As some will know I've not been in a good place lately, and remembering happy times from earlier in the year isn't quite the tonic it would normally be. Nevertheless I see good reasons for making the effort.
Once it became apparent that coronavirus was a big thing and that it was going to affect us all profoundly, my interpretation of the guidance was that rides of 100 miles or more were quite permissible. The decision I took was that I would design my routes to remain within a radius of approximately 15 miles from home, and would only ride on days when my wife was available to collect me should I be truly unable to continue. In a lifetime of cycling I can remember this happening twice, in 1976 and 2008, both due to illness.
It might be bordering on a fetish, but I try to design routes which I think have an aesthetically pleasing outline, definitely avoiding spurs and repetitions of sections of road wherever possible. With the design constraints described above, this created some challenges. This example, 111 miles on May 3rd, was I think my favourite:
The route crossed itself six times, always at a perfect crossroads, so the only repetition is the cul-de-sac where I live, unavoidable unless I were to start and finish recording at the end of my road. I didn't think of that.
I don't have a photograph from that day, but six days later on another ride I took this picture at a spot which I passed on both rides, and I'm sure the buttercups were no less beautiful:
I hope to be back properly next year. Good luck to everyone.
It wasn't even a particularly nice day but I still enjoyed it enormously and themist made the mountains more mysterious.
