Well it has certainly turned into winter now....
Most mornings over this past week we have woken up to find the car well covered in a very heavy frost.....
Although as yet we have only had a light dusting of snow the possibility of icy conditions on the local lanes and roads is enough to send me back to the turbo....
A week ago I set Tiffany the Tifosi up on the turbo and for the next 2-3 months most of my riding will be carried out on this set up......
The risk of coming off in icy conditions is too much of a risk for me to take.....
When you are younger you can 'bounce' a bit better than you do at my age.... I have experienced hitting the tarmac in the past and it is not something that I wish to repeat so static cycling in a nice warm awning listening to music is a far better option.....
With the arrival of the wintry weather Anne and I have been filling our time with either walks on the moor or things that we find to do under cover.....
One thing that we did the other day was to visit the Tavistock Christmas Tree Festival which was held at the church of St Eustachius..
This is the ninth year that the festival has been held and over that time they have had over 450 trees displayed decorated by over 200 different local organisations.....
The Festivals have attracted over 70,000 visitors and raised lots of money.....
During the festival they have a programme of music in the church and the amount of work that goes into arranging the festival and decorating all the trees is quite something......
One of my favourite trees was the one in the image above---it was decorated by members of the Tavistock Physically Challenged Group.....
Another of my favourites was the tree shown below... this one was decorated by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Group....
After our time spent looking around all the lovely decorated trees in the church we really felt that we were getting into the Christmas spirit....
This past weekend most of the country seems to have been covered with at least some snow so everything is getting to look more and more like a scene from a Christmas Card......
Most mornings over this past week we have woken up to find the car well covered in a very heavy frost.....
 |
| Most mornings covered in ice. |
Although as yet we have only had a light dusting of snow the possibility of icy conditions on the local lanes and roads is enough to send me back to the turbo....
A week ago I set Tiffany the Tifosi up on the turbo and for the next 2-3 months most of my riding will be carried out on this set up......
 |
| Back on the Turbo again... |
When you are younger you can 'bounce' a bit better than you do at my age.... I have experienced hitting the tarmac in the past and it is not something that I wish to repeat so static cycling in a nice warm awning listening to music is a far better option.....
With the arrival of the wintry weather Anne and I have been filling our time with either walks on the moor or things that we find to do under cover.....
One thing that we did the other day was to visit the Tavistock Christmas Tree Festival which was held at the church of St Eustachius..
This is the ninth year that the festival has been held and over that time they have had over 450 trees displayed decorated by over 200 different local organisations.....
The Festivals have attracted over 70,000 visitors and raised lots of money.....
During the festival they have a programme of music in the church and the amount of work that goes into arranging the festival and decorating all the trees is quite something......
 |
| Interior view of Church.... |
 |
| Church interior with some of the Trees on display.. |
 |
| Tree Decorated by the Tavistock Physically Challenged Group |
Another of my favourites was the tree shown below... this one was decorated by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Group....
 |
| One of my favourite trees.... |
This past weekend most of the country seems to have been covered with at least some snow so everything is getting to look more and more like a scene from a Christmas Card......
 |
| A Wall of Trees in the Church.... |
Its good to see the towns decorated out for Christmas and anything that they can do to draw people in at anytime really, is beneficial for them. I've not come across a Christmas tree festival before. I remember the Pannier Market area of Tavistock as being interesting.
ReplyDeleteYes icy conditions and cycling dont go well together I've dome off thinking I was riding through a puddle but underneath was ice, and as you say older cyclists dont bounce well. I was knocked off by a dog last year and it took 5 weeks before I could get back on the bike. Apart from the bruising etc my confidence went.
A turbo looks the way to go at this time of year. I've not used one but friends have and its something I'll have a think about.
@Dave
DeleteGetting your confidence back after a bad accident on the bike can be a big hurdle to overcome..... It took me almost a year after my big accident to regain my full confidence again whilst descending.......
Some of our village churches follow this festival..but not on so grand a scale
ReplyDeleteTo turbo or NOT to turbo...I confess I rapidly lose the will to live when on that torture machine :-(
@Peter Roberts
ReplyDeleteI don't find it such a torture on the turbo that a lot of people find it... In the past when training for a big event such as the 10in10 the use of the turbo or a static machine has always been a part of my training plan... I have found that it helps me to get into a Zen like mode and helps me to practice cycling through the pain barrier. When I cycled over the Alps I was glad that I had used one in training as it certainly helped when the gradient went skywards and the pain started to bite...
Looks like an interesting event, hope you are doing ok. I haven't been out on my bike this year due to clearing out houses and downsizing.
ReplyDelete@J-on-tour
ReplyDeleteNice to hear from you J.
I remember when Anne & I were downsizing before starting out on this caravan adventure...it seemed to go on forever... Still it's a pity you haven't been able to get a bike ride in...you will have to make up for it during 2018...
i always wants to make the church like this, well , by keeping these thing in mind would be helpful.
ReplyDeleteVAT return services London