A short walk that Peter and I did the other week when he stayed with us was around the Burrator Reservoir....
Usually over our winters spent here I have used the circuit around the reservoir as a cycling time trial route... Each circuit is 4 miles in length so ten laps gives me a nice round 40 miles. Add to that the 3 miles warm up from the site to the reservoir and a slightly meandering 7 mile route back to the caravan site and that all adds up to a nice 50 mile morning ride with each lap racing against my own times...
This time though I was walking instead of cycling and I was really surprised at how much more I actually saw than when I have my head down on the bike.For instance I don't usually notice things like the ruins of a Manor house.....a waterfall and some of the lovely views.....
It is easy to get caught up in training for the next sportive...time trial or hill climb and there is nothing wrong in that but it might just be an idea that once the event is over to go back and have a slower ride with time to stop and stare and take in a bit more of what the route has to offer.....
Changing the subject ..... I said in a previous post that I would keep you updated on the performance of the Kampa All Season Awning and Annexe.... Well last week we had a really un-seasonal storm...... Gale force winds in excess of 50 mph with torrential rain hit the site.
My next door neighbour was up at 4am attempting to pack away a large gazebo which had been torn apart by the storm....... All his BBQ equipment was in it with bikes.... chairs etc. The structure ended up in the sites rubbish bins.
Another caravanner on site was also up in the early hours trying to dismantle his awning before it got ripped apart.... And our awning?? Well it survived the storm with hardly a murmur...... Just one peg had started to pop out but I was already aware that it was loose before the storm and had intended to replace it but had forgotten. The awning seemed to perform really well and had also proven to be pretty watertight as well.
That was last week and tonight and tomorrow according to the forecast we are going to have it happen all over again.... Another storm is going to hit us and will be yet another test for the Kampa All Season awning.
I will keep you updated on how it performs...........
2 comments:
Yes it is a good idea to slow down and take in the surroundings, after all to me thats what its about whether walking or cycling. You have to enjoy it.Very often travelling a well known route in the opposite direction can surprise you with things you have missed.
A friend was in West Wales when storm Ellen hit and they had to take down the awning. I'm always amazed that some motor homers leave their wind out awnings up, they are not built for strong winds.
I think your awning will have a few more tests as extremes of weather are now the norm.
You're right about extremes of weather being the norm these days Dave..... It is certainly providing a good test for all our camping equipment....
I too am always amazed when motor homers leave their wind out canopies out. On a couple of occasions I have seen the canopy itself badly torn by the wind and on one occasion the winding mechanism was badly damaged as well..
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