It was back to the Cotswolds yesterday, this time with Darren instead of Phill, a reversed route and much worse weather.
Firstly the weather. When you're riding on the road in driving rain, rain that is coming down at 45 degrees due to the wind, rain that stings your face and prevents you from looking where you are going - is it normal to think "I'm loving this!"? I can't explain, but the sections of the ride that had the terrible weather were the ones that I enjoyed the most. It's either that I enjoy the suffering, or enjoy the suffering of others around me.
Secondly, I'd not ridden for a couple of days and I spent those day mostly eating. I therefore started the ride feeling much stronger than last week. Darren however, had been feeling rubbish all week and started the ride semi-broken. I'm not sure if the fact that Darren was a bit off form meant that I felt much better but it's a whole lot easier watching Jon leap up the climbs like a ProTour salmon when there is someone suffering more than you behind.
Thirdly, is my climbing actually improving? I thought this on one of the many routes out of Stroud, a road I'd previously hated. Again, Jon was ahead, Darren behind, but I was thinking "I'm not dying here, I'm not dying here...."
Fourthly, very few dead badgers on the route this week. We did see a fox eating a roadkill deer, which was a first for me. I've seen foxes before and seen dead deer before, but never one being the lunch of the other.
This led me to conclude that last week I was the roadkill, this week the fox.
OK, not the fox. More the crow that was waiting for the fox to finish before moving in. I know my place.
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