How time flies when your having fun. I just realised that it was the 2nd of July and the last time I consciously looked at my diary it was May! Woooooooooh.... These last couple of days I spent some time in the Pays Cathare, so excuse me for not adding any further blogs in June. We didn't have a telephone signal, let alone internet connection. This is a region between Carcasonne and Perpignon in the foothills of the Pyrenees, so it's like stepping back in time a good 30 years, if not more. My parents have retired to this area as you get a much bigger BANG for your buck down there than in the UK. There is a sizeable UK community of Ex Pats. who have gone the same route as my folks or bought second homes as it's a truly beautiful luscious green scenic area - with easy connections via Stansted - Carcasonne.The flip side of course is that we get to see my folks more frequently than if they lived in the UK and that's really cool for my son 'cause he gets to see both sets of grand parents.
Absolutely incredible, I just received a phone call from a friend I was at Poly with right out of the blue who I have not spoken too in the best part of 8 years - Martin you've really made my morning, thanks for the call and looking forward to hooking up with you when we get back to the UK in a few day's time. Yes, it's back to good old blighty on Thursday the 5th so I may not get to put together an update blog for a week or so after the 5th. We're all going back for a family holiday but primarily we'll be hooking up with friends who we've not seen for while. That's one of the things that changes dramatically when you relocate - we've become lazy in staying touch with good friends and like wise once your out of site your also out of mind. I don't believe it's anyone's fault but everyone has STUFF going on around them and it becomes very easy to lose touch and drift apart. However, the real friendships stay rock solid and whenever you hook up it's as if little or no time has passed - I think everyone knows what I'm talking about there.
So how was the Pays Cathare? Why was I there? Well it wasn't just to visit my folk's.
The annual velo club weekend was organised in January so together with 21 other guys we headed to Rennes les Bannes right in the heart of the Cathare countryside. Very, very breath taking scenery - when seen first hand on a new lightweight bike. I forgot to mention that my new juicy carbon Cannondale bike had materialised; so it was a somewhat special outing for me and the bike! Let me tell you there's no stopping me now.
Like all new toys they seem so fantastic at first - this bike seems to pedal itself. Effortless hill climbing that is until you get to a really long 10km steep number and then you realise that ultimately it's not the bike but your legs that count. We covered about 100km on Saturday with 4 - 1100m climbs, it was a blast of a day, tough but most enjoyable and a very fond memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Plus the bike is awesome, I've never had a carbon framed bike before and it is responsive, light, climbs like a demon and descends at break-neck speed.
So how does the picture of me and my boy in the kitchen relate to this blogspot?
Two guys in a kitchen is a dangerous formula. The flip side result being burnt or carbonised biscuits !!
Enjoy the week and until next time - tally ho.