France Holiday - Day 3 - Aix en Provence

With the rain pouring down on Paris we decided on an Uber from the hotel to Gare de Lyon. It took around 30 minutes and worked well as an alternative to the hour long walking alternative. We were in Standard Class this time on the TGV to Aix as the price difference was large and the difference in comfort we had seen last time was quite small. Happy with this choice for the reasonably speedy journey down South.

We picked up our hire car without incident at the TGV station and then drove to our Novotel hotel (Pont-de-l'Arc Fenouillères) on the outskirts of Aix. 

We did a pleasant 30 minute stroll into town and had a good wander around the town centre. Stopping for drinks in a central square and then dinner at Chez Laurette (Colin had lamb tagine). Took an Uber back to the hotel afterwards.

 

France Holiday - Day 2 - Paris

After a good breakfast at the Pullman we arrived at St Pancras in good time for our 10.22 train to Paris. Queues were enormous and it wasn't a great experience going through the various checks of passports, Covid Vaccination Passport and luggage scanning and then waiting in the crowded waiting area. The train journey in the Standard Premium cabin was very nice with plenty of space and a nice little meal.

In Paris we were staying at an IBIS near the station (122, rue La Fayette) and got checked in quickly. We headed out for a wander around the Montmartre area of the city just NW of the station and hotel. Sacre Coeur was a bit busy but the quieter areas round about were quite pleasant.

A nice dinner at Electric Paris just a few steps away from the hotel. The hotel room was small but fine. Fairly comfy bed and quiet.

France Holiday - Day 1 - London

First class seats on the 09.30 LNER train to Kings Cross. After early threats of a late train we got off on time and enjoyed a relaxed journey down to London. Quickly checked in to our room at the Pullman Hotel a short walk from the station.

Enjoyed a pleasant self-guided walking tour of Clerkenwell. Not the big sights of London but still an interesting mix of architecture, industry and history. 

We finished the tour in Islington and paused for a nice beer & ginger beer at The Three Johns before walking onwards to Granary Square and a very nice dinner at Granary Square Brasserie. Cherry enthused about the Crispy Duck Salad and the Baked Miso Aubergine. Colin enjoyed the Grilled Asparagus and the Rabbit and Langoustine Pie.

Jedburgh Hills

A drive out to Jedburgh to find some quiet roads and hills to cycle on. A nice series of 5 punchy hills in cold but clear weather proved a very enjoyable morning out. Just 22 miles and 918m climb over just over 2 hours. Pictured is the pretty village of Lanton.

Also did 30 mins easy running afterwards as part of Triathlon training plan.

Foxlake 13K

The final run in the east lothian winter trail series. Another marvellous clear sunny day. My running performance was again not great after having had a pretty heavy training week - the first of my triathlon prep plan. It was still a nice trot around a lovely course.

After the race I made the most of the nice weather for a slow cycle round the course route with an extension into Dunbar. 

Pole to Pole 16k Race Coldingham and St Abbs

Another generally nice race. A little bit too much tarmac in the early stages and a few pinch points with queues but very nice section along the rugged coastline. I started very slower but warmed up nicely in the second and felt reasonable strong at the end.

 

Orienteering Planning at Craigmillar Castle

I've been quietly working away on orienteering courses at Craigmillar Castle Park over the past couple of months. It is a very nice areas especially in winter when any brambles are subdued and the forest areas are relatively clean and runnable. It has some nice pockets of attractive forest and some complex contour features. The event was held on Saturday and we enjoyed perfect weather and around 8 participants. It was a long hard day putting out controls and collecting them at the end but nice to have helped put on a successful event.

Harvest Moon Trail Half Marathon

Glorious day on the East Lothian coast for this delightful trail race. Lots of variety with the run going through farmland, dunes, along the beach and through a river twice. My running wasn't so good with legs feeling pretty heavy and it was a real struggle to keep moving over the last 3 miles. Worst run performance in a very long time - around 2 hrs 12 min to complete.

Open 5 - Lake District

A long time since I last did this format event which was once a regular in Edinburgh and nearby. 5 hours to spend visiting controls on MTB or foot with the split between the two at your discretion. The weather for the event turned out to be pretty horrible. Continuous rain, strong winds and low single digit temperatures. I was well wrapped up and kept most of the weather out apart from the feet which got soaked through after about 15 minutes and the gloves were pretty saturated by the end. A real fun event. Route choice wasn't great with not enough attention paid to the climbs on the bike. Would have been fine in better weather but with the wet I decide after around 3 hours to head back as I was getting worried about the risk of hypothermia. Went for a longer run than expected again underestimating the height gains and just making it back with a few minutes to spare at the end. Would definitely do again.

Mountain Bike and Urban Orienteering - Peebles

Some stinking weather this weekend. Saturday was wet, cold and windy for a tricky wee mountain bike course at Glentress. Navigation went pretty well. A few bits were more technical than I like but mostly it was fairly pleasant and safe riding.

The next day was an urban orienteering course through housing estate and town centre of Peebles. Snow for most of the time I was running. A pretty decent run and about the best thing to be doing when the weather is this horrible. 

Foxlake 10K Trail Race

A fabulous cold but sunny morning at Foxlake on the edge of John Muir Country Park. A really nice race with an unsurpassable route along nice trails with great views. A time of 49 mins 30 secs was pretty good given my triathlon training focus.

 

Big Weekend Orienteering

EUOC orienteering weekend with a night event around Pollock Halls on Friday evening, an Urban event on Saturday and a classic event around Holyrood Park on Sunday. I've been avoiding back to back races to  prevent injury for a while but this seemed to much fun to miss. Paced myself on the first two event keeping things at a steady sustainable pace. On Sunday pushed as hard as I could. Seemed to go well although didn't feel well for the next 3 days which I think was unrelated, probably.

 

Oxford via Moffat and Leamington Spa

With the Omicron Virus still spreading life wildfire it seemed like a nice idea to drive Hannah back to Oxford so she could avoid the crowded trains and Colin could make a bit of a holiday of it.

On the way down we stopped for a nice walk around Moffat. Hannah enjoyed the visit to the Moffat Toffee shop and we both enjoyed a walk around Gallow Hill. We even saw some llamas.

We stopped overnight at the Solihull Hockley Heath Premier Inn.

The next day we had a stop off at Leamington Spa for a wander around the town centre and the parks. Quite pleasant. We arrived in Oxford in the afternoon. Pizza dinner at the Open Arms just round the corner from Hannah's flat.

On Wednesday we visited the Ashmolean Museum although around an hour was enough for both of us. We sat and read in a cafe for a while then went to the Jericho pub before enjoying a very nice meal at Brasserie Blanc.

Colin headed off back north on Thursday morning. Had to spot for a work meeting for a couple of hours at Abington before getting home in time for dinner.

 

 

 

Feel The Burns

A really nice event in Selkirk. A hilly 13 mile race that is generally on pretty pleasant trails. A stunning day with clear blue skies and running one doesn't feel the cold. I didn't push for a good time but went at a steady pace and took some photos as I went round. The time wasn't great as expected but a very pleasant journey. It felt like hard work at the end as my run volume has dropped as the cycling has increased. Haggis pie and soup at the rugby club afterwards.

 

Circum Edinburgh Bike Ride

Finally managed a complete circuit of Edinburgh by bike after my last attempt had been foiled by a puncture 3/4 way round. A cold but not unpleasant day. 

Orienteering - Covenanters Wood

A bike ride to Covenanters Wood then a run round the Green course at the ESOC come and try it orienteering event. Always a fairly tricky area and my result seemed pretty poor. Maybe I needed to run through a few rivers.

Trossachs - Braeval Loop

With stunning clear skies, but low temperatures, it was another chance to get out on the MTB. Around 75 mins drive to the Braeval Forestry Commission car park and a nice loop from Lake of Menteith over to Loch Venachar and through Achray forest back to the start. Early parts of the ride were fairly rough terrain and slow before the first main descent and then some nice track along the loch. The return route was blocked by fallen trees and I diverted to the Duke's Pass as I was getting very cold with the slightly extended route. Total ride time around 2hrs 20 minutes.

Glentress MTB

Freezing cold morning so very well wrapped up. Even so it took a while to get warmed up and comfortable with the low temperature.

A first loop from Peebles to Glentress Peel and up to Buzzards Nest then a loop past the upper Green loop which was closed and back down into Peebles for lunch.

A second loop went up via Janet's Brae and then up towards the Shieldgreen Centre and a circuit around Soonhope Burn. Very pleasant once warmed up and in the mood.

New Year Walk with Cherry and Les

An easy stroll from Silverknowes to Cramond.

 

Edinburgh Zoo

Family trip to the zoo. Cold and damp but saw a surprisingly good number of the top animals being reasonably active - pandas, meerkats, sloth, armadillo, koala, giraffe. Lunch at the Grasslands restaurant.

Festive Frolic - Levenhall Links

Amidst all the CoVid restrictions the orienteering calendar has thankfully been running nearly as normal. The ELO Festive Frolic is always an enjoyable hour of activity. It was a festive word search on the otherwise fairly straightforward terrain of Levenhall Links in Musselburgh. A pretty decent effort picking up a pre-planned 10 letter word - would have got a few more points if I'd also focussed on some of the obvious words on the map. Great event.

Christmas 2021

We had Max and Hannah staying for a good length of time over the Christmas period and Les visiting on Christmas Day.