Training? Just Playing Out.

Another weekend, another biking story. This time another parable of how different fun on a bike can be. In retrospect you could view the variety as great cross-training. But training for what, I have no idea.

Squeezed into the start of Saturday, in a brisk wind, I went to the BMX track and made sure I still had what I’d built up before roughing up my knee last week.

Heading home via my usual test of strength to hop up a low wall, then parked the bikes until Sunday when a beautiful late Spring day begged me to get out into the baked out, dusty trails of Hertfordshire. Another variation of linking previous routes, with the added options provided by a lack of clogging wet clay anywhere to play with, took me looping up from Hertford, through Watton and out to the North. A couple of exploring turns to shorten the total and one that found a sweet singletrack option next to the usual bridleway took me on a smooth 50-odd KM in the breezy sunshine. The fast tracks, lovely weather and, I guess, good fitness took me round the Hertfordshire countryside smoothly on one of those days where you reach the car wishing for more but tired and satisfied with a few hours in the saddle.

A