Footwear, like any girl i've got a few pairs, not exactly Immelda but enough - or not! What i always seem to be short of is stuff for daily wear, i seem to get through trainers and boots like there's no tomorrow. Guess it could be all the walking i do. Anyway, i saw these, at a good price and thought, what the heck, they probably aren't up to long hikes but a walk to the local shops will be okay and they kinda go with a wide variety of outfits.

So back to the more usual stuff. The weather has been a bit, well autumnal this week the forecast for Thursday wasn't great, it was worse for Friday so i decided on a hopefully not too wet of shorter duration. I had a destination in mind @ 30 mostly cycle path kilometres away so i set off into the grey, but dry morning and to be fair, it didn't actually really rain all day, just a bit of mizzle during the ride back. Out to Bath then through the tunnels on the Apple Line towards Radstock. Its mostly good tarmac but the last couple of kilometres are packed conglomerate, by the time i reached my stop at Wellow i was a bit spattered!

The cafe, at the trekking centre, is a bit strange, a mix of Italian restaurant and English tea room run by a similarly mixed couple. There are cheaper places and pricier but if you are ever in the area its worth a visit whether you have tea & cake or freshly made pasta. I had my eggs on toast, dried out a bit then set off for a short circuit back. The hills hereabouts are often brutal, the collision of the Mendip and Cotswolds has left its mark in a crumple zone of geology and so i took a westward rising valley to avoid too much climbing, i just didn't fancy the effort on damp roads, especially as i was still a bit sore from the weekend.

A little over 62km in the end but with almost 600m of climbing despite my best efforts to avoid it! It might not have really rained but i was well damp when i got back.

Friday was supposed to be a writing day but not before i fetched some food to get me through the weekend. By the time i settled down to get creative it was after lunch, by teatime i was a bit short of completing the chapter - i'll do that today so Patreons look out this evening!

Saturday - the forecast reckoned a north westerly wind but sunny and dry, after much deliberation i decided on a ride out to Royal Wootton Bassett where tea and a toastie had my name written on them. There was a definate coolness to the morning but it warmed to the low teens as i made my way eastwards across the Cotswolds, the wind light on my shoulder. At the 'cafe', a container in the park, there was a decidedly cool breeze despite or perhaps because of the mostly clear skies, the bacon, brie and cranberry toastie went down well, with 60km already banked i set off for a slightly more direct ride back.

Unlike Thursday, all the climbing was fairly steady, a gradual ascent to the Cotswold edge before a few bumps on the return to Brizzle. The issue was instead the rising wind and more ominously, a bank of grey that was replacing the blue above - oh and i seemed to have a bit of a stomach issue! When it hit it was with a vengeance, a few heavy wind sped spots of rain, before i could get my wet coat on it was a painful assualt by hail, i sheltered under a tree and shivered as the temperature quickly lost five degrees.

In five minutes it was past, blue skies were back but i was now quite cold and in need of a stop! Wouldn't you know it, within 2km the roads were dry, i'd just caught the edge of the storm. It was still a few km's to where i knew i could stop for a warming cuppa (yes there were several hostelries i could've stopped at but i always end up with beer or cider despite them selling hot beverages!), any way i pushed on as the sun dropped reaching the farm shop/cafe at Burton in desperate need! Thirty minutes later i was warmer and more comfortable, i resisted the cake temptation too, and set off for the last 20 or so kilometres into the bright but breezy late afternoon.

A hundred and twelve kilometres but not much over 700m of up puts Thursday into hard ride territory! After Friday's pie and mash, it was to be liver and onions with chips - enjoyed by all who partook!

And so to today, later i'll finish off that chapter but i've already been busy on this cool but bright day. Laundry is done and i've got todays dinner on the go, we're having a very autumnal stew using some of our own veg, we may even have dumplings! I will have a walk, but nothing too exciting, just around the block, perhaps to the shop.

In the meantime i've put up the next On The Edge chapter, What friends are for is chapter 9 and ... no you'll have to read it!

Thats it, i'll be back midweek.
Wiedersehn,
Madeline Anafrid