Forced into making drop scones for the sole purpose of trying out this chilli marmalade. It’s a bit spicy 🌶️😤
Finished reading: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers 📚
Perfect holiday reading. I enjoyed this so much I’ve immediately started book two.
26 off the final over 😏 Can England summon up another record run chase to keep the final game competitive? 🏏
Kate Cross and Heather Knight, England’s heroes today. Can’t wait for the next episode of the No Balls podcast and the ball by ball walk through of that winning partnership 🏏
Finished reading: The Long Good-bye by Raymond Chandler 📚
This may be the start of a Raymond Chandler / classic detective fiction book binge.
Stop press: England have won an Ashes match 🏏
Are there any other Fantasy Premier League players out there in micro.blog land? ⚽️
For the record: I am not a fan of on court interviews 🎾
Always Be My Maybe, 2019 - ★★
Needed something light for the end of my first week at work and this fit the bill perfectly. I enjoyed the broad story and central relationships. Not sold on the big name cameo though and at least one joke left a bit of a bitter taste.
January to June in the park
Full Time, 2021 - ★★★★
Before we went to see this I was flippantly referring to it as Run Lola Run for the middle aged. It’s not quite, but it did get my heart racing in a similar way and a lot of that is down to the use of sound.
There were moments that had me on the edge of my seat, as well as a lot of subtlety in script, direction and performance.
Hmm, feels like such a missed opportunity to steal are rare win from Australia today. Kind of glad I couldn’t listen to this morning’s session. In other respects a thoroughly entertaining test match. Excited for the rest of the series and glad to be able to watch the first T20 on the BBC 🏏
Finished reading: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 📚
I thoroughly enjoyed spending the last week or so with Ove and I’m going to miss him. This one will stay with me a long while and I can see myself rereading it, which is rare for me.
My family are at Trent Bridge today. Seems like they’ve been good luck for England’s bowlers. Bring on the chase 🏏
Majorly disrupted sleep due to heat and neighbours having a sing-a-long when they got in at 4AM. Decided to get up and watch yesterday’s Premier 15s final. A commanding performance from winners Gloucester-Hartpury and just reward for finishing top of the table.
A chap passing in the back lane as I was getting the bin in this morning complimented me on our yard. He said “That’s canny cute, like” and I wholeheartedly agree with him.
What did Sophie Ecclestone eat at tea? 🏏
Kielder Water — cycling: https://fragments.ekcragg.co.uk/kielder-water-cycling?pk_campaign=rss-feed
Kielder Water — cycling
My goal for day two of my trip (read about day one here) was to cycle a full loop around the reservoir. At 40 km this would be by far my longest ever ride. On the whole I was looking forward to it, but in the back of my mind I had a few anxious thoughts about what could go wrong.
Thankfully those fears remained in my imagination and my day was characterised by some good decisions. The first two made before I even left the B&B…
- Opting for a sausage sandwich and small pot of coffee instead of a full English at breakfast.
- Choosing to wear the padded liners in my cycling shorts, despite the heat.
- Seeking advice about which direction to cycle around the reservoir… and then listening to it.
This last one, I believe, was the difference between me finishing the ride and being beaten by it. Starting at Tower Knowe and cycling anti-clockwise meant that I was descending most of the steepest sections. There were still a few uphill stretches that proved a challenge for me but in general they were more gradual rather than short and sharp.
I also managed to avoid any nasty tumbles. Only on one of the latter steep descents that included some sharp turns did I feel the bike slipping from under me. I was able to respond quickly and managed to regain control.
I set off a little before 10AM with the intention of taking my time. However, there’s little reason to stop on the north side and little shade, so bar a couple of short stops to take photos and grab a drink, I continued along my way for 19 km.
I arrived at Kielder well before noon. This was originally where I had planned to stop for lunch as it’s roughly half-way. I was feeling relatively fresh, and not in need of anything more than a snack, so decided to keep going.
A few kilometres further on, near Matthew’s Linn, I found a quiet and shady spot next to a jetty to eat my sandwiches. I would have loved to sit here longer to read and enjoy the views but the lack of a breeze meant the midges were out in full force.
At 27 km, stopping for a tub of ice cream (the flavour was cherry crush, in case you were wondering) at the Waterside visitor centre felt like a brilliant idea but when I got up to get going again my legs felt like jelly. Thankfully the next few kilometres were pretty steady, retracing the route around the peninsula that I’d walked the day before) and I got back in my rhythm.
With 5km left of the loop I hit a wall. The loudest sound I could hear was my heart thumping in my chest. A brief stop half-way up a hill to throw cold water over myself and refuel was necessary. That pick-me-up just about got me to the finish line, where I arrived around 2:30PM.
Before setting off for home I bundled my bike back into the car, thanked the visitor centre staff for their advice, refuelled with my remaining sandwiches and a coffee and chocolate brownie from the café. I’d intended to take myself for a celebratory pint on my return home, but instead crashed on the sofa with a cup of sugary tea.
Cycling stats
Distance covered: 40.11 km
Elapsed time: 4 hours 36 minutes
Moving time: 3 hours 1 minute
Average speed: 12.5 km/hr
Max speed: 30.3 km/hr
Max elevation: 231 m
Tags: #holiday #northumberland #cycling