huzzah!

So where are we? Well after using Thursday and Friday for recovery, well I did slot in 2 hundred milers in three days, one toting @ 20kg of luggage, I took myself out for a spin yesterday. To be honest, I wasn't feeling big ride at all, the weather was quite nice, I'm about over the earlier exertions but I just wasn't feeling it. So I ended up with a spin down to Bath where I had a stop in Weston Park before a more twiddly ride back via a few lanes to give me a bit over 50km for the day, hardly Tour de France but I didn't crash and I wasn't in a lathered mess afterwards! It didn't help that my hay fever had a major flair up, I had the whole range of symptoms running in series, runny nose, sneezing, head ache, sore and sensitive eyes - it was 10pm before things eased off - not fun.

The 'new' addition to the Brizzle bike stable is taking a bit of getting used to, after a year of almost exclusively using old school frame mounted gear shifts along with a constantly changing range of defects, getting back to grips with dual levers and everything actually working is a bit strange. Its not quite as zippy as the old skool steel machine but its predictable and stable and I can't say I'm sorry to have a wider and lower gear range at my disposal. Some of the trails that've been a bit on the edge on the other bike will be happily doable now so I'll throw in a bit more byway/bridleway into the route pot and I'm looking to extend my range a bit in the coming weeks with judicious use of railways.

Afterwards, well after a cuppa I swapped cleats for boots and spent best bit of an hour shovelling horse poo. For why? well Auntie Bev went and bought a Rhubarb stock so the allocated bed needed some manure before the big plant out. We just have one, well manured bed vacant now, suggestions for what to plant are sought, I rather fancy Strawberries but we're open to offers.

Still with gardening, everything in the garden has gone super Triffid whilst I've been up in GOC, taters, onions, beets, beans, assorted brassicas and even the fruit plants have gone doolally, we should be eating home grown produce in the next week! Even the new grass patch has shot up, maybe we should get a rabbit to keep it in trim - there's not space for a Shawn!

Today, its a return to Ontario, Gaby book 23, time for the Wundermaedchen to put her one woman raspberry to BC into action! Go directly to The Main Thing, do not pass go, send me 200 Euros!

Lunch is calling now so I'll end this missive but not before another huge thank you to all those who continue to support my scribbling through Kindle, Lulu and yes, even through BC. Wherever you are on the spectrum of writer support, I couldn't do it without you.

Tschussie,
Madeline Anafrid