the sequel!

Well the week started well - i spent pretty much the entirety of Monday working on chapter 70 of the current Gaby saga, finishing late afternoon. Sometimes story elements are easy to write but the current storyline is quite difficult emotionally to get down, Patreons are already privy to the content, hopefully the next mini book will be out in the next couple of days. The current plan is to bring everything to a conclusion at Chapter 80 but don't be surprised if things run over from that!

And so to Tuesday. The forecast looked good, a few early showers then warm and sunny so, after some thought, i decided the journey down to Dorset would be by bike, the return by auto with Aunty B. I set the alarm for crack of silly (i don't have to get up for anything most days so six am, before dawn, isn't something i do often!) sorted a change of clothes and headed for bed. The morning arrived grey, not cold though, i got myself organised and at 06.40, set out for points south.

I started with lights on but by Bath it was light enough to turn them off although the cloud cover was quite ominous. Through the tunnels and the first significant climb of the day was readily conquered but along through Norton St Peter the first damp, a light drizzle, made me glad of my jacket. It was off and on wetness, never hard, down through Frome, the climb out of the town centre quite testing but a map check showed i was making good time despite the wet. From here onwards i would be on less familiar or entirely new to me roads, the wet got heavier, the lights returned to duty and the last of the rush hour traffic cleared by the time i reached Zeals and the A303 slicing east-west in lieu of a motorway.

Sixty kilometres behind me, fifty plus kilometres of uncharted lanes still to go. On the plus side, the damp desisted and as i moved from Somerset into Dorset things started to look brighter. My route was fairly straightforward, the terrain more rolling than testing although the twenty kilometres to Sturminster Newton seemed to take an age. I had pencilled this as my food stop, but i was running tight on time, it was 11am and i was due in Dorchester at 12.30 with a little over 30km still to ride and a last 'big' climb still in my path.

But the jacket was off, the roads dry and the yellow thing in the heavens making occasional appearances, i ate my 'emergency' sausage roll and pushed on anew. The roads became more testing, not in steepness but in duration, thwarting my efforts to make up any time, then i was into the the last significant climb of the day. A quick stop at Plush (yes thats the village name!) suggested i had a little over 20km to go and an hour to do so, that should be doable given i'd averaged @ 21kph all morning.

A final climb then down to the Piddle valley (check the map if you don't believe me) and i was onto a faster road with a generally downward tilt, through Piddle Hinton then a short uphill and my first views of my destination down in my second Frome valley of the day. i turned up the screws as the road roller coastered into the valley. A final map check as i reached the town, i was good for time but still had a few kilometres to go to the opposite side of the county town of Dorset. And then i was there, i stopped the clock, twenty past twelve, 115km, 1200m of climbing, 22kph average, bit soggy but overall an enjoyable ride.

Lunch, a short walk, a longer chinwag then back to Brizzle the easy way. A good day but tiring, i wasn't up long before hitting the sack for some well deserved shut eye, 16 hours is a long day!

So here we are on Wednesday, laundry done, tomatoes and cucumbers picked, next up is a walk before cracking on with book preparation this afternoon, a bit more relaxed than the week so far - maybe!

I'll be back Sunday but until then,
Tschussie,
Madeline Anafrid