Sprint Laps and a busy Sunday!

Hey people, hope you’re all enjoying Fathers Day! As it’s one of those weeks where everything has been a bit.. er… ‘off’ for lack of a better word. I went back to the joys of work on Thursday, and thanks to the winds I haven’t been out on my bike as a combination of knackered and windy/rainy evenings just don’t work sometimes!

I was aware that I must do some more planning of our (me and @melissagerman) route to Pau. I want to avoid toll roads, and its a sodding long way! However thanks to another Twitter friend, help is at hand! We also need to figure our where we want to be/go on Thursday (Bagnères-de-Luchon > Peyragudes) and Friday (Blagnac > Brive-la-Gaillarde).
I also need to check exactly what I need! Thanks to my parents for helping me out with this as well.

However there is only so much staring at the computer screen I can take, and aware that I will be staring at the screen for another few hours, I decided to test my Garmin Edge 200 out. I needed to go the cashpoint in town as well, so thought I’d hop onto Route 23 and swing through the War Memorial Park and down into Eastrop. Then I realised I hadn’t got anything with me apart from my phone, keys, cashcard and water. Oops. Didn’t want to go to far in case I flatted (got a puncture). Ah well, its a lovely day and thought I’d stretch my legs down the road by Eastrop. I like sprinting on fresh legs! Then it popped into my head that I was in walking distance of home (and I may have been inspired by Halfords Tour Series LOL), so thought I’d go for a few laps, and sprint down the road (the cycle path was majorly busy in the park – with people walking). Everytime I got to the bottom of the road, I was grinning like a loon. I did 8 laps in total, having a whale of a time, then realised I hadn’t switched the Garmin on. DO’H. I did one more lap, and headed on back to town, then home – I actually went up the hill home, and found it rather easy. Er, did I just say I found a small inconsequential hill easy?!?! Actually yeah I did. And it made me feel damn good. I’m still feeling good! Got to say that was much more enjoyable than I had thought it would be!!

Anyway have a brilliant day!

Ciao 🙂

 

Not a typical weekend!

Saturday morning, I once again joined up with https://www.facebook.com/breezingstoke (part of the Breeze network). Meeting in the War Memorial Park at 8.45, one of the ladies informed us that there was part of the cycle path cordoned off by police. This happened to be the way we were going, so we duly set off to investigate. No, we were not allowed through, and I still don’t know what had happened, but there was a police car and it was certainly off limits. We were redirected back past the tennis centre to rejoin the cycle path further down with much wondering what had happened!
Did I also mention there was a Park Run on? Ah, yeah, there was people EVERYWHERE!!
This was only a social ride, and road bikes probably shouldn’t be used going up through Crabtree plantation (far too gravelly really!) but I survived! A short run sort of around Old Basing and back via Eastrop Park (where Breeze leader Ruth took a lovely piccy of us ladies!).
On the smoothest, loveliest piece of road I switched to a higher gear and my sodding chain came off – cue mortification!
Honestly the weather and company was perfect for a short ride! I thoroughly enjoyed it, but once home I was soon bored!

After a quick wander around town, I decided to take my bike over to my parents (Kingston Lisle in Oxfordshire) and go for a short ride around there. Dad wondered whether to join me on his Eddy Merckx but he’d already been out for a long ride in the morning, so I thought that @v_girlracer might like to join me! She did an it was a lovely easy ride until we got to Common Hill.

Common Hill. Yep, for two not very fit people, it is a bast**d of a hill to climb as it’s steep enough, it twists and turns and the road surface isn’t great, but we both managed to stay on our bikes and get up it! Needless to say I was pretty damn pleased with myself. Thank god once up Common Hill we were back in Kingston Lisle, and only a short ride back to my parents.

Then still in lycra we decided to play tennis (although ‘play’ wouldn’t describe it as there was certainly no scoring – unless you count hitting miscellaneous objects as points). We had a whale of a time, even if the odd ‘Oiiii’ from mum (yeah we might have hit the window ;S ) made us calm down a bit.

So back to Basingstoke and Sunday morning meant putting together a flat pack (fabric) wardrobe, set of shelves and a bedside cabinet. And not doing any TdF planning (unless you included talking)!

Ciao
🙂

 

Bugs and Oakleys

Wow, did I see sunshine?? After a hazy warmish start at work, with a cold wind (we can’t obviously have it all y’know!), I was delighted to find the sun actually shone today! Having had to go to the doctors, then drive home, I was able to get out on my Lexa. Thank God. Oh sh*t. Well that’ll teach me not to get on the bike for a couple of weeks!

I didn’t go far, round the Bounty cricket/footy pitch, onto route 23, into the War Memorial park and out down through Eastrop Park (I really wish they would try and maintain this route better as in parts it’s categorically sh*te. Yes I am trying not to swear! From there I have no idea which roads/footpaths I followed, but I came back into Eastrop and back up the same route home. Now I feel great for being out, but I really am unfit (note to self – cut out the cakes!!!) and puffing going up the hills (snigger – small upward slope would describe it better) has reminded me to get out more.

I just hate going out on my own!

Anyway, as per usual my Oakleys (very old, 10+ years) were stored ‘pro style’ (upside down in my helmet. I flitted through the War Memorial Park and smack bang in big – massive – clouds of midges, needless to say a fair few went down my throat (bleugh!!). These black clouds of midges were a bit like cartoon clouds – I’ve actually never seen anything like it – and I persevered and got out the other side, without wearing my beloved Oakleys.

Not so on the way back – there were even more of the damn things! I nearly fell off my bike I braked that hard! Pulling my sunglasses off, about 50 dead ones fell off! Grrrrr, how dare they hit my lenses! Better idea to have my sunglasses on next time…

Funnily enough midges never bite me though and I’ve never been bothered by them when on a racehorse – horseflys though? Different story!!

Keep smiling 🙂