Today is a rest day. Yes, a rest day! And so, readers, I thought you probably wouldn't mind waiting a few hours for a post, which will be short. More may follow later. Yesterday was a windy day, to say the least, and I was beginning to feel the need for a rest from the saddle, so having a short ride over to Bedford from Huntingdon was a relief. My brother, Robert, had set off at 6am for work in Leeds, so I was able to spend some time with sister-in-law, Julie, over a lovely breakfast of bacon in muffins roving over a whole range of topics! Then when she too had to go to work, I had the house to myself for an hour or so to get ready for off.
As I say, it was windy, but it was also sunny and the ride over was beautiful - through country I have known for nearly thirty years, since Kate and I lived in Bedford when we first married in 1981. There was a definite sense of coming home as I cycled in through the suburbs, even if the new A421 road from the A1 toward Bedford was unfamiliar. My host for two nights is David Powell, who trained for ordination with me on the Saint Albans and Oxford Ministry Course from 1996-1999. We even went to the same selection conference together, and have been firm friends ever since. There has been a lot of news to exchange, and we've put the world to rights. David had also arranged for another of our SAOMC friends, Peter Littleford, to come over, and that was very special. I haven't seen Peter for years, and though we are all older and wiser, he still looks exactly the same, and has exactly the wisdom and dry sense of humour I remember. Wonderful! David and I really pushed the boat out last night with a visit to Pizza Hut, where the waitress addressed us as "Gentlemen" all evening. That made us feel really good!!
Today is fine again. The next job is to do a bit of bike cleaning and maintenance. The whole thing is still filthy from the foray into Sherwood Pines Forest Park, and the chain and gears need a good clean up from that too. They've become rather noisy. I intend to spend a bit of time poring over maps and websites as well to plan out bits of the trip through France in more detail. Later in the day we're going to have a walk round Bedford, I think, perhaps along the river, and go in search of energy gels at a bike shop. Nothing energetic - a bit of revisiting old haunts, and a bit of preparation for the next stage, and a well-earned rest.
Perhaps a short post will follow with a few pictures later.
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