After my easy weekend last weekend I suppose it's about time I got back into the swing of things. But first. As I've just mentioned, I had an easy weekend last week which is why there's no blog post. We (that's "The Emma" and I), went into London for a reunion on Friday night, which resulted in a lazy Saturday, although I did sort the front garden out ready for the winter and got up the allotment for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Sunday wasn't much more productive either, a short leg stretching run in the morning and an afternoon of pottering around, got lots of little jobs done, but doesn't exactly make for interesting reading on the blog front. So, best I make amends, and I think I might have managed to do just that. For reasons known only to those above me, I had to go to RAF Cosford for a seminar this week. Which I can assure you is exactly as dull as it sounds, if not even more so! But, never being one to turn down an opportunity, that gave me the chance to get a few running and cycling miles in somewhere else, and what's not to like about that. Taking full advantage of the lunchtime seminar start on Tuesday, I escaped with the van after work on Monday and found myself a nice quiet little spot, right on the Shropshire Union Canal for the night, leaving me perfectly positioned for a nice run in the morning, before certain boredom in the afternoon. Up early, I was out on the towpath for 08:00, and with fresh legs for a change, courtesy of my easy weekend it was a magical few miles. The low autumn sun shining from a cloudless blue sky glinted from the canal, adding to the picture perfect reflections of the bank side trees, all of which are just starting to gain their autumn colours. A Heron, stood perfectly still in the shallows took flight as I passed, flapping effortlessly into the sky, before alighting safely a few meters further down on the opposite bank and returning to its search for breakfast. Colourful canal boats, moored at the bank side with smoke rising lazily from their chimneys as the occupants began their own morning routines, added a splash of garish colour to the morning, accompanied by the occasional smell of frying bacon as I passed. The towpath made for easy running in the chilly early morning air and the miles passed easily. 2,3,4 miles came and went without thought, and I could have happily carried on forever, but work still called and at the 5 mile point I turned around to retrace my steps. The early morning dew still hung heavily from the bank side vegetation, but the autumn sun still had some strength to it and with the sun now in my face it wasn't long before I had to stop and start shedding layers, hat and gloves gone, the sun feeling magical on my face, there won't be many more of these mornings this year so I was determined to make the most of it. A few boats were on the move by now, and as I made my way back towards the van the gentle chug of their engines accompanied my footsteps as we passed like ships in the night with a cheery wave. Like most things though, the best things can't last forever and before I knew it, I was back at the van, with just enough time for a brew and a good stretch before having to rush off to my seminar. What a way to start your day though. Not only had I missed all the traffic by travelling Monday night, but I'd had a brilliant run somewhere new too. Now that's a real result in my book. Carrying on the taking advantage theme, a Seminar finish on Thursday lunchtime left plenty of time for more of the same, and after a leisurely lunch I headed over to The Wrekin for a few hilly miles. With the sun putting in the odd appearance through the broken cloud cover, it was still pleasantly warm for the time of year, and working hard to scale the 1335 Ft hill, I soon had a good sweat on. It was more than worth the effort though, with far reaching views into Wales to the West and back towards Birmingham to the East. Up one side, down the other, and back over again, with a few extra miles though the woods in the afternoon sun for good measure, saw another 8 miles added to the years total, and gave my legs, which had been sat cramped in an uncomfortable seat for the last couple of days a good stretch too. As I said earlier, if I've got to travel I'm going to make the most of the opportunity and I certainly wouldn't have had the chance to do either of this weeks runs in normal circumstances. If I'm going to take advantage of an opportunity, I might as well do it properly and really kick the arse out of it though, and to that end, not only did I take my running kit with me, but having a purpose designed and built camper van, I took my bike with me too. So, staying "up North" and with work wrapped up for the week (that's the joy of the odd working from home / remote working opportunity), Friday afternoon I whipped the bike out from the van, saddled up and headed towards Wales for a few hilly miles, and I wasn't disappointed. A couple of hours in the saddle saw me in Llangollen, home of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, courtesy of that genius of engineering Thomas Telford, but more importantly in this case, the ideal place to pick up the start of the Horseshoe Pass. The Horseshoe Pass more than lived up to its billing too, snaking endlessly skywards, steep enough to push you out of your comfort zone, whilst still being achievable enough to make you want to keep going, and the views, both on the way up and from the top, are enough to instantly make you forget any suffering that might be involved in getting up there. The real highlight of the day though was the ride back to Llangollen on the other side of the valley. Starting with a descent so steep and so long that I feared I might have to jump from the bike as despite all my efforts to keep the speed under control it just wasn't happening. Feet unclipped ready to jump, brakes applied as hard as I could muster and still the speed crept up. Eventually a farm track, rising instantly as steeply as I had been descending, proved my saviour, and as I finally ground to a halt, worries about being engulfed in a push bike fire as smoke poured from the brake blocks, suddenly became a real and unusual concern. I can categorically state that I've never seen that before, or tried so hard to control my speed without success on a down hill! Scary bit conquered and heart back in my ribcage, the road rolled up hill and down dale for quite some time. Each new ascent or twist in the winding road opening out to reveal a new vista, each more stunning than the last. Smooth tarmac, no traffic, stunning views and the sun putting in an appearance, it doesn't get any better than that and I was in my element. It couldn't last forever though and all too soon I was back in Llangollen, but not before one final treat with a stunning view of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct to round off a stunning afternoons riding. All that remained was the not inconsiderable task of getting back to the van, and I'm quite happy to admit that that was a hard few miles on what where by this point, tired legs. Eventually though, with lights ablaze, and in the midst of a heavy rain shower, I arrived back at the van. Tired, hungry, damp, but happy. I said it before and I'll say it again. Taking advantage of being somewhere different opened out a whole new adventure yet again. Yes, I could have legged it straight back home as soon as my seminar was done, but look at what I'd have missed out on! Right, one more then I really need to go home. I'm pretty sure that I've said that on more than one occasion, but not normally in relation to playing bikes! The weather forecast for Friday night into Saturday wasn't good, with heavy rain due overnight, but it was supposed to be clearing in the morning to be replaced with strong winds and blue skies. And they were pretty much spot on too. I heard the rain beating on the van roof in the night, but by the time I got out on the bike at 07:30 the worst had passed and it was just drizzling and by 09:00 the sun had indeed come out, to be joined by a howling gale. Nice! Feeling a bit delicate from Fridays efforts and still needing to head back towards home at some point, I only had a short day planned with an eye towards heading at least some of the way back home in the evening, and to that end I headed out from my overnight spot towards Ironbridge, planning on getting to see that marvel of the industrial revolution whilst I was up that way. It was worth the effort too, as its a fascinating bit of engineering, all iron construction, yet put together with the jointing techniques which would have been familiar to the craftsman of the day and are still used in every day woodworking now. Dovetails, Mortices and Tenons and Slotted Keyways seamlessly hold the whole thing together and have obviously stood the test of time. Maybe we could still learn a thing or too from those pioneers? The other thing that caught my attention on the way through the Ironbridge Gorge, not including the change in river level since the 1700's when it was navigable for the cargo ships of the day, yet now appears to be only a couple of feet deep at this point (and we wonder why places downstream are now prone to flooding) was the ruins of the Bedlam Blast Furnaces at Coalbrookdale. Disappointingly, despite being a scheduled historical monument, most of the view of this piece of history is now obscured by a car park! However, the sense of how this place once was is captured nicely in the painting "Coalbrookdale by Night" by Philip James de Loutherbourg and comparing then for now, it just goes to show how, given time, the natural environment can recover from the damage we as humans seem so intent on causing. Anyway, back on track. Having crossed the river Seven by way of the famous bridge, the climb out of the valley was a bit of a stinger. Not only was it stupidly steep at the start but it then dragged on for what seemed like forever. Something that became a common theme for the first part of the morning as I made my way towards Much Wenlock and along Wenlock Edge before dropping off onto the flatter roads towards Shrewsbury in the late morning to loop back to the van in time for a late lunch.
Two good rides on new roads, an opportunity to see a few of this country's historical remnants which I'd never seen before, an amazing run along the Shropshire Union Canal, which again was a new one for me and a cheeky jaunt up The Wrekin, with it's amazing views over the surrounding landscape. Not bad for an enforced work seminar even if I do say so myself, and so much better than just spending 7 hours driving the round trip on the motorway and seeing nothing. Life's all about making the most of the opportunities which come our way, and I hope that you'll agree that in this case, I certainly did just that!
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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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