Wednesday 8 May 2013

Grafham Water ride

Okay so it's been a while since my last blog entry. However, rest assured we've not been sat with our feet up! 

I've always thought the key to successful cycling is to at least enjoy it (well as much as that's possible of course), so we are I admit, a bit picky as to what weather we will venture out in. Bit of light rain and a stiff breeze is okay; torrential rain, particularly if a few miles are involved, is avoided; snow and ice is a non-starter. Also we've neither the time or, to be honest the inclination, to spend every waking hour on our bikes at the weekend. That's not to say, however, that we don't also recognise the potential enormity of the task ahead of us this Summer; being under prepared could be an uncomfortable mistake. Biggest dilemma then has always been trying to strike a happy medium with our preparations.  


In an effort to ramp up the miles a bit, we headed out on a much cycled route which meanders through the back lanes of Cambridgeshire and North/Central Bedfordshire in a loop, taking in scenic Grafham Water before heading home again.  While the day was reasonably dry and sunny, the gusty wind was a real trial. 






Cambs and Beds can be lovely and flat in places; it can also be rather open too! Time and time again, we were surprised by quite stiff cross winds, which could quite easily have thrown us into the deep ditches at the side of the road. I think at times early on,  it had crossed both our minds to question the wisdom of continuing; though not for the first time in our relationship, we didn't actually share these misgivings and so ploughed on!

Thankfully we survived the 11% hill descent between Everton and Tempsford; potentially heart stopping at the best of times, a rogue side wind was something we could've done without. Grafham Water came quickly enough though and before we knew it we were passing through the chocolate box imagery that is Hilton Village.

Perversely, we did actually enjoy the ride, although perhaps some of that was purely down to the fact we'd achieved what we'd set out out to do, by covering a reasonable distance, including a few climbs, for the first time since the Autumn, in what were rather trying conditions. So job done I guess.

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