Chaplog tries hard In which an ageing climber comes to terms with life closer to the ground.

Lynne and Judy close to Sheffield on our Bradfield ride

A ride close to Sheffield that we have done many times but not recently. Lynne and I both have knees that hurt after cycling but they have been relatively pain free recently. As I write this I can feel a dull ache in my left knee though this was probably caused by my attempt to stay away from a young man who was trying to overtake me on a hill – I will never learn the control necessary to ignore other cyclists. As we drove out with a perfect blue sky we saw frost for the first time this year.

(more…)

Conkers – Lynne has been attending her art class

Lynne, Judy and I went for a wet ride around Derwent reservoir. The talk was of a “soft day” that turned to mizzle and then drizzle. It was raining and we got wet. The reservoir is nearly empty and parts of the old village and field pattern could be seen.

Eglwseg Mountain near Llangollen on an October day when the temperature was close to 30C

We Set off before 9:00am as one suspected that the world was heading for the beach. Which was a logical assumption as the temperatures had been heading towards 30C for the last couple of days. We headed for Llangollen as it was a beautiful place but nobody has ever made it a popular place to visit. It is therefore a great place to visit on a bank holiday or hot day. We rode around Eglwseg mountain. The acorns and conkers were falling in the canal on my map and on the road. We had a delightful quiet and surprisingly hot ride. We also missed the traffic.