Ironman and Bigman taken in by the Bull......

It was a day to remember, a day to get wet and a day to do some proper 'mental' training! The day was a promised on the forecast, wet. Very wet. Bigman, looking a bit like a skinny Jimmy Calderwood with his Lanza tan, was on great form.

We shared the craic on the climb up Knockhill. The Bigman has returned a very fit man. A week of training in Club La Santa has worked wonders and I realised as we climbed up to Saline just how fit he is. I was breathing hard whilst the Bigman was practicing stealth breathing i.e. breathing hard without being heard!!

We turned up towards Knockhill and just after the top turned off road. We lifted the bikes over the gate and set off into the unknown - the Bigman took a while of convincing that the track existed but eventually Doubting Thomas believed sufficiently to risk the off road. Sadly having just gone off road we were stopped at the next gate.

All it said was BULL IN FIELD. We stopped, we pondered, we questioned, we considered more, we turned around and scarpered! The race is a going to be a massive challenge in South africa but the Bigman and I decided to defer our practice of escaping from angry animals for another day! On reflection, we should have gone for it in case next time it's a lion!!!

After the turnaround we set off back towards the back road to Cleish and it was off up the North Face once more. It seems tougher on a mtb rather than a roadie. We turned off towards Blairadam off road once more. It was fab splashing through the puddles like 5 year olds in wellies and speeding down the hill to Kelty. There weren't very many hardy souls in the forest.

Our biking compass was missing but somehow we managed to find our way back onto the road exiting the forest and drop off Cleish and head home.

The Bigman knows I'm not a racer. So the usual race to the bus museum came as a little surprise. I was gliding to victory when my right foot pulled out of the cleat and my chain slipped from the big ring to the middle ring. The Bigman sniffed glory and pulled past making a mental note to self that there is always a race at the bus museum!

It was a day of technical challenges. My gears were playing up, brakes rubbing and we eventually stopped at the top of Cleish to point at the bits that weren't working and suggest that we really do go on a techy training course!

So I reckon we covered aboout 60km today. Great company as ever and time passes with ease even in the rain.

One final thing. No matter how bad you think it's going to be it once you're out and about on the bike it doesn't seem as bad - I write this purely as a 'mental' note to self to remind me on the dank dark days that lie ahead! Told you it was a pure 'mental' training day!