It's Nearly Time

So here we are. The final weekend before we go away is upon us. Yesterday we did the final preparatory rides. Today we get to pack up the equipment.

We've had a glorious summer in the this part of the UK this year. There has ben very little rain and hardly any need to take a gilet or arm warmers when going for a ride. So yesterday was quite a change. Within a couple of miles of starting to ride, I was in a deluge of heavy, stinging rain. At least it was warm! I stuck with it and managed to complete the 50km I'd planned to do.

It didn't rain all the time, though the roads were wet all the way round. I did have to reacquaint myself with the rather different performance of my brakes in wet weather though. The 8% climb away from the A31 in Ropley, leading up and over the Watercress line, was more like a river than a lane, and I'll swear that a pigeon was taking a bath in the torrent on the railway bridge itself!

Angela was on a different course, and was bright enough not to set out in a downpour. She did have to shelter under a tree at one point, though.

Later in the day, I washed down both bikes, and removed all the parts that might be susceptible to loss or damage in transit. Today, we get to pack them up ready to travel.