DOULEUR DANS LE TRAIN D’ATTERRISSAGE
Pain in the landing gear! ( google translation)
Route: Solihull to Warwick
Distance: 40 miles circular
Ride 2 : 26.05.13
Back on the saddle for another gruelling 40 miles on the road. Decided to take the Solihull to Leamington spa route.as usual, I was a bit apprehensive as we had never been on that route before.
The combinations in the group were different too. This time, we had 2 newbies in out toon town- Prashant and Nishant. P had been gearing for this trip for days and was the first to arrive home, with his bike in tow , but with no air…..lesson 1: to reach Paris, you need to learn how to fill air. The others reached sooner or later and we set off, once again through brueton park. Ram, Nishant and me reached the park but the others were no where to be seen. thanks to the wonders of modern technology, realised that they were further ahead, having taken t he ‘short-cut’
Lesson 5: stick to the map!!!!guys, there is nothing more annoying than waiting for someone 🙂
I wouldn’t complain though…gave me time to get some nice clicks.
Went along brueton avenue and up the bridge crossing the M42 into Knowle….thats where my backpack started feeling heavy ( who asked me to carry the big camera!!! Moi, of course) and who would be the first one to point it out- the hubby, of course….my ‘I told you so’ man snapped but eventually gave in and carried it for the rest of the ride , awwwww.
The ride was brilliant with some lovely views. Kept worrying about N and P but they were doing great. Nishant’s cheeks started turning red in varying shades and you could tell that we were increasing our efforts by the deepening beetroot colour he had acquired in the next 20 minutes.
Came across fellow cyclists who waved and cheered everytime they passed ( except for P, who felt that he was ignored bc he was not in proper cycle gear- now who told you to wear jogging bottoms and tshirt. Mahesh reckons they feel that he is out to buy milk and eggs from the local grocer 😉
Reached Warwick ( no idea how leamington route converted to warwick) and past a steep incline in town, reached a welcoming pub.
It was a great feeling and loved every minute soaking in the sun and beer.
Was interesting to see the look on M’s face when he got a whole fish, grilled….scales galore, the whole works….( now, for those who dont know, us indians, have a habit of destroying all resemblance and flavours of any type of food with the strongest of spices and fish is no exception, hence it was a surprise when an identifiable object like a fish was on the table 🙂
Anyway, it was not M’s day as he was the butt of all jokes ( pun intended 🙂 but he didnt mind at all and all was in good spirits…..
Met Louis, a cute dog, who mainly understood french and very little english. Did try to converse with him in moi french, but like most males, all he cared was being pampered and stroked…..and thats just what i did 🙂
The return journey was a blur, the aim was to keep going on and on. Was immensely proud of P and N, both excelled and cycled back safely, considering that this was a 40 mile ride and not easy even for relatively senior riders….. reached home, tired but victorious, 40 mile veterans , and of course with the excuse of ‘i am too tired’ for the rest of the night!
Lessons learnt:
1. Never underestimate the beginners…..enthusiasm and pride always wins ( cheers to N and P )
2. Wear the ‘proper’ gear if you want to be taken seriously by fellow cyclists ( read as if you want to get the cursory nods and whassups!! )
3. Stick to path, stick to path and stick to path.
4. assess hills and lower gears in anticipation, slowly increasing the resistance.
To my Kids with Love 