2 pieces of inspiration today:
1.) The Route Map.
Day 1: Profile / map -
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=emmcvkoqgnalnayz
Day 2: Profile / map -
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=obxezfwqtfifrbfd
Day 3: Profile / map -
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=nugcbuttsxbgeckj
Day 4: Profile / map -
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=aunpeswvybkxfsvk
Day 5: Profile / map -
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=fyeuzehhaqjfhrgm
Day 6: Profile / map –
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=xjghuqzrssawhymr
Day 7: Profile / map - http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=rvyjkgambfvcloyz
2.) Turlough provided a brilliant quotation from a Graeme Fife's book:
Lest there be any doubt that we are all
mere fragile mortals . . .
" An early explorer of the Pyrenees said that God is a palpable presence there, and in the imposing grandeur of the landscape and the unpredictable changes of weather - sunshine swallowed up in a swirling mist, a balmy day suddenly blitzed with rain and a bitter cold wind - there is much to corroborate such imagining. It is easy to believe that divine forces - not always benign, in fact frequently malign - are at work, lurking, ready to intervene, observing closely those fragile mortals who venture to gamble with Nature's caprices. You are always at risk, you must always be aware of the unpredictability of altitude.
" An early explorer of the Pyrenees said that God is a palpable presence there, and in the imposing grandeur of the landscape and the unpredictable changes of weather - sunshine swallowed up in a swirling mist, a balmy day suddenly blitzed with rain and a bitter cold wind - there is much to corroborate such imagining. It is easy to believe that divine forces - not always benign, in fact frequently malign - are at work, lurking, ready to intervene, observing closely those fragile mortals who venture to gamble with Nature's caprices. You are always at risk, you must always be aware of the unpredictability of altitude.
Yet there is spiritual dynamic too,not only
in the majesty of the scenery but in the very business of surmounting the high
cols, in the alchemies of physical and mental stress which accompany riding the
bike up to and over them. It is not always a pleasant adventure at the time,but
it is always a glorious undertaking in the aftermath. Do not underrate
satisfaction and do not forget, either, that all you can ever say of a mountain
is that it did not defeat you on this occasion."
The route map for this cycle is on
:
A huge thanks to Chris for dragging me home!
Finally a big thank-you to David Stewart for some fantastic bike repair work - apron and all!
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