Turps through a sick donkey...

I've not been riding for a few days. Last weekend was a family gathering at the Nest of Fannich to mark the 100th anniversary of the moment Duncan Campbell, my Great, Great Grandfather, died. My ancestral home is a sad sight nowadays since it was burned to the ground around 10 years ago. There are rumours of skulduggery surrounding its demise, involving a road installed by the new estate owners which cost around about the same as the Nest was insured for...

Anyway, I digress.

My plan was to ride to work every day of the last week of term, but laziness prevailed on Monday morning and by Monday evening I was feeling a bit shite. Two days of chills, fever and frequent toilet visits followed before I made it back to work on Thursday. A persistent sore head kept me from riding at all during the week, reasoning that I'd better let the bug pass (so to speak). So it was Sunday before I managed to get back to riding.

Time to visit the Lomonds. I meet Dan at midday and we head out on a loop from Markinch. I'm breathing too hard on what should be pretty straightforward climbs. Dan cleans the climb up to the East Lomond car park and I manage it with only one dab, but feel knackered, as though I'd not ridden for months. We get to Glen Vale, which is usually a fairly accurate facsimile of the first day of the Battle of Verdun, but today it is actually dry. The descent to the road is a delight as well - fast and swooping with the occasional two-wheel drift in the loamy soil. The payback is a grinding climb back up onto West Lomond. Dan rides an impressive portion of it as I churn in his wake with my bike on my back. Usually I can do this no problem, but today I just feel weak. No energy, aching back, sore head-weak. Even when we get to the downhill, I have no real go and my quads are cramping. Signs of something amiss. I think my stomach bug has depleted my mineral levels and I haven't properly replenished them.

Nevertheless, it was an excellent ride, taking 3 hours for 39km with 900m of ascent, but it wasn't anywhere near as comfortable as it should have been 3 months into the training. It's only two weeks to go before we start on Dave's Twelve Week Plan. This involves up to 18 hours a week riding a bike.

I've got The Fear.