Well, the sun was out, I finished a job that I was on and decided to put the shorts on for the first time this year and ride my 21 mile Woldingham MTB training circuit. Seeing as it has been relatively dry for the last few weeks, I was looking for a faster time than the 1-38 I did two weeks ago. The trails were certainly drying out but in the usual places there were still the remnants of mud-puddles which have now turned stodgy, making the riding across them hard.
With the sun on my back I attacked the course and the climbs. It is funny how the sun, now it is higher in the sky, makes the body feel so hot! My ride speed was thwarted by two sets of dog walkers and two sets of horse riders: otherwise it was a stop free ride. Panting for breath at the top of Uplands Road, this has now dried out (the new surface which was not required acts like a sponge on the tyres when the trail is wet), I knew that it was now a predominantly downhill ride home and I got stuck into it with relish on the big ring.
A lovely hard ride on a beautiful Spring day.