Apparently the Inuit language has about a dozen basic words for snow, and about ten more for ice, plus many other derived words and expressions to cover all the many forms these natural elements can take.
For us cyclists it’s the obsession with getting up hills that challenges the vocabulary. Take today’s Tempo ride for example. Four of us tackled the climb of Nut Hill, the incline on the A46, and then the varied pitches of Buckholt Road. By the time we got to the top a faulty rear derailleur forced one member to return early.
The remainder descended through Bisley to Chalford before taking on the challenging gradients of Hyde Hill. A little respite followed before the sharp ramp up to Cherington, which can best be described as ‘unpleasant’. From there it was relatively flat, apart from a few little digs, through Culkerton and Ashley to Tetbury, where we were just ahead of the Steady ride and therefore able to get in the queue first and have best choice of the excellent cakes!
The return trip through Kingscote to the top of Frocester was one long steady uphill slog, not helped by the headwind. The descent of Frocester offers amazing views, but I for one don’t like taking my eyes off the road for a second going down there.
The usual route home through Stonehouse and Haresfield offered little to interest the mountain goat of the group, with only the grind up to Stroud Green causing wear of the small chain ring.
All in all an excellent day out in beautiful if chilly sunshine.
54.2 miles, 3,373 feet of our favourite topic of conversation, 14.3 mph.
SP.