so far!

The weather has, to say the least, been a bit pedantic the last few days, forecasts of rain causing deferment of my bike ride only for the weather to be okay and leaving me with a very breezy and damp ride today when it should have been dry and calm! Oh well.

In other news, my Dad has now had his first Covid vaccine shot but my GS is in isolation as staff at his nursery tested positive, its precautionary, he doesn't have symptoms which is good as, like me as a kid, he seems to catch everything that's going!

But lets catch up, After Sundays long hike, on Monday I did a shorter trek before getting in a writing session, Tuesday rather than a bike ride (see above) it was the reverse, finish the new chapter then another shortish walk. Indeed, this walking jag has pushed me over the halfway point of the 100km January challenge.

Which brings us to todays rescheduled bike ride. I had planned on @ 120km, down into the Mendips, along the ridge then a loop along the coast and back. It was soon clear that it would be quite windy (avg 43mph westerly apparently) with low cloud restricting the usual views, but I pressed on and started my trans Mendip leg. However, a lack of signage and restricted view had me turned about and heading back on the road I came south on!

Not to be deterred, I came up with a new plan which brought me around a loop to the base of the Mendip scarp which I then followed west to the convenient bus shelter at Churchill where I stopped for lunch, now with 3 hours riding in the legs. It wasn't freezing but with the damp and wind I wasn't inclined to hang about so once the food was onboard I returned to the roads for the homeward leg. The good news was that it was now mostly with the wind on my shoulder rather than going into it so I made fair progress up through Clevedon and the Gordano Valley to cross the Avon back into 'greater' Cabotville.

For a change, I found my route without going wrong but what was worrying was the way the bike reacted each time I braked, was it the regular deposits of diesel on the roads, just the damp or maybe a tyre issue? A few squiggles not under braking weren't good news so I took a least braking, flatter route for the last bit back to base. Once stopped I spotted the issue immediately, not the tyre or diesel but a rim failure at a spoke hole, literally chunks of aluminium missing! Not good but I had already planned on retiring the wheel from frontline service so I have a wheel on order already but its still @ a week away from delivery.

Oh well, it got me back for which I'm grateful and given some of the atrocious roads hereabouts its not exactly a huge surprise its just inconvenient timing. 115km today though and a good 1000m+ of up, the 'biggest' ride of 2021 so far. I had sort of planned a bike free week this month - looks like the bike wants some Maddy free time too!

And so to today's Gaby posting. Its a long one today but that means its full of action! There's food, a title for Bond junior as well as the start of a friendship that has continued all the way into the current volume. Oh and there's archaeology with a bit of folk singing - the clue is in the title, On Ilkley Moor Baht ’at

Well that's it for today, i'll be cracking on with more writing tomorrow, but for now,
tschuss
Madeline Anafrid