Look i told you not to plug that last Santa in, now we can't watch Chitty or even listen to the Queens Speech!

A tale of Christmas future to be sure.

Anyhow, we are into the last week of holiday madness and as i'm away from the morrow, me an' Aunty Bev have had a pre Xmas dinner this afternoon. We've done the soup, main course of Goose, sprouts and the usual suspects, we'll finish off with Christmas pud when i've finished here.

I had intended to put on a posh frock and stuff but other stuff has cut into my day so it was just my Christmas tree earrings!

A lot of stuff has happened this week, much of it not pleasant. I didn't mention it on Wednesday but my dad has had a Big C diagnosis this week, its essentially untreatable so that is now a ticking bomb. Then on Friday, his sister, my aunt, passed away, not completely unexpected but still quite a shock and then of course the sad passing of AG yesterday. Forgive me then for not being on top of my game.

On a more positive note, todays ride, probably the last of 2021, saw my riding target of 10k miles completed! I'll admit to having got a bit obsessive this last week, 6 days straight out riding and it still came down to the wire. By the end of Fridays ride i was still some 230km short, i was on the verge of giving up, accumulated fatigue was starting to bite and the thought of two more full days in the saddle hadn't got a lot of appeal.

But i don't give up so easily, i had a plan and i wasn't afraid to use it! So off i set Saturday morning, eastwards into the wind, not a particularly testing route but i was after distance not height today, on and on past Chippenham, RWB and to the southern edge of Swindon. It was a quick halt for my sandwiches then a climb over the Downs to Marlborough where i started the slightly assisted return westwards. I had set 140km as a minimum to give me a chance on the 10k, by Devizes it was clear i'd do that but how much more?

The light was failing rapidly as i approached Bath, the 140km on the GPS suggested i'd be close to an imperial century for the day! I'm not a fan of night time riding, i've done my share over the years, training, commuting, socialising but rarely has it been at the end of a full day ride. I let fly back along the bike path and finished with 165km for my 7.5h effort.

To make the 10k i still needed a further 69km, call it 70, no better still 75 to be on the safe side. No time for more and any less would be defeat, i had a quest and i was gonna complete it. 78km, 4 hours with photo stops but its done, the 4th year straight that i've done at least 10k miles. There's no prize, its a personal goal, nothing else but it does give some bragging rights!

Still to do today is my packing for the morning - the case will be mostly full of presents but i suppose i should take some clean knickers!

There is new Gaby of course, Telling Time takes us through the build up and Gab's effort against the clock.

So there we go, the next update may not be Wednesday as i'm off to see #1 Grandson up in Leeds, but don't fret, Ontario 37 will be posted before the weekend.

For now tho
Frohes Noel
Madeline Anafrid