There's nothing wrong with looking at the flowers.

I've had a number of Fotherington-Thomas moments in the last week or so. OK, it's not the full-blown syndrome.... No skipping, no talking to the flowers and no girlie crying. But, I was compelled to stop three or four times during my ride yesterday and photograph the scenery, and I'm even admiring the hedgerow plants and blossom as I speed along the country lanes. This picture is supposed to show the coloured cliffs of Alum Bay. Unfortunately my tiny camera phone can't quite capture the glory of the colours, nor the strange light quality, but believe me, it's a great view. You have to walk, cycle or take the bus to get up to here. The bay below fills with boats in the summer, as it's a popular picnic spot for the yachtie brigade. It's usually calm and safe for snorkelling or a swim (or a gin and tonic). A strange antediluvian chairlift can bring you down to the beach from the Needles amusement park. My advice is to make the effort and get here early in the morning before the chavs launch their jet bikes. Snob? I used to have a Seadoo jetboat. Yes, I'm a hypocrite.

I'm sure another important factor in my relaxed and contented frame of mind is the perfect weather. There is no doubt that the warm sun on your back has an uplifting effect, and makes it easier to get out of the house and on that saddle. Weatherwise, it doesn't get much better than this. Unless we get a Force 5 Sou-wester and then we can all go kitesurfing again with some decent waves.

Talking of saddles, mine is a Specialized Toupe (pictured above) and I understand that it is generally regarded by the bike mags to be one of the best available. I'm becoming more certain that it is a bit too minimalist for my puny bottom. Sir Alex may have coined the phrase 'squeaky bum time', but for me after a couple of hours of riding, it's 'ooh my bum aches time'. It's not totally crippling, but the discomfort starts to occupy my mind and makes it more difficult to concentrate on pedalling. I find myself shifting my weight around to try and ease the pressure and then I'm standing on the pedals on gentle downhill sections to take weight off. I had hoped that by now I would have developed tolerance (or leathery bits of skin). Will it be bearable with a projected 9 to 10 hour day of effort during L'Etape? Probably, yes, but I don't need to make the task more difficult than it is already. I'm assuming that the Toupe is super thin in order to save weight and also to maximise energy transfer during the pedalling action. The rails are made of hollow titanium. But, L'Etape is a marathon, not a sprint, and I'm aiming to finish, not win a medal. Did I just say I don't want a medal?

So. I think I'll swap with my mountain bike saddle and see how I get on with some extra padding. I'll let you know.

Talking of marathons ,as opposed to sprints, don't we all love a cliche? The final games of The Championship action on Sunday will hopefully see Wolves into the playoffs. Or maybe not? To coin a phrase, it's not so much the losing as the hope what hurts. Eh? Hard luck to Chelsea and Man U. Europe has got the final we all wanted. Now I'm rambling.

It's been a Rest Day today. I'm ready to use a heart rate monitor tomorrow, kindly donated by Paul Rudling, so it should be very interesting to see where my heart rate is during my standard 20 mile route. My hope is to come in below the 80% mark, but I could be setting myself up for a fall with a prediction like that. Watch this space.