Back to reality

otherwise known as leaving GOC!

So yes, i'm now back in Brizzle after my sojourn to parts northern.

Lets catch up a bit then starting with Sunday. After the appalling wet of Saturday, the day dawned bright and sunny if a little cooler, a mere 14c was forecast for Leeds, just about right for a trip to the park, Roundhay that is. We set off, myself and GS on bikes, daughter on foot for the mile or so journey through the poshness of Roundhay to a park bustling with activity, i think everyone was making the most of the day after the previous dampness. Down to the lake where ice cream and hot chocolate was consumed then after a roundabout start we returned to the house for a light lunch of beans on toast before an afternoon of Mario Kart and other activities.

Monday arrived all too soon, time to depart and return to Sheffield, a bit of breakfast and at 9am i set off into a day similar to Sunday. I had plotted an interesting route for the southward journey, taking in some of the north bound roads to avoid Wakefield but a bit loopier to reduce the climbing. First off was a descent into Leeds centre and the Royal Armouries where i picked up a thread of the Trans Pennine trails following the Aire & Calder Navigation eastwards out of the city. I was soon bowling along a fairly well surfaced and quiet track out into the West Yorkshire countryside, the temperature gradually rising as the morning crept by.

A return to the road network took me down towards Wakefield before spinning off easterly to miss the city and put me on a Barnsley avoidance route of lanes and newer link roads that eventually spat me out at Wentworth Woodhouse. I had intended stopping at the garden centre for a cuppa but it was incredibly busy so i settled for a granola bar with views over to the Pennines just a few km west. I got going again, but not for long as at Thorpe Hesley a chip shop raised its siren call! Well i just had to, a proper Yorkshire chip butty, a huge buttered bread cake over filled with a good filling of proper big and squidgy chips, eaten al fresco in the sunshine outside. It was 12.30. clearly lunchtime for the locals as i was followed by a steady stream of fellow fried potato aficionado's.

Now before i move on, a few facts for you. Sheffield lies in the eastern foothills of the Pennines and the valley of the River Don with its four tributaries: the Loxley, the Porter Brook, the Rivelin and the Sheaf. Sixty-one per cent of Sheffield's entire area is green space and a third of the city lies within the Peak District national park and is the fifth-largest city in England. There are more than 250 parks, woodlands and gardens in the city, which is estimated to contain around 4.5 million trees. Truly a green city and a short drop from my chip stop i entered the eastern fringe of the city.

My destination however was still almost 10 miles away as the crow flies, on the southern edge of the city, i took the opportunity to take a less physical route. Local knowledge let me use an almost traffic free route into and through the city centre before taking more bike lanes and trails along the Sheaf valley to where i started my working life at Millhouses. From there to my destination at Norton village you can't avoid climbing, something like 100m vertical but my choice of route broke that into more manageable chunks, first up to Woodseats then up Meadowhead and across to roads end for the day. Almost 84km with just shy of 785m, most of which was in the last 30km of the ride.

After a bit of internal debate i decided to leave Foxy in Sheffield for now so i packed everything up ready for my return south on Tuesday. It was a bittersweet time, i'd been in GOC et al for two weeks, reliving some of my favourite rides from my forty years living in the city as well as spending time with my kidlings in Leeds. On the one hand i didn't want it to end, there was so much more i could have done, for me the place is like a comfy chair, i never tire of being there. The converse of that is the reality that i'm currently living elsewhere and so my 'visit' had to end, i had an early night to stop myself getting too maudlin.

Tuesday arrived quite similar to the previous couple of days and after some debate and the obligatory clean up, i decided to eschew taking the bus out to the coach pick up at Meadowhall and set off to walk the 12km distance. Apart from time, its a fairly easy walk, moistly downhill and almost to the last i had the opportunity to dip out and still get a bus for the remainder. I can't say i was upset to arrive tho', and sort of glad when the i got on the coach for the 5 hour trip back to Brizzle.

An earlier than expected driver break, literally 15 minutes from pickup, meant i would be sat on the bus for far too long for comfort and any ideas of a refreshing brew and lunchtime snack were cruelly snatched away. We made good progress until mid journey, central Birmingham was gridlocked, by the time we departed again, we were running 30 minutes behind. Traffic was good though, we had made up most of our losses until we got to Brizz and the usual chaos of the M32 junction, eventually stopping @ 10 minutes behind schedule. Then, due to something of a mix up i ended up walking back to the house by which time i'd had enough for the day.

So here we are today, its dry, fairly bright and breezy and i'm still weary from yesterday! I'll go to fetch a few groceries this afternoon but otherwise i doubt i'll get much done.

I will be back to normal service on Sunday, new free Gaby to read and maybe some long awaited news. However, that's it for today, catch you on Sunday,
Tschussie,
Madeline Anafrid