I've just come back from Thailand and quite frankly the last week has been a bit of a struggle. Dr. Internet says that jet leg lasts for the same number of days as time zones you cross. Which means I should be back to normal, a statistical average by the way, nothing more, by Monday.
I did still play football, where I was OK, and cycled in to work on Thursday, where I was fantastic on the way in, and hopelessly mangled by the wind, drizzle and mud on the way home. Despite doing no cycling in Thailand, at 36C in the shade, I had little inclination to move never mind clip in, I did get in to the swimming pool on a regular basis. My purple shoulders and upper back on the first day were a bit sore by day 2, especially when they were being pummelled in my massage session.
And before you ask, no I didn't, it was all very respectable thanks for asking. But I'm hoping my calves and hamstrings will have derived some benefit in the weeks to come. I did see some proper cyclists on the road, roadies in lycra and all the trimmings, and if you think us lot in the UK are strange, boy they must be blooming mental. The traffic makes Bristol at rush hour look like the lawn of a vicar's tea party.
I can't think of many successful far-eastern cyclists, I guess there aren't too many roads and hills for them to ride up, and it's not really in the culture of boiling hot countries. Having come from sub zero temperatures in the UK I know a cold as cold as it gets, but honestly, I was glad to get back to the drizzle and the damp of February in the Mendips.
Which brings me to today. One of those days with unseasonal weather, or so it proved in the end. To start the day I was having a faff over clothes, the forecast was for 4C at 9AM, rising to 12C by midday. Given that we had a few hills planned on our ACG trip, this did not seem easy to plan around. But as Skip always says, it's all about layers, and I mixed my ACG coat with some natty HTC gear underneath.
A collection of six of us assembled in the swirling fog, with a route planned by yours truly. I think at one point or other, most of them told me they hated me, as after a warm up around Wedmore, we climbed Deerleap, then a new hill out of Crosscoombe, and finally, for the three hardcore, Rowberrow.
The cafe, btw is called the Rock Cake cafe, but I had a bacon sandwich. On brown, so healthy. I felt a bit sorry for GH, it was only his second ride after 5 months off with a broken wrist. It was good to see said wrist orientated in the correct position, the car drivers seemed a bit tetchy today, and I think his wrist's former inclination may have been misinterpreted. But using that traditional north-easterner's trick of wearing hardly any clothes, while secretly despising us southern softies, got him through.
It was a great ride, and the weather turned out nice, so it did. For sure. Glastonbury Tor poking out of the mist down below us was a highlight, and it felt so nice to be out in the sunshine after the dreary winter. Yes, Spring is coming already.
I am concerned and slightly jealous all at the same time of Skip. She seems to be disappearing before our eyes, and means that she can bound up the hills with little effort. But it can't be healthy and there must a limit. Please.
The ride was cut short as various people had civic duties back in Axbridge, but I enjoyed the descent down Shipham hill tremendously, recording a 2012 top speed of 44.1mph as I hit the final corner. Don't pay too much attention to Charlie either, he lost about 4 miles somewhere, I know because i had to do a little lap of Winscombe to hit the half century. Which was good because at least I got my four climbs in. I did, however, arrive home early enough to earn inadvertent brownie points, not sure if that's good or not yet, time will tell.
One final thing. The eagle-eyed will spot a justgiving banner at the top of the page. For Above and Beyond, my charity of choice for the last three years, for quite personal reasons. I did Bristol to Land's End with them 2 years ago (250 miles) then the Somerset 100 last year (turned out to be 117) and now 'm doing a paltry 100km, but it is at night, real night when everyone is asleep, so that makes it harder.
I don't agree with Bunny about all this. I think everyone can spare something, and I get to enjoy cycling around Bristol on a sportive in the dark. If you feel like joining me, that would be great, it could be fun. But if you don't, I'd really appreciate a donation, even a small one, it all counts. Thanks.
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