In the Garden

It's been another busy day. I'm just about to head out for a walk just to relax!

The day started reasonably early as I was doing the Glossop Kinder Velo Snake Pass hill climb! When I used to smoke (many blue moons ago) I used to light a ciggie at the bus stop, guaranteeing the immediate arrival of my bus. Unfortunately, such rules are not always positive! I washed my bike last night and this always seems to guarantee rain. Maybe I should wash my bike in a drought ridden country.

Motivated by Mary Berry, I wished to avoid a soggy bottom prior to the race. Therefore, I set off on the short ride to Glossop all waterproofed up. Fortunately, Glossop was a bit dryer and conditions seemed ideal for my 10:09 start.

Hill Climb cycling events are dominated by specialists. I don't understand why average club riders don't seem to want to enter such events. It only cost £7 to enter and a fancy time trial bike is certainly not needed. Oh....and it would mean that I had some people to beat.

Anyway, apart from a broken zip on my overshoes, everything went smoothly. I warmed up on a wee circuit in Old Glossop which was ideal, as it had a great short-sharp climb to get my heart-rate up. At 10:09 precisely, I started my ascent, in almost my smallest gear, shifted down one and tried to get into a rhythm. The opening section is relatively steep at 14-15% so it wasn't long before my legs started to burn. By the third minute, my minute man had caught me but I expected that.

The higher I went, the worse the visibility became and soon I was pedalling through wet cloud with next to no visibility. My glasses had misted over but taking them off made no difference to what I could see....I know the climb well but could only estimate where I was because of the time on my GPS. It was a bit scary as the visibility for car drivers would be no better....and all I would be a shadow until they were almost level. Amazingly, all cars passed at sensible speed, leaving plenty of space,

Before I knew it, I was on the relatively flat section sprinting for the line. Unfortunately, I sprinted towards spectators wearing yellow jackets rather than the timekeeper 50m further up the road. Only a few seconds lost. My time was rubbish, towards the lower end of the field but I had worked my socks off and did the best I could.

I had lunch, then an afternoon snooze, before doing the garden! It was a bit overgrown as its been neglected because a) the weather has been crap b) I've been very busy at weekends and c) it looked pretty anyway.

Jan my neighbour and Clara wandered into the garden as I had promised Clara an apple from my tree. Last year I made the same promise, only for the tree to be plundered before she got the chance. This is her eating the 1st apple picked this year. She said it was yummy! More piccies from the garden here! Kids are so much more fun than adults!