Stories from
the road
(and beyond!)
Five reasons to ride your bikes even when it all goes a bit wrong
What is training for, if not a bit of conditioning?! A small dose of hail in the faces, endured by choice and survived, makes for better endurance next time it comes and can't be avoided. Use mitigations (being able to turn round and put the wind at your backs, and doing that before things get ugly) and rewards (hot chocolate and a warm bath at home afterwards) while you have them.
Lumbering Up
The trip, then, became a case of making a route up to fit between two fixed points and times, in a place I had scarcely visited, a language I do not speak, in the peak holiday season, with three children, one of whom, in Thomas Ivor's case, would be riding their own bike for the first time, on the other side of the road. Not much to go wrong there!
Shakedown
Baby sleeping bags are made of cheap material and don't compress anywhere near as well as adult bags. We have seen other people suggesting buying adult bags and re manufacturing them to baby size. With a bigger budget, I think we would start again and crack out the sewing machine.
Getting some more miles under our belt
Yesterday, we nipped out for a ride before the tail end of tropical storm Bertha hit. We set off down the cycle path along the disused railway line from Stanwick Lakes to Thrapston, turning off the path and taking to the road to ride through Denford and Ringstead.