Whilst I have recently improved as a cyclist, I realised today that I still have a long way to go. During the week I had some help from our neighbour, Andy to fit new bar tape to my bike. The tape that comes on the Carerra Virtuoso is paper-thin and after 9 months of sore hands I splurged on some comfortable cork tape. During the tape-fitting process I let slip that I hadn’t come off my big chain ring for a while and that I felt I was becoming an accomplished climber. Andy invited me to join him today for a 50 mile ride incorporating a couple of serious climbs.
50 mile route from Bristol
It was a cold start to the day with the temperature at a chilly -1’C but fortunately no ice on the roads. We covered 20 relatively flat miles at a decent pace before arriving at the foot of the first climb. Following a steady drag to the foot of Burrington Combe, we embarked on the ascent. After trying to match Andy’s pace for about 30 seconds I blew my top and had to slow down. As he disappeared around the first corner I was already reaching for my long-forgotten front shifter to try and ease the pain.
Andy - patiently waiting at the top of a climb
From Burrington we headed out across Beacon Batch for some spectacular views of the bleak countryside before an exhilarating 41 mph descent to the foot of Cheddar Gorge. This was my second and thankfully final lesson in being ‘dropped’ on a climb. Fortunately mid-way up the climb I was gifted an excuse for lagging behind when two frisky goats charged down the steep cliffs and across my path. I felt like a tour rider dealing with troublesome fans on a climb, but then decided to stop and take a photo – purely for the purpose of blogging and not to catch my breath of course!
Pesky goats
It was a good ride, and good to cover some decent winter mileage. And after getting home and cleaning my bike I was delighted to find that Mrs BikeVCar had been up to her elbows in icing answering my prayers:
A prayer for the cycling ...
What more could you ask after a 50 mile ride than a cup of tea and a tasty homemade cupcake? For pictures of the cakes click here: Meg’s cakes.
Cycling Jerzy 
I think ‘up to my elbows’ plays down the fact that I was, in reality, covered from head to toe, and so was/is the kitchen. Oops!
Well you can always count on Mrs. Bike v. Car (Ms. Bike v Car) to put the icing on the cake. Anyway – I love your goat pictures (oh, and Andy of course)!!
I enjoyed the goats and I like the cake thinking.
I knew there was a good reason for making the chalk board!