Fame at Last.

The most exciting thing happened on Wednesday 3rd August 2016.
I received my copy of Arrivée Magazine. My picture was on the front cover and inside was a small article about me by Sheila Simpson. I know many of you will have already seen these on FB but for those who don't use that medium I reproduce them here.

KOM starting the climb out of the gorge on the Cirque de Navacelles.

The article from the Arrivée Magazine.

Saturday 6th August 2016.

A day to test myself and Posh.

With family duties to attend to in the afternoon I decided to head South over one of my favourite routes, with some variation, to Wickham.

I wanted to find out how well Posh and I could do and to see if I needed my granny ring on a reasonably undulating course. My route was via Tichborne and Kilmeston and over Beacon Hill. Near the top a group coming from Wheeley Down appeared about 200 yards ahead of me. I tried  to catch them, but I only did when they stopped for a breather near the top of White Hill. A smaller group appeared too having just made the climb from Exton. I descended at a fair pace to Droxford, crossed the Meon and continued South via Soberton and Soberton Heath. Next back down to the Meon Valley on a beautifully newly resurfaced road. A high speed descent! Turned back North from Wickham, passing a surprisingly quiet Wickham Festival. No doubt the fans were sleeping off their excesses of Friday night. I was joined by another rider from Southsea who was following a GPX course of a group who had ridden earlier in the week. We parted company near Swanmore.  I enjoyed a  Bath bun and a coffee in Bishop's Waltham before setting off once more.

I rode strongly up Ashton lane attempting to achieve a PB. From the top of Milbury's Hill I had a go at beating my freewheeling distance down towards the A272. Although I did so by about 50 yards I was still short of the lip  at the end of the flat from Beauworth which would have kept me going a lot further. My aim is to reach the A272. Need a strong tailwind!

I was pleased that despite some testing little climbs I had not used the Granny ring which means with a chain-wheel of 34 I would have managed all these climbs easily.

I was home soon after 12 noon in plenty of time for a shower and lunch before driving to the kennels to collect Luna my daughter's dog.

Gridironman.