Catch up

April 12^th 2017

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It’s been several weeks since I updated my Blog in fact it’s since the Grizzly in March. Once I had completed this I felt I needed a break from activity, blog writing etc. But the mind has this way of making you feel guilty when you are not doing those things anymore, so I have run 37 miles since the Grizzly [not all at the same time!] my best run being up in the Peak district when we had a couple of days at Chatsworth in the Camper van, I ran up and on to Baslow Edge, on a beautiful evening, with clear blue skies and a warm temperature for the time of year. I have tried to get back more into cycling in preparation for my French trip and for the couple of Audaxes I had planned, sadly a heavy cold last week put paid to last weeks ‘Dustman Daves Doddle’ 105k from Bishops Lydeard to Yeovilton and back and it’s the Merry Monk 110 k Audax in two weeks from High Ham. However I have managed to cycle 340 miles since the Grizzly, the weather over the past month has been superb, dry and sunny with warmth in the sunshine when you got out of the Northerly breeze.

Here are some main points from the last month

• ·         A trip to Gloucester to Granddaughters mother’s day service – camped at Briarsfield Cheltenham for 2 days.
• ·         3 days camped at the Caravan Club site at Chatsworth House near Baslow.
• ·         Walk in Dovedale, Baslow edge, bit of ancestor home finding around the Cromford. area as ancestors worked in the mills around the area.

Flowers in Dovedale 

·                                               Ilam Hall in the Peak District, the Italian Garden

•        A 6 mile run up onto Baslow edge as well as a 4.5 mile run round Cheltenham.
• ·         Park run at Seaton PB of 25mins 53 seconds on a damp drizzly morning.
• ·         A nasty bug that took away energy and left me feeling rubbish for a week.
• ·         A few bike rides, longest one today[Wednesday 4^th]  53 miles with the Wobbly Wheelers, to Hestercombe House on the edge of the Quantocks, now I have my energy back I have managed to cycle 125 miles since Sunday [ Wednesday today ]
• ·         Used my Titanium bake last week, after a winter on my Ribble, sadly I have a creaky Bottom Bracket so ordered a new one from ‘Wiggle’ on Sunday along with a new cassette and chain and it came today! So tomorrow I hope I can get rid of my creaks!
• ·         Had a couple of weeks heavy with work, Bikeability courses,
• ·         Before we went to Chatsworth I had to have a new battery fitted to the van, as it wasn’t holding charge and then last week, my starter motor was causing problems so a new starter motor the second in 4 years, it’s been an expensive couple of weeks, I just hope that’s it for a while and the van is reliable again.

I hope I can get back into writing my weekly Blog as I get more into my preparation for the Manche to Med trip!!!