The ease with which I negotiated 18 miles today at a good pace augers well for whatever walking challenge(s) I decide to take on this year. I can’t say that I have looked after myself that well with plenty of snacking on the Christmas pile-up of chocolates, biscuits, cheese and whatever over the last couple of months, so it is somewhat surprising how quickly I have got back up to achieving regular late-teens distances.
The weather forecast once again pointed to one of the weekend days being very preferable to the other, Saturday full of rain and drizzle, with Sunday pretty dry. A 10% chance of rain was sufficiently low. I can handle any weather if I really need to, and I don’t mind the cold, rain or wind, as long as it’s just one of those, with the worst combination very much being rain and wind together.
I wasn’t considering that that 10% might include or exclude the chance of snow or hail. At past half distance there were three brief snow flurries, none of them heavy enough to settle; that merely came as a bit of a surprise and it was pretty cold out there, though I was well wrapped up with the obligatory gloves and woolly hat. Three radio football commentaries sounded like a perfect accompaniment to a few hours plodding, and took my mind off the weather until a heavy hailstorm arrived just as the adverts came on at the end of the second game. The first encouraged the listener to use a specific bookmaker’s website to place bets on football, ending with the usual “When the fun stops – stop!”. At that moment, my walk was certainly not fun, but I carried on for a few minutes and the weather cleared.
On such days, my mind often harks back to that walk from Wookey to Bath where I ended up in a student hostel with precious few heating or drying facilities after six hours getting absolutely soaked. My rucksack had leaked and much of my paperwork (evidence of booking accommodation, notes on particular routes etc) was, you know, how soaked paper usually looks and feels. I had to somehow dry sufficient clothes to get through two more (thankfully dry) days before a rest day when I could have my clothes washed – virtually every B&B owner was fantastically kind in doing this. But, today, when it is just one day, it is no real problem, even if uncomfortable for a while.
Talking of which, I will soon be receiving Facebook notifications, more days than not, recalling this day “4 Years Ago” and the corresponding section of the walk. I guess that, at the time, I never realised quite what an effect those ten weeks would have on my life, and was more concerned about the cost and loss of earnings than thinking of the immense non-monetary value to myself. Memories do fade but there are certain days and moments that will remain with me for as long as I have the ability to remember anything. Occasionally, just occasionally, I read back the whole of the blog from 16 February to 29 April 2014. Yes, it is very self-indulging indeed, but as much as the achievement (that only hit me afterwards) I like to remember the support that I had throughout – that does come out in many of the responses and comments, some from people now no longer with us.
Reminiscing of this time always begs the question – would/will you do it again? Well, who knows what will happen, and if I am going to do it again, I will wait until after I retire and hope to be the oldest person ever to complete it. Yeah, I know, I have said this before (75 years and 88 days, in case you are wondering). But I will need to keep going in the meantime and find other challenges that don’t involve me taking several weeks leave from work. I can’t say that I am as enthusiastic at all on the “three marathons in three days” type challenges that appear to be as much the rage as the “100km in one day” that I have done in the last three years. It seemed such a good idea when I first suggested it to a few friends but, for one thing, it involves getting up far too early, three days in a row! I am not one for giving up bed too easily in the morning.
Weather and football apart, it was pretty unremarkable today though it is becoming normal to have to queue significant time for a coffee. Despite how it might seem, in the UK, the growth in demand for coffee in coffee shops (around 10% per year) is outstripping the growth in the number of coffee shops (around 6% per year). Perhaps that’s why queues are longer. Mmmm, this almost needs a blog post on its own……
Spiceboy's Very Long Walk 