Potten End Royalty

Last Saturday on a very fine ride to Potten End I was amazed to find I had obtained a Queen of the Mountain award.

I was even more surprised to find that my co-reigning King of the Mountain was his nibs.

There seems to be a bit of a quirk in the way this segment calculates, but a Queen of the Mountain is a Queen of the Mountain!  So, very excited about these results I decided to use the Strava "embed" code to include a direct link to the results via my blog.

The picture below is the result of the embed code, and it shows the men's leaderboard!

Strava have been duly notified of the deficiency in their coding.

Back to Blighty

Last time I was on my bike (just under a week ago) it was +35 deg.  Today it is -1 deg.  I am in pain from the cold.  A quick 17 mile coffee trip to Sanuk funky coffee shop.  Good company,cakes and coffee, but today I did not enjoy the bike ride!

Second bike ride of the week does not start well.  I am not even off the drive before we discover a puncture, fortunately this means we (well, not so much we, really) can fix the puncture indoors.

We arrive at Emily's just in time to say hi to the ladies from the Graceful Greens Breeze ride!  As they depart, Aisling and another cycling buddy arrive.  Coffee stops are a very important part of cycling!

We won't mention the early onset dementia moment and my cycling glasses, but I blame the recent birthday and entering a new decade.

On the return home, we take a sneaky shortcut along a private road to enjoy some of the views.

Only 20 mile ride today, but absolutely loving all the spring flowers! Daffodils, crocuses and snowdrops everywhere!

Finally, third ride of the week, and it's a VCC club ride.  It's good to be riding with the Sociables again, but I am struggling on the outward ride.  I lose sight of the group a mile or so short of the coffee stop.  I am depressed again.  Am I ever going to speed up?

However, after a very leisurely coffee stop, I am feeling good.  I keep up on all the flats, and on the two climbs on the return journey I am only a minute or so behind.  I even get a personal best on the Dagnall Climb!  So maybe the Central America challenging hills have had some benefits.  Luis, all is forgiven!

CA -16 The end of a fabulous holiday

It's the last day of our holiday sadly, but we do have one final outing.  First we go to the Panama Canal.  This seems to be a real highlight for most people, and we spend at least an hour just watching a couple of big boats passing through the locks.

Stuart spent quite a bit of time explaining how locks work, how tugs work, how ships work and other maritime trivia. The Americans listened attentively.  What they didn't realise is that "Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about".

Jane in particular loves this part of the trip, as she is involved in shipping type things back home.  Her mum would be proud of her carrying her thermos flask of coffee everywhere.

After the visit to the canal, it's our final bike ride.  We all line up for a group photo, just before we set off on our ride along some more tropical rain forest.  It's our last chance to spot any of the wildlife that we might have missed.

We see a few coatis crossing the road in front of us, and I spot a beautiful blue morpheus butterfly.  Unfortunately, Stuart does not get to see any toucans which he had been really hoping to photograph on this holiday.

At the end of the ride, the three of us who struggled the most with the cycling celebrated the end of the journey.  Barbara and I are both absolutely delighted that we never resorted to the bus to get us through, despite some very challenging cycling conditions.  Michelle had her own unique style of surviving the cycling, which may well have involved the use of the bus!  However, I think she is going to have some fantastic photos of the trip, which I am very much looking forward to seeing.

After crossing a very rickety bridge we arrive at a delightful riverside restaurant for lunch.  We also witness a crocodile catching its lunch, probably one of the three cute water piglet creatures that we had spotted when we arrived. 

Finally, after lunch Stuart manages to get the photo he has been looking for....

In the afternoon we are dropped off in the historic quarter of Panama City.  I'm not sure who these lovely ladies are, someone said that they were on our trip, but I don't recognize them! 

There are lots of interesting buildings in the historic part of Panama.  Some very beautiful, and some very derelict.

We thoroughly enjoyed the company of these guys.  

Michelle and Steve (the Biffa) we will come and visit you in the South of England, possibly for cycling round the Isle of Wight?  Michelle, this will involve you getting on your bike!

Sveinn and Unnur, you have been so much fun, we are looking forward to seeing you in Iceland.  We will visit you, even if there are no bubbling volcanos or northern lights!  

Our last group meal is held in an excellent restaurant downtown.  Brynn thanks Memo, Luis and Sabo on behalf of the group.

Memo, was a superb guide who looked after us brilliantly and handled the unscheduled change of plans very professionally.  Luis was the trusty mechanic, kept busy by Sveinn, and he also looked after us well (apart from sending us up the 4 son of a bitch hills at the start of the trip!) and Sabo who safely negotiated all the crazy traffic in Central America.

Stuart and I would just like to say this has been a fantastic trip, and it is the people on the trip who made it so brilliant!  We miss you guys.

 

CA - 15 Freakin Hot

Yesterday was so scorching hot that I nervously check the weather forecast for the day.  Even hotter! With the 'feels like' temperature reaching 38 deg.  We've cycled through some extreme weather conditions on this trip, but the heat is the one that has brought me closest to getting on the bus.

Everyone is up early for breakfast and ready to depart early, hoping to avoid the heat of the day, (which isn't very realistic, as it is hot all day and night!)

There is just time before we depart to take a few pictures of this very strange, but lovely hotel.

When we arrive at the point for unloading the bikes, we can't help but wondering why there is a zebra crossing in the middle of nowhere, but then decide it must be for photo opportunities!

Today's cycle is really hard, the sun is unrelenting, and I even invoke my emergency white shirt, which gets taken on every holiday, but is rarely used.  My arms are bright red after yesterday, and I'm worried that even the factor 50 sunscreen won't be enough.

I am of course at the back of the group and notice just how many vultures there are in the sky today.  When they start landing in the trees to watch me cycle by I become a little nervous. 

Finally, after a very tough 30km we are ready to get back on the bus.  After yesterday's long bus transfer we are not taking any chances and take advantage of a quick pit stop in the bushes.  Jane is keeping shottie (look out) in the distance.  I ask Unnur why she isn't taking advantage, and then remember that she never uses the bushes because she is a lady, "yes, and never forget that!"  says Unnur in her lovely Icelandic lilt.  

The bus transfer is long, and we finally leave behind all the wonderful countryside and the landscape becomes more urban as we begin the approach to Panama City.  The lunch stop is at a huge shopping strip, with places like McDonalds, Burger King and KFC.  I think we all would have preferred rice and beans.  (There has been a lot of rice and beans on the holiday!)

Eventually, one by one of one, we all turn up in Subway as this seems to be the only really acceptable option.  (Lorraine's hair is now being plaited to keep it under control!)

At the shopping strip, we spot two cycle tourists, with their bikes heavily laden with panniers.  Stuart of course strikes up a conversation with them and discovers they are from Quebec.  They are cycling from Edmonton to Patagonia, and have already been on the road for seven months.  Back on the bus, Stuart starts talking to me about their adventure.  We could do that, he says hopefully.  I really mustn't let Stuart get any more sun over the next couple of days.

On the approach into Panama City, we get our first glimpse of the Panama Canal.  I think that we are all looking forward to cycling along it tomorrow.

We arrive at the hotel with plenty of time to sit and relax at the poolside bar.  I'm last down to the bar.  There is no need to ask if there is any wifi here!

This is our penultimate night of the trip, and I think that we are all starting to feel a little sad, with a sense that a truly amazing holiday is coming to an end.

CA -14 Bake Off

It's our second morning at the hotel on the island and although breakfast isn't great the view from the breakfast balcony is excellent.  (This is a rare picture of Lorraine and her hair in its natural state.  Although she has brought hair straighteners with her on the holiday, she has yet to use them!)

After a short ferry crossing back to the mainland the group are waiting to get back on the bus.

As we head out to the first biking section, Memo tells us all about the sloths in the region. He has a degree in Eco tourism and his knowledge of the local flora and fauna has been a real bonus on this trip. The diversity of plants and wildlife in this region is immense and I have really enjoyed hearing about them from Memo.  However, I have yet to see a Unicorn. I think I should have visited the Iguana bar on the island last night if I had wanted to see one of those!

We do see a couple of sloths on our way to the starting point of the bike ride, so all of the group get chance to take pictures. I do have one unanswered question, how on earth do sloths find sleeping in a tree for 15 hours a day comfortable?!

The first section of the bike ride is 14 miles along smooth undulating roads through tropical rain forest.  This route is an absolute highlight.  It is so pretty and green and lush, there are lots of butterflies, amazing sounds of birds and the smell of all the tropical flowers.  It is one of my favorite bike sections of the holiday.

At the start of the ride there is another chain reaction. A chain sees Sveinn and has a reaction.  This is the third chain that he has broken on the holiday.  Unnur asks the guides if they can teach her husband  to change gear!

After the first bike section, we jump back on the bus and climb 5,000 feet to cross the continental divide.  We are crossing from the Atlantic side of the continent back to the Pacific side. This route takes us up into the cloud forest, where all the vegetation changes and the plants are now huge.  The size of the ferns are incredible and there is a huge leafed plant called the poor man's umbrella.  Fortunately we are not cycling this bit so we don't get wet!

Once on the other side of the divide we get to cycle in our third type of forest today, a tropical dry forest, and things are really starting to heat up.  As we have just crossed the continental divide we now have an incredible 10 mile downhill section.  I may be slowest on the climbs, but I am definitely not the slowest on the downhills, I love this ride!  

Half way down the hill, as I cycle round one of the bends, I see Elsa skidding across the road in front of a car coming in the opposite direction.  Her brakes have locked and she lost control, this looks very dramatic from behind, but she keeps the bike upright and no harm is done.

We pull over to a safe place to stop and Jane insists on a photo as this is a blog worthy moment. I'm starting to wonder, did Elsa's brake lock, or was she pushed?!

After the 10 mile downhill section, we have another 12 miles to ride.  It is really starting to heat up now. Fortunately, Sabo, our driver is wearing a really bright T-shirt today, so it is very easy to spot him from a distance, and it is a relief to be able to stop by the minibus and refill our drinks bottles.

I have kept up with the group reasonably well up to this point, but the temperature has steadily climbed to what feels like boiling. This photo stopping point is the last time I will see the group for the rest of this section.  These ladies all met on a previous Exodus trip in India, and Memo has named the collective group the Barbaraellas.  (From left to right, Jill, Jane, Barbara, Lorraine and Elsa).

The remainder of the ride is torture.  The temperatures are insane and I am struggling.  When we are 4 miles short of our destination, we stop and Stuart insists that I have our one and only power gel.  I want Stuart to have it as he didn't eat any lunch.  We are having a minor domestic, when I hear Memo behind us say, "just do what your man says"!  I turn round to explain that I never actually do what Stuart says, whilst surreptitiously slurping on the power gel.

The final part of the ride is very very tough, and I dig deep into reserves that I didn't know I had. It is a huge relief to finally make it to the bus.  I sit exhausted in the shade whilst Stuart buys some cold drinks from the supermarket.  I am too exhausted to even visit the loo, which I realise was a mistake when we set off in the bus and are told that it is a three hour transfer to the hotel!  Bizarrely,despite the length of the transfer I don't need the loo, I must have been very dehydrated.

The bus ride takes us down the Pan American highway, which seems to be one long set of roadworks.   When the road is finished it will be dual carriage way, but for now it is single carriage way and Sabo does a superb job of navigating through all the many lorries very safely.  When we finally arrive at the hotel after dark the group spontaneously burst into a round of applause at appreciation for Sabo's driving today.

The hotel is an amazing Mexican themed hotel, and although we are probably all too tired to appreciate it, we do find we have enough energy to sing Happy Birthday to Cordula in English, Spanish and Icelandic!

Cordula and Myriam have come away on holiday to celebrate being friends for more than 40 years.  There are both from Switzerland and speak more languages than the rest of the Brits put together, who basically speak English!

 

CA - 13 Cruising round the Caribbean

It's a free day, and half the group opt for a day trip being chauffeured round some of the local highlights.  Fortunately, the trip started at 9.30 am, otherwise I don't think there would have been any takers, as we were all quite keen for a lie in.

The trip started at the bottom of Isla Colon, down to see the Dolphins in a bay of Isla San Cristobal, across to Isla Popa for snorkeling and then up to Red Frog beach to relax.

First stop was the dolphin watching, and the dolphins turned up on schedule, as did the other tour boats!  I think that the dolphins are pretty reliable around here.

Then we made a stop so that we could pre-order lunch.  There's no super viv on this picture, Stuart now has real Oompa Loompa arms and legs.  His cyclist tan is doing pretty well for mid-February.  (I note that the weather forecast back home is for snow tomorrow!  It's going to be really hard to go back after this holiday!)

We see some interesting wildlife along the way, including a couple more sloths, that were too high up to photograph.   Unfortunately, the snorkeling proved too challenging for me and Stuart, as there was too strong a current to swim against to get to the reef, but those that made it said there was some lovely colored coral and fishes.

At the lunch stop, we meet a colourful couple who are minding their own business on a branch, but seem happy enough to climb down and pose for a photo!

Another colourful creature is demonstrating her cat walk pose!

Everywhere in this region seems really colourful, sometimes things look a bit ramshackle, but the lack of development adds to the charm of the area.

Finally we stop at red frog beach for a few beers, a quick swim and a chillax.  We do in fact see a red frog on the walk down to the beach.  I don't think the joke what is red and turns red at the flick of a switch quite works!