Inviting yourself for a cuppa....

I had identified today as a decent day for a longer ride, and I gave myself a couple of options.
For a change I decided that I'd ride so that the nice hilly bit that is often towards the end of my rides was nearer the start. It's actually harder in this direction as the climbs are longer!
I planned to simply programme in to my brain 86 (or 105) miles on terrain that I know reasonably well, and let it (my brain) work out how much effort I could expend. It's generally pretty good at that :o)

The first 15 miles or so were into the wind so a little slower than the terrain would otherwise have suggested, but I was lettting Mr Brain dictate the effort/pace level. It was nice to give my legs something to get their teeth into early on with the updulations and corresponding downdulations. I DO enjoy the bumpy bits :o)

As I was pottering along the flatter section heading north, and at about 36 miles, I saw a road sign to the village that a friend of mine lives in.
"I wonder if she's in..." I thought.
So I gave her a call

"Where ARE you?" she asked, "in the middle of nowhere?"

"Kinda - I'm about 6 miles from yours, fancy a visit and a cuppa?"

"What? On your bike? That'll explain the noise!!!! I'll get the kettle on"

"Fantastic - I'll be [does rough calculation] about 25 minutes!"

I hadn't seen Kim for ages, and it was fab to be able to just pop in effectively unannounced for a quick cuppa and a chat.
I DO have a tendency to yatter occasionally, and so I stayed longer than I had planned to - which meant that I was a little short of time for the longer verson of the ride.

The next 25 miles was really nice. Small roads, no traffic, a slight tail wind, and super scenery. A little flat, but you can't have everything, eh?!
Last time I did this route it was in the other direction, and I was slightly flummoxed when the GPS 'blue line' pointed me the wrong way up a one-way street - but it wasn't too hard to sort out.
The miles 60 -70 were a bit more hilly, which was good. Enjoyed that. And when I got to 70 miles I possibly could have taken the longer option, but time was tight - so I decided on the shorter - but with a tweak to add in a couple of miles.

This last section also had a headwind, which I was expecting, but I was very pleased with how strong my legs felt.

In the end it total distance was 88.4 miles and the riding time was 5:40.
Riding over 100 miles would have been perfectly feasible today, and my legs seem to have recovered very nicely. This is all good.