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 It's a Winter wonderland Bad Hofgastein Church from the Berglift Along the Ache Shopping trip Graukogel - long distance The Kur Park next to our Apartment The Schlossalm Ski Area in Bad Hofgastein opened on the 4th December 2010. Pre-christmas skiing was a bit of a revelation last year. Well, it’s even better this year as the snow has landed earlier Didn’t quite make the first lift as I had to pick up my skis after their service. Have been using the same pair of boots for about the last 20 years but today I put my feet into the new pair that TW bought me last June for my birthday. First day on snow in Bad Hofgastein No people apart from us! Maurach Alm - A quiet spot to stay on H2

Wagrain Rolling! Wagrain - looking towards Flachau and Schladming The season 2010/2011 is underway. Berwyn gave me a lift to Wagrain, about 45 mins from Bad Hofgastein . With five lifts open on a cold but bright sunny day we had a great time. The snow was a mix of natural and artificial, the skiing a mix between the awkward and the rusty. Hadn’t expected to ski until Saturday when our local slopes open and haven’t had my ski bindings adjusted for the new boots yet.  Traditional Lunch  Apple Strudel for afternoon tea.  So the old boots, held together with duck tape, got a final airing. It was really quiet, just a couple of school classes in the morning and almost empty in the afternoon.  Found a few 'death cookies' on one stretch but the slopes were beautifully groomed, not a bare patch in sight. A very nice hut was open at the top, the staff are particularly friendly at the start of the season, the smiles will get a bit forced by the end of April when the...

Ferries, Bus and Train Home Insurance must be pricey On the ferry to everywhere Rialto Bridge - more shops! At Venice St. Lucia we headed straight ahead and down the steps to the ferry boat quay. A 24 hrs ‘season ticket’ costs 18 Euros and allows unlimited travel on all the routes. It was a bright, sunny crisp day and TW was on a mission to travel as many nautical miles as possible! Our first cruise was along a couple of canals to Crea and our B & B, Ca’ Fontanea in Cannaregio, another booking success for yours truly as it was lovely. It was away from the canal and set in a small piazza and cost 65 Euros. I am afraid I made it a bit of a boo-boo as we approached the Ca’ Fontanea, or more accurately a poo-poo!. I was towing TW’s wheeled suitcase and my route took me straight through a very fresh doggy doo-dah. This, you will appreciate, tempered the excitement of our arrival! TW’s first task, before we could go for lunch, was to clean her wheelie, Aaah yuk!...

Florence Round and about in Florence Ponte Vecchio We’ve been to Italy a few times but my previous knowledge of Florence was limited to the Magic Roundabout. I’d booked a Hotel near the station but was a bit worried it was too cheap. The Hotel Elite at 40 Euros per night turned out to be fine and was our comfortable home for the next two nights. One of the advantages of staying at cheaper accommodation is that the restaurants or Trattorias they recommend are at the value end of the price range. For lunch we went to the Restaurant of the 100 paupers - Ostaria dei Centopoveri in the Via Palazzuola. Apparently back in time the church used to provide meals for 100 poor people. We had to pay 10 Euros each but it was brilliant. They have a 10 Euro ‘set meal’ at lunchtime. I had fresh spaghetti with tomato and then a main of mixed meats on a skewer. Wine, mineral water and coffee were also included. Suitably fed we headed off to the main tourist area. There are so many shops in F...

Lucky Wednesday and O’Leary’s Aeroplane There was a time when the Aristocrats went on a Grand Tour to Italy, probably by stage coach and latterly the Iron Road. Today our intrepid, but impoverished travellers set off on today’s equivalent - an equally tortuous trip on the M25 and Ryanair. When you have a plane to catch the M25 contrives to be at its most congested. Today was no exception. Stationary traffic from junction 24 on the traffic news should have read Junction 17. The consequences of missing our flight to Pisa, where we were booked into a hotel, would have been very costly. Should we turn off or stick with it? We stuck and with blood pressures climbing we eventually crept our way to Junction 24 and, would you believe it, the road cleared miraculously and we made it to Stansted in good time. Must be our lucky day! Case Sensitive The next hurdle is to get through Ryanair check-in with our hand and pocket baggage. Being Ryanair regulars we know the routine. Some way ahead o...

Dry cycle on a wet weather Wednesday - 47km The Wednesday forecast wasn’t great at all. The sky was grey as I set off for the rendezvous; with rain threatening. I knew the others were hardy souls so I expected a good turnout regardless of the weather. And so it was. Over a dozen headed off towards Cookham and climbed up towards Winter Hill past the golf course. I stayed at the back and practised my heel turns as we headed through Cookham Dean and its posh properties. The Turkeys at Copas Farm gobbled and trotted as we passed them by; didn’t wish them a Merry Christmas! The route took us through Pinkneys Green and down Dungrove Hill and under the A404, passing very quickly the notorious lay-bay area, and down to the Henley Road. We turned left on Honey Lane and up the incline towards the Dewdrop Inn, a pub I haven’t visited for 30 odd years; not the beering hour yet so not an option today. Peter took us on a cut-through to Warren Row and a good quiet ride to Remenham where we hit th...

Putting your foot in it....and taking it out again! Chilterns in Autumn Being mainly a Mountain-biker and Tourer I had never bothered with cleats. I thought they were only for ‘proper’ cyclist. However when I started to ride out with the group I found that I was the only one with toe-clips. I could keep up on the hills OK but figured I was less efficient than the others. So I thought I’d better give them a go. I actually had the necessary pedals, shoes and cleats stashed in the garage. To be honest it was partly cowardice that stopped me using them. It’s not a comfortable thought having your feet locked to the pedal with a device similar to a ski binding. I decided that I would try with just one pedal first. So propped up against a wall I tried to get my shoe and cleat into the binding. Darn tricky, even with a mirror on the ground so I could see where the cleat was relative to the pedal. Disengaging was even more difficult, you have to twist the heel outwards. I...

Another lucky Wednesday! After a couple of really naff wet and windy days the sky cleared to allow the sun to shine on our Wednesday ride. A rendezvous at the Bourne End Garden Centre is, I’ve found, typically followed by a climb up Harvest Hill towards Hedsor and Burnham Beeches. So the coffee refills are followed by the coughy uphills! It certainly seems like a lung-buster on a cold November morning. Anyway, onward through the Burnham Village High Street on Market Day towards the Olympic 2012 Rowing Centre and our Thames crossing near Monkey Island. From there we passed through Fifield and headed up to Drift Road and turned left towards the Great Park. After about 2km we turned right down Winkfield Lane and traversed, on a cross-country route, towards Billingbear Golf Club where a gammon steak with chips awaited me. It looked a nice little pay and play club. There a nine hole course (£8.50) and a par 3 course. From there we headed off home via Shurlock Row, Walthan St Lawrence, ...

Met up at Bergers, a cafe in Marlow, for today’s pre-ride coffee. The place hasn’t changed much in the 20 years or so that have elapsed since my last visit. The group headed off into the Chilterns on one of my favourite routes. Two guys punctured and we lost about 45 mins which meant targets for lunch had to be revised. I was just happy it wasn’t me holding up proceedings. For November, it was quite a nice warm day and there are worse places to hang around than Hambleden. There's a coffee stop at the Post Office with recommended cakes and there is always the Stag and Huntsman if its past the beering hour. We headed over the Thames weir Mill End and then down Remenham Lane to Henley for an early lunch at the Henley Tea Rooms. Never a hardship, like most of the group of eight, I had Fish and Chips including a coffee for £6.90. Then we headed off up a quiet Greys Lane towards Greys Court, a National Trust property that’s worth a visit. We did not stop but carried on up Rocky Lane to t...

Bucks in the Autumn Braved the morning rain and headed off towards Dorney. Over the hill to Cookham and then along the Green Route to Maidenhead. On past the posh riverside houses towards Bray and through the Churchyard to the M4 bridge path. The Olympic Rowing Lake soon appeared and then the Walled Garden Centre. Already travelled 19km just to get to the meeting point, could be in for a tough day. The weather forecasters got it right and out came the sun. Joined the group for a coffee and then set off with them towards Chalfont St Giles via Burnham Beeches, Farnham Common and Gerrards Cross. Beautiful in the woods with the sun glistening on the wet leaves. Nearly wiped out by a driver using our quiet road as a rat-run, back roads were a lot quieter before Sat Nav! Had lunch in the Fox and Hounds, at Chalfont St Giles before heading home via Beaconsfield and Cookham. Nice ride, plenty of hills so happy to be home.

Autumn cycling in the Chilterns - 20km to Henley and 30km back to Marlow Monday morning, a cold, clear and windless day. Headed into the Chilterns. Some very plucky pheasants on the road, never seen so many. Reminds me of a tongue twister...... One smart fellow; he felt smart. Two smart fellows; they felt smart. Three smart fellows; they all felt smart. Try and say it.... The leaves are just turning and the deer are rutting, it must be Autumn. On the hill between Hambleden and Fawley Henley on Thames One particular Stag was making an awful din whilst chasing his herd around a field near Luxters Winery. Met TW for lunch at the Henley Tea Rooms in Thameside, Henley. Cycled back via some really good place names, Badgemoor, Bix, Bix Bottom, Middle Assendon, Stonor, Turville Heath, Fingest and Frieth. Roads were quiet, apart from the pheasants of course. Glorius day.

A nice way to get weary Overnight frost was being cleared by bright sunshine as I headed off for my first ride with the CTC. I joined recently to get more access to info on Touring from their website. The local section, CTC South Bucks, wrote and invited me out for a ride. The morning meet was at Bourne End Garden Centre. Doesn’t sound great but it has a really nice cafe hidden inside. Just £1.50 for a mug of coffee with unlimited refills. Plenty of tasty looking cakes and sponges to choose from. It's a a favourite meeting point and I can see why. The cycling group that assembled was friendly and there was a bit of banter about the leader being obsessed with hill-climbing and that it could be tough - but they would wait for me! So I set off, in a group of about fifteen, with some trepidation up Harvest Hill towards Burnham Beeches. From there the route took us past Cliveden to Taplow, along the Jubilee River to Windsor and then across the Great Park to Ascot Racecourse. W...

Thought we would make a detour into Southampton on the way home to take a look at the new Cunard ship. Very impressive. The new Queen Elizabeth TW dreams of going on the maiden yoyage but unfortunately we are the wrong side of the tracks and the ship. QE was loading and getting ready to sail on her first trip. The Waverley was also in Southampton water The Waverley is the last sea-going Paddle Steamer in the world. Probably more our style.

We made a quick trip over to the Isle of Wight to visit TW’s Uncle. Glorious day to see a lovely place. Over on the favourite Ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth then round the south via Waterstone and the Military Road.     Disabled parking is free on the Island, here is why! Lymington Mud Not a cloud in the sky all day. TW and TMIL had a good old chat with Uncle and we all had a nice pub lunch in Shanklin.On a bright October day cannot think of a better place to be. The only hitch, we paid £2 for parking only to discover that TMIL's disabled badge entitled us to free parking on the Isle of Wight.