It was a delightfully quiet work day – I sometimes suspect that most of our customers start their weekends on a Thursday night – so with another warm, dry afternoon forecast, I thought I’d risk an early exit and a post-work Fondo.
The wind was coming from the south-west and I decided on the southbound route. I didn’t quite go all the way to Welford and the Northants border like I usually would; I just turned round after the requisite half fondo distance.
Stopped for a nice snack and a bottle of Lucozade at the village shop at Gilmorton on the way down. It’s a very cyclist-friendly place with seats and tables outside and they always offer to fill your water bottle. It was open until 7pm so tactically, a stop on the way back would probably have been better.
Very nice out there. Very warm. The wind was quite strong but it was mostly a slightly hostile sidewind on the way down, and a more sympathetic sidewind on the way back.
Once again I clocked up a faster average speed than I usually would. I think my dodgy knees are the limiting factor and a break from cycling enforced by a holiday in Scotland has given them a welcome long recovery period. But – regular cycling definitely helps as well. A bit of a delicate balance.
Three dogs attempted to intercept me on the outskirts of Stoney Stanton. They just bolted out of a house on the right and came for me like I was a fox being pursued by hounds, yapping vigorously. I shouted NO! at them and pedalled hard to outrun them but for the first couple of seconds the yapping of the dog in front – obviously the ringleader – didn’t seem to be receding into the distance behind me.
I don’t think they were much older than puppies to be fair but on my very first spreadsheet-recorded ride in January 2015 I was bitten by a dog – so for it to happen again would have been an ominous portent.
Back on 63.35. Happy to have done a bit more than 100 miles since I came back from my hols.