Slip Sliding Away
Enough of the rain and wet stuff already! I am not happy with the grey and miserable conditions. And yes before you say it there’s never any bad weather just that your wearing the wrong kit, which is a fair point. But my idea of a training ride doesn’t equate to lots of deep sticky mud, horizontal rain and gales. I realise moaning about the weather is a national past time here and most people are like me fed up of this seemingly never ending wet winter.
Today’s ride was supposed to see me heading towards the local beach, and all was going well. Lots of puddles and spray kicked up and the odd occasional wheel drift in the sliding viscous soggy earth tracks. But just as we neared the destination, with the promise of a cuppa and a breather the route became unpassable. It was completely flooded. I did witness some brave souls take off their shoes and carry their bikes over the deep muddy water stretch and some brave souls went full pelt pedalling like fury through it. Alas it wasn’t for me being low to the ground and my battery closer still I wasn’t going to risk getting stuck or killing my battery in the process.
So, there was nothing to do but turn the trike around and go back the way I had come for a considerable distance. I decided against heading on the narrow main road to the shore and instead thought it best to try the route down the national cycleway NO.2 that crossed this area. I would be using the number 2 route as my plotted path down to Cornwall. I was soon to find this was not a lovely surface easily accessible to all cycling users.
Deep thick mud, even deeper ruts and holes, some sections so eroded away they were indeed cavernous. Full off-piste stuff and serious off road skills .. of which I have none to call upon. At one point the trike was at such a sideways incline, it started to tip over on its side. So uneven was the boneshaking terrain, the battery connection was shaken loose, and any motor assistance ceased. The going got rather challenging and I kept grinding to a halt. This meant lots of getting off, swearing, puffing ,panting pushing, pulling and being ankle-deep in the mud slopping about. I was gasping for air like a fish out of water and had to rest and catch my breath. Mud was scrapped off hands and smeared on soaked clothes, the stuff got everywhere. Somewhere underneath the thick layer of mud was my yellow trike Bob. This was becoming a training ride to remember. The best thing was to laugh and grit one’s teeth and pray round the next bend the conditions would improve.
I fear this is the state of things to come, poor uneven surfaces, narrow gate ways overgrown and eroded. This must be taken in your stride, you divert or go back, reroute and try again. I an unable to lift up my trike on my own. So, hike a biking isn’t an option. The challenge is becoming more daunting. I pray for a dry month of May and June. I dream of smooth gravel easy to open gates and lots of lovely refreshment stops along the way. I am intrigued to see what obstacles and challenges lie ahead.
I was caught up by a lovely local couple who had done some serious bike touring in Europe as I unclipped and stood up to open another gate. They advised that in winter the next section of the route No2 was unsuitable and not rideable, so I followed them down a tiny lane and detoured round the inaccessible planned route. I soon picked up my revised ride and was heading to a nature reserve with a great café down some winding narrow b roads. There was a lot of standing water and impromptu streams running across the tarmac surfaces, soon the mud was washed from my trike and now I found out the joy of having a mesh seat was being damp through my leggings and underwear to my skin. I was soaking wet. At least it was not howling a gale today or raining. Put sat in soaking wet undies isn’t the most charming sensation. Ahhh the learning curve is steep!
But saying all that it was so good to be outside. When I returned to base I was smiling and laughing at the ride. Now to planning longer training rides and looking forward to lighter evenings ahead and spring coming round the corner.