The two most unpleasant things in the morning are waking up when I feel I really must sleep for longer and then smothering myself in nappy cream, lip balm and sticky suncream. (..... sorry I was momentarily distracted then. The pub bore at the bar just said, in a very loud voice, "He had one arm and he was handicapped at golf.") Anyway, it's the sticky suncream that causes the trouble because as you ride everything gets attached to you, mainly insects. After an hour or so I can look like the man with a beard of bees that I once saw in Mick James', Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" comic that he bought to school on "Show and Tell Day".
Naturally, with a comic from the USA the rest of us just trailed in his wake. The hot tip, Greta McEvoy's potato the shape of a, erm, well, a potato really, (she thought it looked like Jesus but there were far too many eyes), came second and my matchbox collection (144 boxes no less, but sadly all the same) wasn't placed. But the main interest we had in Mick's comic was the adverts on the inside back page. It was there that we discovered X-Ray specs.
About a dozen of us, who were taking French taught by a young female exchange teacher, were intensely interested in these specs, to extend our familiarity with the French of course, but those being taught woodwork, by Old Three Fingers Boon, less so. (There was something rather disconcerting about being taught band-saw safety by a man with only three fingers.) Anyway, we agreed to pool our paper-round money, cut down on the fags to 20 a day and buy a pair. The main barrier was that the price was in dollars and we didn't know the exchange rate. So, we collared Dale Dawson, who was so clever that he had proper specs rather than the NHS unbreakable tortoiseshell jobs most kids had. His first estimate meant we'd have to cut down on the fags for days. A couple of wedgies later and he produced a downward revision that made it all seem possible. It was never to be though. Just before we had gathered enough money, our French teacher was replaced by Mr. Farrow and our interest in both French and X-Ray specs waned. I tried to get back into woodwork but after the unpleasantness involving the glue and the staff toilets it just wasn't an option.
Anyway, I digress. After the ride today I didn't have the full beard of bees but did have a few fruit flies stuck on in the shape of a lopsided goatee. So forget all that stuff above. Pure self-indulgence.
Two wonderful moments today. Outside my front door this morning were helium filled balloons with messages of support and encouragement from my team at work. Thanks to you all! You are wonderful! A real boost to my morale. Then, after 50km I shouted "Hello!" to a waving mum and her daughter in their car parked on the roadside and suddenly realised it was Debbie, a postdoc from my team who had turned out to cheer me on. Really uplifting to chat to her for a while and I felt back on track after the day off. Thanks Debbie!
The route is still perfect and the weather good. I banked a few extra miles today to set up a short day on Sunday for the three o'clock kick off. Tonight I am really enjoying listening to Julio Iglesias. He's the landlord of the pub at which I am staying and he asks what I would like to drink. Few more beers and I think I'll teach him "Wild Rose and Raspberry" (to the tune of Guantanamera) that was such a success in Bodmin.
As we approach the end of the group stage, here are the numbers:
Distance: 150.2 km
Cumulative distance: 745.13 km
Ride time: 7h 14m 16s
Max speed: 57.2 kph
Right arm: looks like bubble wrap and getting ready to peel
Right knee: noisy
Bottom bracket: creaking
Mood: very good, thanks to my team!
Naturally, with a comic from the USA the rest of us just trailed in his wake. The hot tip, Greta McEvoy's potato the shape of a, erm, well, a potato really, (she thought it looked like Jesus but there were far too many eyes), came second and my matchbox collection (144 boxes no less, but sadly all the same) wasn't placed. But the main interest we had in Mick's comic was the adverts on the inside back page. It was there that we discovered X-Ray specs.
About a dozen of us, who were taking French taught by a young female exchange teacher, were intensely interested in these specs, to extend our familiarity with the French of course, but those being taught woodwork, by Old Three Fingers Boon, less so. (There was something rather disconcerting about being taught band-saw safety by a man with only three fingers.) Anyway, we agreed to pool our paper-round money, cut down on the fags to 20 a day and buy a pair. The main barrier was that the price was in dollars and we didn't know the exchange rate. So, we collared Dale Dawson, who was so clever that he had proper specs rather than the NHS unbreakable tortoiseshell jobs most kids had. His first estimate meant we'd have to cut down on the fags for days. A couple of wedgies later and he produced a downward revision that made it all seem possible. It was never to be though. Just before we had gathered enough money, our French teacher was replaced by Mr. Farrow and our interest in both French and X-Ray specs waned. I tried to get back into woodwork but after the unpleasantness involving the glue and the staff toilets it just wasn't an option.
Anyway, I digress. After the ride today I didn't have the full beard of bees but did have a few fruit flies stuck on in the shape of a lopsided goatee. So forget all that stuff above. Pure self-indulgence.
Two wonderful moments today. Outside my front door this morning were helium filled balloons with messages of support and encouragement from my team at work. Thanks to you all! You are wonderful! A real boost to my morale. Then, after 50km I shouted "Hello!" to a waving mum and her daughter in their car parked on the roadside and suddenly realised it was Debbie, a postdoc from my team who had turned out to cheer me on. Really uplifting to chat to her for a while and I felt back on track after the day off. Thanks Debbie!
The route is still perfect and the weather good. I banked a few extra miles today to set up a short day on Sunday for the three o'clock kick off. Tonight I am really enjoying listening to Julio Iglesias. He's the landlord of the pub at which I am staying and he asks what I would like to drink. Few more beers and I think I'll teach him "Wild Rose and Raspberry" (to the tune of Guantanamera) that was such a success in Bodmin.
As we approach the end of the group stage, here are the numbers:
Distance: 150.2 km
Cumulative distance: 745.13 km
Ride time: 7h 14m 16s
Max speed: 57.2 kph
Right arm: looks like bubble wrap and getting ready to peel
Right knee: noisy
Bottom bracket: creaking
Mood: very good, thanks to my team!
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