Wednesday 26 December 2012

Sunrise in Beds

Rapha Festive 500



Today's weather couldn't have been more of a contrast to Christmas Eve.  The only signs of flooding were the warning triangles at the road sides and some remnants of puddles. I had already plotted a local route taking me out into the headwind with a favourable tailwind for the return, like a good club man would decide. The route would add a further 50km to my 100km from Monday and take me to 30% of the Festive 500 distance.

7am and as I climbed Long Lane I could see the lights of Toddington service station lit up like a distant Christmas garden illumination.  As the road pitched up to 10% I climbed out of the saddle listening to the rumble of my deep section carbon wheels on the road surface and I realised that not even the birds had woken from their hedgerow roosts. 

It felt great to be on my titanium bike and (I must add) with dry shoes - my preparation 8 hours earlier had established that the bar tape on my Basso was still soaked and my shoes still very damp from Christmas Eve, so it was great to have a spare pair of shoes and another bike at my disposal.

 The top of Long Lane in Toddington
 



 It started to get lighter as I rode passed Milton Bryant and the gateway to Paris House restaurant.
 
 The sunrise over the fields of Bedfordshire
 

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