Angels watching over me

Sometimes I am, apparently, a wise old bird.  Sometimes, as I think is more than obvious, I am not.  This however, actually is.  I’ve been meaning to show it to you for a while, but I’m only allowed to photograph things that I ride past, deliberate photography detours are against the rules, and I haven’t quite gone past it so I couldn’t.  And yes, there are rules 😉  Wednesday’s ride, with the man from Minehead, aka @gazwagon, took us right past it, so carpe diem, call me Mr DeMille, here’s a very good way to mark the passing of a once mighty tree.  Funeral rites for an Ent?

Here’s a quote that isn’t from a Wol, but is from Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh: “Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think“.  I’m having a tough week; could these should be words to live by?  Actually there are lot of Winnie the Pooh quotes I like.  And I am frequently a Bear of Very Little Brain, though long words do not Bother Me, I love them :).  Maybe I should put each quote on a pretty picture of a sunset or the like and then post them regularly on Facebook, where reading them will solve everything for everyone…but it’s probably already been done ;).

owl left owl centreowl right

It was a nice ride, mostly.  Well, apart from the headwind all the way to the seaside!  Rides in good company are always good.  It’s a sort of unwritten rule.  A head start, a positive handicap, a favourable weighting.  Even bad rides are better with friends.  And this one wasn’t even bad, it was just quite hard work, for me anyway.  I don’t have all those hills on my doorstep to practice on, he does, and it shows!  Another MAMIL on form! *sigh*.  Mind you, if that was my only option, I’d probably never leave the house, so I’ll keep my Levels thank you very much ;).

You may be interested to hear that The New Castle in Kewstoke is open again – under new ownership.  Open all day, new tables and chairs, good coffee, reasonable prices, and a gluten free bar that isn’t a brownie(!), which all adds up to it being a very pleasant place to break up the loop and give me a break without having to resort to the debatable joys of Weston super Mare.  We sat inside, to hide from the really rather chilly wind, really rather unsuccessfully since for all that it was nice in there, it wasn’t warm, and I seem to be getting cold rather easily at the moment.  Coffee, cake, and time to be on our way again.  At least that wind was due to be, and then actually was, behind us on the way home :).

gaz drink stop sand bay view

Once again, I was left for dust all the way ’round, but you know, I’m kind of getting used to it, and there’s no point letting it get me down, as that would be counter productive.  I don’t appear to be improving, or I don’t feel like I am, which is depressing.  Though a couple of my Strava segments, like the climb up that Bleadon Hill, show that against myself, I’m not at my worst, and may actually be showing slight signs of improvement on earlier this year.  It’s probably all a question of perception.  Gaz thinks he’s slow, and he’s wrong too! ;).  I went up a few hills, and that’s the main thing.  And I still enjoyed the downs :).

gaz bleadon hill gaz webbington hill

For a change, I wasn’t in pain much, which was good.  Well, not the usual pain.  With that cleared away for a little while, and riding on three different types of bike of late – winter, summer, exercise – the old pain in my left knee has reared its ugly head again.  Well, if knees can have heads.  They can have ears right though, grasshopper?  I think I’ll strap it up on Sunday, and take the pills with me, just in case.  And since I wasn’t in pain then but I am now, I’ll probably be dosed up anyway :).  I’m fairly nervous about the day but, with the week I’ve had, the thought of spending all day on the bike just riding kind of appeals, so even if I’m on my own and it takes all day, that might be ok :).

Cycling time: 1:51
Distance: 28.1 miles
Avg 15.2 mph
ODO:  3987.7 miles