Jeezy Chreezy this real life bullsh*t really does keep getting in the way. Anyways…. with my ride buddy sunning it up in Oz on his honeymoon it was just Pete, Sheila and I. We met up at the Ming-maid chippy (I’ll not put its real name of Mermaid Fishery here as this blog ranks fairly highly on Google with certain search strings..) with a route Pete and Sheila had tried out last week. I still didn’t feel a hundred percent but figured that being out on NuNu would be better than sitting on the sofa watching the haunted fish tank.
So with all the pleasantries out of the way we were off down the Rein Road and towards the first piece of track of the night. Shooting down the wide track I had a sudden realisation of where we were. It was the track where we were supposed to go when I got us all lost on a Sunday ride. For the record I have absolutely no sense of direction and I could get lost in the bath.
The weather was mild and beautiful and pedalling the first climb of the night we saw a group of kids on a knackered motorbike whizzing round the fields. Must be closer to summer than I thought. We crossed Dewsbury road and headed through the grounds of Woodkirk church to a downhill leading immediately to a pig of a grass climb. Trying and failing miserably (couldn’t get clipped in is my standard excuse theses days as I still cant get that left pedal quite right…..) to get up the fecker I had to have a smile as I reminisced on all the cheap cider fuelled giggles I inflicted upon this general area as a teenager.
Remember kids under age drinking is not clever, but it is a whole lot of fun!
We made our way down through the suburbs of Tingley and pulled off the road to the reservoir bunny hopping the speed bumps on the track as we went. We did a loop of the reservoir at a decent pace and without warning Pete shot down a steep grass verge. Sheila followed next, sailing down beautifully. I however descended like a complete fairy. I despair of myself sometimes. To make up for it I absolutely hammered up the climb back to reservoir level and hopefully in the process appeased the fickle gods o’the trail.
We left the reservoir via a very small wood section with a short steep hill that I didn’t even think about until I’d cleared it. From the woods we made our way out of the estate and onto Thorpe lane towards the field on which we usually come the other way.
The rest of the ride was tarmac and so the GPS log would be circular I followed Pete and Sheila back to the chippy. From there I made my way back home.
When I got home I felt truly exhausted and it had surprised me how much illness can affect your riding. Let’s see if next time is any better.
Fat Lad
