst this one’s been ongoing. I’ve got 6 months of other stuff to catch up on and its nearly summer. Now where’s my tent and walking boots, that should give me plenty of thinking time to plan the next project! Oh and before I forget, I’ve racked up well over 500 miles on the bike so far this month between commuting to work and going down to visit “The Old Cheese” last weekend. With the van averaging about 500 miles on a tank of fuel that’s a saving of approximately £80, which is handy as that’s what the replacement exhaust pipe is costing too replace the bit that fell off at the weekend!
Hopefully the replacement will get here in the week, but it’s not a job I’m looking forward too. Laying on your back, manhandling a length of heavy van exhaust into place with one hand whilst trying to hold the other end is never easy. Of course I could just take it to the garage and get them to do it, but that will at least double the cost, if not more, and I’m not sure my legs have got another 500 miles in them to cancel the labour charges out too!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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
Categories
All
|