Spring has sprung....

Time to touch base with you all again and give you an update on what’s been happening….

The last few weeks have mainly been about spending time as a family. We’ve been to a few National Trust places which is always a nice day out and took the kids on a walk over the North Downs around Reigate Fort. This past weekend, we went to Birling Gap on the south coast and were graced with some beautiful weather considering the time of year. Always a bit nervous having a 4 year old near a cliff edge! Great views and a nice potential spot for some wild camping.

 
I’ve been getting out on the bike a bit more, mixing things up between road and mountain bike. The warm weather is making me favour the road bike again. It’s good to get some decent miles in and try to build up a bit of fitness. I think the yoga has helped with my flexibility on the bike, I seem to be able to get lower to the bars and more comfortable. I don’t think I’ll ever be a yoga master but I can certainly see the benefits of it so I’ll continue with it as every little helps!

I will be taking a break from signing up for a block yoga course though as it’s quite a commitment and with the light evenings now, I want to be out riding more. I’ll still drop into the classes on an ad hoc basis but I have other priorities at the moment.
 

I need to do some overnight trips in preparation for the Welsh Ride Thing and I’m gonna have a crack at doing the 90 day P90X workout to get fitter for the summer which is a massive commitment in itself! I’ll supplement some of the cardio sessions for riding though which means I just have to fit in 60 minutes a day on the other days. There’s a yoga session too as part of the structure so that will ensure I keep the up with the yoga before booking back onto the course later in the summer.

Plans for the Welsh Ride Thing are slowly improving. I’ve got all my kit now and tried it on the bike last week. I’ve used the Eurohike down bag a few times indoors over winter and have been absolutely roasting! For this reason, I think it will be too hot for Wales in June so have got a lightweight Lifeventure Downlight 660 bag which weighs in around 700g. It packs very small and is lighter than the Eurohike bag and means I can get everything in the dry bag on the handlebars. I’ll post some pictures of the loaded bike when I load it up again as I forgot to take any this time. If the weather is too cold, I can sleep in my Montane Fireball smock as I’ll be carrying it anyway. The sleeping bag has a comfort rating of around 12 degrees but I sleep warm anyway.

Other purchases of late include some new Karrimor KSB walking boots. I’ve had my old Karrimor boots for 5 years now and it was time to update them. I’m getting into the walking a bit more and will be doing a fair bit in the Peak District over Easter. I’ve got a long term plan of summiting Mont Blanc but this could be a couple of years off yet as I’ll need to gain other experience first in the UK mountains with some hill walking and scrambling.

I’ve signed up for a rock climbing course in May which will teach me the basics before we head into Europe for the summer. This year we’re going to the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia so will have good opportunity to engage in some outdoor pursuits. I’ll be taking the mountain bike and hope to do a bit of hiking along with some scrambling and climbing.

I’ve picked up some other outdoor bits – a North Face Venture rain jacket and a 50L Forclaz Ultralight rucksack. I’ll give my verdict on both when they see some use!

Time to get out and enjoy the sunshine……