Congratulations to my sister, Helen and her new husband Chris. They put on quite a do for us all, and in the words of my son...'we had one of the funnest days of our lives'.Somehow they manged to generate a 12 hour window of perfect sunny weather. We left the Island in monsoon conditions, but by the time we reached this hotel by the Thames at Shillingford, the sun was shining and the sky was (mostly) blue. Thankfully we didn't have to sit through a ridiculous hell-and-brimstone service, so in no time at all the legal duties were finished and we boarded a river boat and cruised down the river to a restaurant called the Beetle and Wedge.Not bad scran.
The highlight of the day for me was the steamed syrup sponge and custard. It was my Etape-carbo-loading duty to eat two portions of this most delicious and perfect creation. Now I don't praise other people's cooking too easily and I am something of an expert in the field of syrup sponge.This was exceptional, but the gal was a bit stingy with the custard. Thankfully they didn't try and serve it with cream... a serious crime.
Today it has tipped it down with rain again, so there was no chance to get out on the bike. Instead I spent a large part of the day making tea while my mate was on his knees in the kitchen with his head in my aga. When we moved here we inherited an oil-fired aga which has worked perfectly until about twelve months ago. Since then we have been plagued by problems with the quality of our oil supply which seems to clog the burner resulting in low temperatures and an erratic flame, which eventually goes out. Apparently there is a thing called 'diesel bug' whereby an algae lives in the oil and produces a gritty debris which blocks the burner mechanism. This bug is only a problem if you have a plastic tank, instead of the old-fashioned metal ones. It's something to do with the condensation and lack of algal-bloom inhibitors in the feeding tanks. Anyway, our aga has been completely out for 48 hours and I was unable to get a professional to help. So, I did what I always do in these circumstances, and phoned my mate John. He is an honorary saint, and has the ability to mend anything. Round he comes wearing his shiny silver armour suit and promptly dismantled the complex burner mechanism bit by bit until we discovered this small copper tube which has a thin slit cut into it through which the oil is supposed to flow. Obviously the slit was blocked until we cleaned it. Hey presto, the oil flows again, and the house is slowly warming up again.
Tomorrow is the British Etape. I have to admit I wish I was taking part. I'm feeling fit again. Not only will it be a great occasion, but I could do with the ride. I've have backed off completely this week in an attempt to ensure that I don't overdo it, and keep myself healthy. Hence I haven't swung the leg over since last Tuesday. This feels like an eternity. It's ridiculous. I have read that research has proven that athletes can desist from training for 3 weeks without any negative effects on their levels of fitness. I don't want to test this theory. I bet all keen cyclists are familiar with the feelings of frustration when circumstances combine to prevent you getting in the riding which you think you should be doing. I think I've just got to be sensible at the moment and remind myself of all the hard work which I have done in the last 3 months.
Hopefully I'll get a 50 miler in tomorrow. I'll keep the pace/heart rate down and see how I feel on Monday. The big day is approaching fast.
Here's to the new Mr and Mrs Harris.
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