Carry On Camping

Training ride went well yesterday.  I had to pick up a package from Alton so planned a route going through there and onto Alresford and then heading up to Axford and back through Upton Gray and Odiham. 

My brother (Stacey) was joining me so I wanted to keep it under 45 miles as we are increasing his distances week on week and was at 30 mile rides a fortnight ago.

It was a chilly but glorious day and a real pleasure ride surrounded by fantastic scenery.  There was some kind of classic car rally going in the opposite direction to us for about 10 miles and we saw all manner of fantastic old machines (MG’s, 1950s VW coupe’s /Porsche’s, Jaguar’s, to many to mention) many of which were being put through their paces which was a nice sight but the fumes from some of them where not so great! 

Having completed the route with Stacey and apologised to him for the 45 planned miles actually being 51 (well done bro) I popped back home to drop off the rucksack and have a double helping of cheesecake, a few handfuls of salted nuts and two cups of coffee.

Pockets stuffed with food and bottle full I headed back out and did the same loop but in the reverse direction.  It had warmed up a bit now and the far reaching views made for a good distraction for what my body was having to battle against.  Stopped and took a few photo's en-route to share.  I pass some amazing properties and just the length of the driveway alone for one yesterday was phenomenal so had to get the shot.

Having completed my training ride I took it a step closer to the Lejog experience last night as I camped out in the back garden.  I am very aware that it’s probably going to be cold in September (especially up north) and see the weather now as being as close as can be expected so wanted to see how I fared as I have not camped for 20 years.

  

The answer, not well.  Sleeping bag was not quite warm enough (temp dropped to 6c last night) so I need to look for a warmer one.  Also I need to man up as kept thinking I was going to be attacked by one of the deer, fox or badger that visit our garden from time to time which prevented me from dozing off as I listed to all the rustling in the garden focusing on how just a thin bit of fabric separated me from the BEAST that was out there!

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Joined a group of friends riding down to the coast and back on Saturday.  It’s closer than you might think and I was surprised to have to tag on extra miles when I was getting closer to home in order to get the distance up to the 100 mile mark which I have to get use to.

I do a lot of my training on my own so it’s really nice to ride with others every now and again as once on the quiet back roads that we tend to use we can chat about life whilst churning through the miles which makes the time go quicker and the whole thing becomes a social event rather than training.

Several of the group I ride with are involved in organising the Farnham Festival Of Cycling ( https://www.farnhamfestivalofcycling.org/ ) which was a great success at its launch last year and has been significantly beefed up for 2017.  I helped out with the marshalling of the hill climb last time and have volunteered my services again this year for anything I can assist with on the day.

I have been meaning to get out on what is referred to as a “recovery ride” the day after one of my big training rides but the body and mind have both found reasons not to so far, until yesterday.  My brother very kindly helped in dragging me out for a ride Sunday and it was so nice that our planned 20ish miles became 40 miles. 

We stuck to the “recovery” plan which basically means not pushing / working to full potential which I think is how the distance got extended so much but I was certainly aware of things getting harder after 30 miles so I have a lot more training to put in to be ready for the 9 consecutive 100 mile plus days!  

All in all a great weekend of cycling and I really enjoyed getting out and sharing the time on the bike with those who put up with me, thank you one and all.