On Saturday I rode from Shaftesbury to Poole. Helen was heading there to meet a friend, which gave me the chance to ride somewhere new. By the time we got to Shaftesbury and I got ready to go I only had four and a half hours to get to Poole, spend time with my sister and get back.
My journey to Poole took me through the rolling hills between Blandford Forum and Wimborne Minster. There's a great, tree-lined, picture-postcard country lane near Wimborne. The trees overhang the road on both sides, with fields all around you. If it hasn't been used in a film it definitely should be!
After being wowed by the scenery, my map reading skills let me down on the outskirts of Poole. After traversing my way into the city centre, completely by-passing my sister's house, I had to call and ask for directions, delaying me somewhat.
A light lunch with Laura (for you food fans: two ham rolls, a chicken tikka roll, a pork pie, crisps, celery, tomatoes and hummus) and I was heading back out to Blandford Forum. The wind and the hills were pretty vicious on the way back, and I felt sluggish after the food so it was a slow return journey. I met Helen just outside Shaftesbury, after 64 miles, glad not to have to face any more.
It was either the warmer weather or the salty crisps and hummus but I was pretty dehydrated after the ride - any excuse to stop for McDonalds! A milkshake and a coke, plus a Quarter Pounder and fries sorted me out until we got back to Bristol. Then we had some leftover chicken and potato pie for dinner. It's surprising how guilt-free a McDonalds is after a big bike ride. It's also surprising how many calories are in each meal, around 800 in the burger and fries alone!
Saturday night I went out to a party and had some drinks so I wasn't exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed on Sunday morning. I took it easy and rode with a friend from Bristol who's recently bought himself a bike. Bill and I rode out to Dundry Hill in the south of Bristol, continued on to Chew Lake, then headed back along the Avon Cycleway, up the Portway to Westbury-On-Trym and back up onto the Downs with a nice stiff hill to finish.
A few people have recommended riding up to Dundry Hill and I can now see why. On a clear day the view of Bristol is pretty spectacular. The camera phone shot on the right doesn't really do it justice.
The ride itself was a fairly gentle 44 miles at a pretty easy pace. The hills were a bit of a challenge but it was probably a recovery ride more than anything.
I thought about heading out for another 20 miles or so but time was getting on and I had things to do so I called it a day.
Over the two days of riding this was still a weekend of 100+ miles, which is something I hadn't done before this time last year. Plus both rides this weekend were in new places, which made a big difference to my motivation. Those lanes around the south of Bristol were deserted - except for the occasional cyclist - so I think I'll head there again over the coming Easter weekend and take in a few laps of Chew Lake.
Snow and heavy rain is forecast for this coming week so I can't see my distance for the month rising more than 670 miles. That's my biggest monthly total though so I'm pretty pleased.
In other news, several Cancer Research t-shirts and vests arrived for my ride which I'm thinking of printing with the details of my journey. I'm also doing a talk about cycling at Howies, a clothing store this coming Friday so I'll try and give my ride a plug then. Getting sponsered by the store, or anyone from the audience would be excellent.
And finally... the best song on Saturday's ride? Reuben - Some Mother's Do Have 'Em. Such a shame they split up...
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