in both the weather and my mood!
The higher temperatures we've endured have steadily dropped to more comfortable levels the back end of the week along with a 180 degree turn in the wind direction! The wind isn't so good as its come in damn strong but the lower temperatures have meant my rides have been more enjoyable which in turn has lifted my mood!
So i set out on Thursday i set off to have my sandwiches by the sea, in Weston SM to be precise, the wind was on the turn, slightly helpful on the almost flat outbound leg. Whilst i was still hunting metres for the Everest challenge, i'd worked out that with the rides left, i didn't need to kill myself, a lower count of @ 500m would suffice. Well in the end i added just over 700m across the 109km ride leaving just over 1000m to hit the target, spotty dog!
Things went a bit awry on Friday. I got up fully intending to spend the day writing but instead i found myself going fruit scrumping for a couple of hours. Blackberries, plums/damsons, apples and even figs all made it to my bag which was all very good but not helping the writing! It was fairly late afternoon before i knuckled down to key tapping but i got the chapter written and posted it for my Patreons to read, job done.
With the wind now blowing from the West and there not being much riding that direction from Chez Bev, i headed out into Wiltshire instead, Pewsey Vale to be precise. Again, i wasn't looking for metres particularly, instead a section of Kennet & Avon towpath i'd not ridden was on the radar (think dead level) before exploring a bit more of the areas 'gravel' tracks as i headed back. And that wind was a nightmare, combined with the mid 20's heat, had me reaching for my bidon far too often.
The resulting 124km felt hard going but that was no surprise as the climbing topped 1000m! And there it was, the monthly total was now 27m over the 8848m of the challenge, i'd done it with 5 days / 2 rides to spare! I really thought a couple of weeks ago that i'd be hard pressed to get enough metres in but four 1000m+ rides have made all the difference. Of course, if i'd been in GOC it would've been much easier but who needs easy in their life, where's the fun in that?
And today, well it was a decent walk, almost 14km to take a look at a transport rally, ride a bus of similar vintage to myself and manage not to spend a brass farthing! It was something different, not highly exciting but it filled much of the day. The sharp eyed amongst you may have spotted that before i went out, i posted Part 14 of May Queen, what trouble can Daisy get him / herself into next?
Phew, i think that's everything, the coming week looks like it could be equally busy, more riding, writing and bemoaning to be sure.
That's it for today though, I'll be back midweek with an update,
Wiedersehn,
Madeline Anafrid 
