Taking the rough with the smooth

My hotel room said 25°C when I went to bed last night. But I had a fan full on and slept well - I was properly tired. The Eastern European young woman managing the hotel was so exceptional, that I put on the review 'Give her a pay rise!' Good staff can make a big difference to an average hotel.

I began the day by reading Bhante Sangharakshita's poem 'On Glastonbury Tor' whilst stood not far from the Tor itself. 

Yet another blistering day. When will it end? I enjoyed hours of exceptional cycling on the Somerset Levels - on the way to Wells. Truly beautiful in the morning cool, and the traffic-less roads. 

Taking the Old Bristol Road out of Wells was a different matter. It involved the longest push-up of the trip so far - 90 minutes, the length of a football game. This was the Mendip Hills and I had to pace myself in the blistering heat. With a push-up you are locked into a narrow steep road with high hedges. No breeze, just the sun creating a sweat-lodge for you to endure. This experience is never mentioned in any of the LEJOG or JOGLE guide books I've read. But it IS the reality. Anyone undertaking this ride should know how challenging it is.

I reflected that back in my teens and twenties, I'd have given up long before now and gone home. But at 62, I'm maturer and more disciplined. Yes, failure is not an option now, but I know now just how to ensure that failure doesn't occur. It comes down to physical training, the right gear and mental discipline. I didn't have these things as a young man.

I took Saddhahadaya's suggestion and took a two-hour lunch break. It was definitely better.

I really enjoyed visiting the beautiful Ashton Court on the way to my hotel in Bristol. My brother and I spent a lot of our childhood in this park during Summer holidays. We would stay with an aunt and uncle who had a lot of dogs, horses and a Minah bird. They were good fun to stay with. My parents would drop us off there for a week at a time. I learned to ride horses there and also how to use oil paint and paint portraits (my aunt was an artist and quite bohemian, really). 

Their house in the park is long sold. I took a photo of it as it is today. I have not seen it for many decades. Happy childhood memories.