Inspired by the magnificent
efforts of Froome and his Sky colleagues across the Channel over the last few
days, I dug the bike out of the shed this evening and went out for an hour’s
pedalling. Instead of one of my long scenic routes I decided to put myself to
the test with another three circuits of the hill between Craigtoun and Denhead
– my own personal Mont Ventoux.
Don’t laugh. I know that
Froome and his Tour De France crew wouldn’t even consider this a hill let alone
any sort of challenge but, within touching distance of my sixtieth birthday, I can
assure you that the gradient of this slope is enough to get my lungs to the
point of bursting as I reach the summit. After reaching the top of the slope
the hill continues at a gentler gradient and is then followed by an
exhilarating descent to where I start the climb again. I am aiming to get up
the hill in higher than the lowest gear but on the third circuit I only managed
to stay upright by moving the front wheel left and right to give me momentum. It’s
a good job there was nobody around to hear my embarrassing efforts at
self-motivation.
I’ll never be in the peloton
but I love cycling and can’t wait to get another bike to keep at home in
Suffolk and explore some of the local scenery.
Earlier in the day we did a
walk around St Andrews. It has been the hottest we’ve experienced in Fife this
week and the crowds were out in force on the famous sands. We found a couple of
places we haven’t been to before and looked around two private gardens open to
the public. Each had spectacular sea views. The scent of the roses in this
garden was beautiful and almost overpowering.
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