Rain drops and Snowdrops

Another one of my killer migraines hit me at the start of this week. Am hoping this is not going to be a regular occurrence. Ibuprofen plus Paracetamol did nothing to dampen the pain. I took the prescribed Sumatriptan for the first time and this made me feel like I was tripping.


Had planned to cycle my first 200k audax of this year on Tuesday but decided against that after the migraine issues. Instead I took Queeny for a jaunt around the Bread Crumb trail. Prior to going to the trail, I cycled through the doomed Woods of Doom. The woods weren't so much fun, felled tree's were scattered everywhere and it was hard to follow a clear path. When remnants of the old path were found, they were seriously mud clogged - it appears horses are having a better time that mountain bikes in these woods. Later, during the same day, I went for a run with SJ. We ran a kind of loop starting from Studley which passed through Mapple Borough Green (and past the village hall where we plan to have our wedding reception). Once past the hall we continued on to Ipsley, then to Washford before reaching home again. This was about half the distance of our last run and despite no major niggles I still felt whacked. SJ felt fine throughout but I still felt achey and tired up until the following day.

The following day however, was not a rest day. In the morning I cycled a variation of Ron's 1 Hour Loop on Cayo - my road bike. I finished the route by missing out the Coughton Ford and instead climbing 'that undulating road' that leads to Astwood Bank. Is nice now the weather is slowly warming up.


My cousin, aka Agent Aid, phoned on Thursday to inform me that he had purchased some rollers with magnetic resistance which should be delivered following day. He has only recently gotten into cycling but it appears the bug has hit him. This conversation prompted me to get my (non magnetic) rollers out. I cycled 1 mile before I stopped. My rollers are still real noisy and the noise does my head in. I might change the position of the rollers around and see if that helps. Anyone know where rollers can be fixed/repaired?!


Friday saw me complete the loop I cycled on Wednesday - a variation of Ron's 1 Hour Loop. Am now going to call this the 'TTT 20 mile Trek', as I have made it my own and cycle it frequently. This route is essentially a box that starts and finishes in Studley, passing through Wootton Wawen, Alcester and Astwood Bank. Is a nice route and has a nice selection of undulating and fast sections. A perfect 20 mile route to cycle before my late shift at work. Completed this trek in my fastest time to date - not overly fast but still a personal best for me, in a time of 1 hour and 11 mins.


Had planned to run over the weekend but bad weather put pay to that! Did no further cycling either. My brevet card was returned in the post from the Snowdrop Audax that I completed a few weeks back. Below are a few official photo's from said event.

Weekly totals: Cycled 64 miles; Ran 7.1 miles.