Yep, unless i've got my calculations wrong, this weekend the clocks change in Europe for potentially the last time, returning the UK to GMT.

The whole idea, supposedly to give farmers more daylight working, was always flawed, it sort of works for about a fortnight at either end but then it starts impacting the rest of the population quite badly, no one gets up earlier to get the morning light and the earlier end of the daylight means school children for example, finish in the dark and it increases the occurence of SAD. If farmers were so bothered about using the full available daylight they can change their alarm clocks, there really is no need for the rest of the population to be affected.

That all aside, it marks the official end of the 'summer' season, this week is schools half term in the UK and unlike the US, there are no more breaks until Christmas, indeed for most of the UK poulation the last 'Holiday' was back in August. Its a grey time, the fields are mostly bare, the skies laden with damp, waterproofs and thermals return to regular use, this year, perhaps even more than last, the atmosphere with the spectre of Covid makes for a somewhat muted atmosphere.

We've had some damp here this week although the heaviest wet has been overnight, so far it hasn't affected my riding schedule but my 'luck' can't hold forever!

Yesterday, Tuesday, the forecast was basically dry and cloudy so i decided on a chip run to Weston - with a bit of a twist, the twist was to go via Bath which, if you look at the map, is the opposite direction! But there was method in my madness, by heading to Aqua Sulis you can avoid most of the up/down riding to get onto the Mendip, one big climb then its a fairly easy and straight route through the tangle of hills to reach the eastern end of the massif then after heading west you can drop down to sea levelish for the final approach to Somerset's premier seaside resort. Well that was the plan.

Of course it didn't go quite as planned, no sooner had i started the climb out of the city than it started to mizzle, that fine wet, that penetrates everything without the need for bigger droplets that make it drizzle. I was already bejacketed against the morning coolness and of course, by the time i cleared the city limits, whilst a bit damp in the air, it was effectively dry again. I'd not done this route before, sure i've been along most of the roads but never all joined together, sometimes the great route on paper turns into a nightmare, this time it was at least 90% successful in its aim.

A slight detour did add a bit of extra climbing but also put me on quiet, single track lanes for a bit, the tarmac struggling to be seen through the grass and algae, add a few damp leaves and some 25% incline and you get some 'interesting' riding! The kilometres were adding up, over 60 by the time i dropped off the Mendip, i'd usually be looking for a lunch stop but i pressed on, those chips providing just enough carrot to keep me going. It was warmer and drier at the coast, i was soon enjoying a cuppa with my chips amongst the half term visitors - what else do you do with kids that's essentially free and 'fun'?

It was always the intention to go back quite directly, the 80+km on the clock encouraged that idea as i set off, the wind, once i cleared the headland, now mostly behind me. I made good time, the meteorological assistance encouraging a bit more speed out of this grand parents legs, a few spots of wet never doing much more than damping the roads. My arrival at Chez Bev was timely as the wet started to be a bit more persistant but i'd added 130km and a thousand metres to the year's pot.

Today is grey and breezy, the laundry is drying outside and i'll have a little walk later on but first, today's post!

It's the second and currently final part of The Saga of Rhod and Phillipa, Choice moves things along a bit further, they get to choose their costumes. When I wrote these chapters, I had intended to write more in parallel to the main Gaby tale but I never did.

Of course Rhod did subsequently get his own mini story as Mfanwy, which was posted to my currently 'resting' web site at the end of 2003. The good news for you folks is that i'll let you have a read of that from next week. There are quite a lot of continuity issues but if you read with an open mind i'm sure you'll still find the two threads enjoyable.

So that's it for today, More from me on pumpkin day,
byeee,
Madeline Anafrid

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