Take a hat

A walk in the North Ambleside As we were up in the north we headed off to the Lake District for a short break. Really cold and damp though. We did get out for a walk in the hills above Ambleside which was great. Soon away from all the half-term traffic. The bike stayed firmly in the back of the car but its not an ideal place to drive around as the parking is so expensive.  Lake Windermere Even the sheep have to grow their hair long up here and the horses wear thick coats! Time for this pair of southern softies to head back south. Some say its grim up North. Stunning scenery though, when the mist clears. Another positive was that we won the quiz in the bar and came away with a nice Rioja.

World Cup Cycling - That's the chap on my cereal packet Sir Chris Hoy getting ready We headed off to the Manchester Velodrome for an exciting day out. We had bought Day Tickets for the opening day of the World Cup meeting some time ago. It only costs £11 to see an international sport that the UK is actually rather good at. The Velodrome is a great facility. It was originally built for the Commonwealth Games. There was a big free Car Park a short walk away and a nearby Asda to pick up a cheap lunch. Only blot on the horizon is the Man. City stadium. We were there for about 6 hrs which sounds a lot. However, there is not much dead time as there many different events and multiple heats. You can get up and walk around the outside of the track so plenty of opportunity to stretch the legs. Bit of a blurr... TW managed to pick out Sir Chris Hoy, 'that's the man on my cereal box'!  Saw a few of the other stars, Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift etc.  Having tried out track

Chinnor up (81.7km) Off on a CTC ride today, thought I would find it tough – and I did. Downhill skiing is not an aerobic exercise but cycling definitely is! A spin around South Bucks to Chinnor and then onwards towards Thame followed by a long haul up the Chiltern escarpment and home. Teach me to get on the road with proper cyclists. Met at the Bourne End Garden Centre and then head off up the dreaded Harvest Hill. Really glad to get to lunch in Chinnor for a break. Very good lunch spot, the Chinnor Village Centre.  Chicken, Ham and Mushroom Pie with veggies for £4.50. The coffee shop was packed with people of all ages and all the activity rooms looked full. If Mr Cameron’s Big Society brought a few more places like this it would be something! A lot of the workers are voluntary. Pots of home-made Damson Jam on sale but I didn't buy any as concerned about the weight. http://www.chinnorvillagecentre.co.uk/index.html The pace seemed pretty fast today, lots of hills. Glad to get home!

The green green grass of home (46km) Climbed back on my tourer for the first time since November.  The mountain bike and skiing are my excuses for leaving Rosinante parked up.  I headed off into the Chiltern Hills with the sun on my back for a winter warm-up. Lovely bright sunny day after yesterday’s rain. The hills seem to be a bit steeper than on my last ride out here though. Struggled with the darn pedal bindings at first, nearly toppled when I stopped to let a car pass on a single-track road but hopefully I will be OK for the next Wednesday ride. Footpath near Stonor I pre-arranged to meet TW in the Henley Tea Rooms for a Valentines Day Fish and Chips lunch. I know, I’m just a romantic fool! Had a bit of luck as well, the Tea Rooms has changed hands since my last visit and isn’t set up for payment cards yet. So TW had to pay with a cheque! Amazing what Ladies carry in their hand-bags. Hopefully the new owner will not make too many changes. It will be dreadful if I co

Gastein Valley When the snow is good its possible to ski right up the valley, almost to Bad Gastein. It has been some days since we had fresh snow but we decided to make our way up there anyway. It was a beautiful sunny day. Where the tracks were good we could get a rhythm going. Outside our place Every now and then we would come to a bald patch where the soil was showing through. Slide and glide became stop and suffer. Anyway, we had a good time. Thirsty work though. There is a nice cafe on our route but sadly Friday was their ruhetag (rest day). Snow and thaw

I’ll cross that bridge..... Standing on the bridge at Midday GH is crossing the River between Eton and Windsor on 8th February 2011. Starting at the Dorney Walled Garden Centre we took the Jubilee River to Eton and Windsor. Our return was via the Thames Towpath and then through the Rowing Centre and back to the Walled Garden. Checking the course - 'looks flat to me' At the Olympic Rowing Lake for London 2012 GH’s believes his experience in Technical Support of steering others who then do all the physical work qualifies him admirably for the position of Cox to the Men’s Eight at London 2012. We feel that even though he possesses many of the qualities required, his physical dimensions would present something of a hindrance at this time. We feel a more realistic target to aim for would be Rio de Janeiro 2016! We did not sample any of the Garden Centre Cafe’s excellent selection of cakes nor did we stop at any pubs. I think GH is taking his training far too seriously! Th

Seven Villages and 4 Valleys in a day Our Route for the Tour Even though there is plenty of skiing in Gastein we thought it would be good to make use of our Ski Amade passes. We took a tour of some of the surrounding mountains and had a look at some of the local villages in the Salzburg region. Our route took in Dorfgastein, Grossarl, Alpendorf, Wagrain, Flachau, Flachauwinkl and Kleinarl. Profile Up bright and early. Bus down the Gastein Valley to Dorfgastein . We took the Gondola up to Fulseck at 2033m and then skied over to the  Grossarl side and down to the Grossarl valley station of the Panoramabahn. We did not need to hurry so we made the most of the freshly bashed corduroy. We were aiming for the PostBus L4 leaving at 09:45. The bus was on-time, as usual, and we headed off down the valley road to  Alpendorf,  a village above St Johann in Pongau. We were there in about 15mins and took a ride up the Gondelbahn to 1574m. At the top we dropped to the left for t