Traversing the Cotswolds

I stayed quite high today after climbing out of the lowlands. My ride took tiny lanes - maybe a bit too tiny for winter but I was keen to see a bit more of the countryside. Nearing the end of the ride, I found Winchcombe and wished I could paint cutesy quirky houses when I saw this street. 

I added ten more miles today which felt quite tough in the cold wind. Given I hadn’t actually seen Broadway, I managed to have the mental stamina to turn the wrong way for a few hundred metres to take a look before heading back for the shower block and an attempt to look vaguely presentable for Part 2: Bristol! 

Timing worked really well. I arrived just after Emma and Kim who had also driven from the north. Soon followed by Lisa from Cornwall, Claire from Essex and rounded off with Dorrie from Brighton. The whole gang!

We come from all the corners of England to somewhere vaguely central and it’s taken an unbelievable thirteen years for our latest Kenya reunion. We met in 2007 and clicked. Maybe it was arriving there with similar principles and mindsets, maybe it’s just luck but we’ve met up a few times since for crazy laughter, enjoyable outings and life’s stories and we just continue naturally where we left off. They’re very good friends despite our remoteness.

Tonight we chatted over an Indian takeaway before playing a couple of daft party games which just got us in the right mood for a fine  weekend.