Saturday 10 April 2010

It doesn't get MUCH better

Perfect Spring weather (wall to wall blue, temperatures in the low 20s), a 62km outing on the roadie on gently rolling, quiet country lanes interrupted only by a brief lunch stop in the historic town of Mirepoix and lets not forget the fantastic views.... ..Ah yes, it felt almost like we were on holiday. The outing was tainted only by a stubborn, dull, heavy, tired ache in my left leg which ran from my bum all the way down to my knees. After just 7kms, I had to stop to try and stretch out the fatigue and coax my muscles back to some kind of elasticity which I knew I would need if I was going to get round the 70km circuit that we had planned. Fortunately, I released it enough to continue, but, after the lunch stop, the heavy, aching fatigue returned and my speed slowed to a relative crawl. We had no choice but to shorten the circuit, which, fortunately, was very possible on the little side roads. We had a pit stop in Saint Amadou which is a lovely little village with a beautiful church and picturesque fountain
and made it back to the car in one piece. Back home, I spent an hour stretching, lying on my mat outside on the new terrasse with the sun on my face (ah, bliss) and wishing away the fatigue that is plaguing my lower body. I guess I should learn some patience, as I did put my poor little pins through the mill last weekend and muscles simply don't recover as quickly at my age ...not that I am that old, but we have to be realistic here! So some gentle exercise and lots more gentle stretching is on the cards for the coming week, I reckon. In the meantime, the cyclist's tan is coming along nicely! Hurrah!

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