Mission: Unpossible.

It's Tuesday and so far this week I've clocked up 6 hours on the bike. That's 3 hours on Sunday, 1 hour yesterday and 2 hours today. I'm trying to see just how feasible it is to fit in 18 hours in a single week, and the first week of my fortnight holiday seems a good time to conduct such an experiment. If I make it, I have all of next week to recover. If, instead, I reduce myself to a quivering amoeba, I have all of next week to recover.

My plan centres around getting two big rides in; 6 or 7 hours in a single day. The circuit from Spean Bridge to Fort William to Kinlochleven via the WHW then on to Luibeilt and back to Spean Bridge via the Lairig Leacach would be a good place to start. 66kms, 1800m of climbing taking in a circumnavigation of the Nevis Range hills, the Grey Corries and the Mamores. It all hinges on the crossing of the Abhainn Rath which can be un-possible in spate. I've been watching the local rivers to try to gauge how much water the hills are shedding. Most of the snows seem to have gone, but it's still the time of year when river crossings are a pretty hit-or-miss affair.

I arrange to meet Dave at Laggan this afternoon. He's been up north with his son Andrew, and Laggan is on his way home. I get there around lunchtime in April sun, with a backdrop of showers. I manage a couple of laps of the upper and lower red circuits before the showers become more than a backdrop at which point I retire to the cafe to drink coffee. Reasoning that caffeine is an ergogenic aid (not something you have to go to Ann Summers for...), I'm hoping that my performance will be enhanced by the time Dave arrives and the rain shower has passed. Alas, when he does eventually show, I've drunk far too much and have started to twich involuntarily. It's also pishing down. Thus no more riding of bikes takes place and the Abhainn Rath is swelling tumescently.

Twelve hours to go to meet my target... Hmmmm... This will be hard going when I have to fit in a 9-3:35 job. Ergogenic/performance-enhancing aids will be of little use if I can't thole a little rain. Maybe I need to prescribe myself 500mg of HTFU.


(Don't click that last link if you're at work as you might be fired. Also don't click it if you're easily offended. If you're at work and you're easily offended, HA HA!)