- well eventually!

But I'll get to that. Importantly, Happy Solstice!

So after my Friday posting it did indeed dry up and I got out for my run, my first 10km in literally decades! A shuffled around in an hour and eight minutes which I was quite happy with but I finished with sore calves (not just tired you understand) and so began a torrid day or so of discomfort and trying to second guess the cause. Nothing seemed to help until I slipped on some 5cm (2") heels which eased things somewhat - go figure but overnight was no fun and they still offered some discomfort Saturday morning.

Despite that I got ready for a ride, eventually setting off just after 10am and heading down towards the Mendip lump. The legs had other things than hurting to worry about as I made my way up to the top where I got caught in a series of showers as I headed westward towards Weston super Mare. Down off the massif, then along the top edge of the high ground out to the sea and my lunch stop on Weston promenade.

It was quite warm by now despite the stiff breeze off the Severn estuary which prompted a search for ice cream when I started the return journey, a quest fulfilled when I got to Sand Bay. In theory the wind was gonna be helpful on the way back but any turn in the road it made its presence felt, and that was quite often as my route zig-zagged away from the coast. (not that I ever get that far from the coast on the return, Bev's gaff is only 10 miles from the brackish water of the Severn.) Ride over, 135km, 1200m of up and tired rather than just painful legs!

Which brings us to today. Now the forecast reckoned a chance of late morning showers so I deliberately left departure for my hike quite late, but weather, you can't trust it, I got showered three times in the first hour or so! It was a bit of a weird one, essentially going up one side of the M4 and back down the other - not along it of course but following roads and paths that generally track it. It was a mostly rural landscape of parkland, fields, nature reserves and a bit more urban housing - quite a mixed bag really which resulted in quite a varied fauna spotting experience and as summer rolls on, some different flora showing off its colours - pics tomorrow. Six hours of exercise, just over 20km so about 12 miles which is a reasonable trot - at this rate I might have to break out the walking boots!

Friday's painful legs are now back to the usual post walk sore feet which is good, will have to see how it goes for tomorrows run.

In other news, I've managed to get some more Gaby wrote, I'd like to have more but its coming along, I'll have a good session tomorrow around the running and food shopping. As things slowly get back to some sort of normalcy, the prospect of getting to at least visit the family in Yorkshire is getting a little closer as travel restrictions are eased a bit and coach travel will soon once again be possible. That's just part of the equation though, until accommodation re-opens that in itself is useless - oh well, we've survived thus far, I don't suppose another few weeks will make much difference.

Todays Gaby chapter is Full Days, the 28th part of Summer Loving - food, family & friends, not necessarily in that order!

And so i'll leave you with this,

this.

Madeline Anafrid