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Biking season

The biking season is open and we seem to be spending a lot of time over the next few weeks and months cycling our way around various parts of the country / Europe. This weekend was a Taunton 100km sportive in the rain and wind (ugh).  Upside was the girls got to spend some time with Fifi and Grumps as well as do more farm planning with Ben and Laurie (the plans are getting ever more complex but they have realised they'll need some capital and experience - progress!).  Thanks to Amanda who amused them for the morning while we cycled, particularly for taking them out of the house while we returned and collapsed in a wet heap for an hour or two - much appreciated.  

All this has obviously rubbed off on Abi who is now entered for her very first event - a 10 mile sponsored ride that starts from Newbury town centre in June.  She is very excited and in true Drinkwater form, she immediately wanted to set out a training schedule and buy some new kit - that's our girl! She wanted to know whether she would need a new bike (no!), could wear her padded cycling shorts (yes) and what she would eat on the way round.  As I said, a true Drinkwater...

Izzy was a bit non-plussed about the fact that she isn't able to do the ride this year - she's not big enough yet for a bike with gears and it's not really fair to ask her to single speed it with legs her size.  She was very quickly placated by the idea that she will get to spend the day with someone (not yet determined), that she may get to wave us over the finish line, and that either way, she'll get an ice-cream. Thank goodness one of them is so easily pleased.

Izzy continues to say it as she sees it, with some amusing results...  We watched Abi in her swimming lesson yesterday and she spotted 2 of her school friends in the pool in their own lesson.  The girls, a set of Indian twins, were dressed in bright pink swimming costumes.  When Izzy said she's seen them I said "you can't miss them, they are bright pink!" to which she replied, quick as a flash "no they're not Mummy, they're brown!".  True, but maybe we need a conversation about how you might say certain things!

As we move further into May I'm increasingly conscious that time is ticking before I go back to work. The clock is definitely speeding up and the days are beginning to race by.  I looked at the calendar for the next few weeks and its pretty full - so much so that I worry that it will be over before I know it and I will forget I ever had this time.  On the one hand I will miss the freedom and flexibility of not being governed by a busy work timetable.  On the other hand, I'm looking forward to being back in the midst of a new team and new challenges.  Realistically I don't have a choice so it's no good worrying about it.  At least I'm going into a great job (assuming of course it all goes to plan), and the actual time between finishing with BP and starting the new role is very short so I don't have to worry about the money.  I said at the start of this episode that if I could have 6 months off and then walk into a new role it would be perfect, and that's pretty much what's happened - you might think I'd planned it!

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