Take a hat

Cornwall in November 2011 Welcome Pack - On the table There was a time when you were lucky to get two hotplates and a fridge when you went self-catering. Today, its rather different and our Carbis Bay Apartment had all the equipment you would ever need, and then some.  It even had an Ipad, whatever that is? The Welcome Pack wasn’t bad either. Not sure about scones with clotted cream but the Cornish Fairings were very tasty. View from the balcony

Blue skies over St Ives in November The Harbour in St. Ives November is a good month to visit this part of the world. The traffic is lighter, the prices are lower and the town is much quieter than in the season. The only downside might be the weather. So far, so good, forecast rain did not materialise Portreath and the Mining Trails on Monday Portreath Harbour Mining Trails Well, Monday morning brought cloud. Headed off to Portreath along the coast via Hayle and Godrevy. Met up with TW and TMIL in the Atlantic Cafe for a swift Coffee. Portreath used to be quite industrial and looked a bit sad today. The harbour was used for shipping the tin and copper from the local mines. Its the sort of place that could be really nice with a bit of investment. Imagine there are some great walks along the cliffs and some decent beaches. Anyway, for me it was off on the Mining Trails towards Pool where I picked up NCN 3 for the run home to Carbis Bay via Cambourne. Nice little ride!

The hills are alive! Last of the Autumn rides - in Austria After making best use of the fabulous weather in Austria it’s time to head home. The day has arrived to get the train back to Munich and the flight back to Heathrow. Waiting for a train in Bad Hofgastein Oh well, never mind, back in time to join a Wednesday ride in the Chiltern Hills. The English hills might not be quite so ‘alive’ as the Austrian Mountains but the Chilterns can cause a bit of pain and suffering. The climbs can still be pretty steep although mercifully somewhat shorter. Marlow to Chinnor and back We started with a coffee in Bergers before heading off to Chinnor and a nice Lunch at the village centre. On the way we took in Sprigs Holly Lane, now that is a lively hill! Not so high but can be steep View from the ridge For the run home it was a climb up Aston Hill on the A40 and then on past the Turville Windmill and down to Fingest. The beeches were Golden, the sun was often hidden by c