eatandrunthis.wordpress.com

If you’re a runner, this is an incredibly long time to be out of running completely and I’d be the first to admit that I have had a few crazy Because of the ongoing discomfort and pain in my feet since April 2016, I have taken a complete break from running but in the last few weeks, I decided to test my feet and take them out for a few very short runs to see how they would fair out… And to push past all that and feel the wind in your hair, the quick tap-tap-tap of your feet on the pavement and oh, the sheer joy when you finish. So, I may not be back to running marathons or training for the next Ironman event, but I am making baby steps and if I can have running back in my life, even in the teeniest way… then I will take that and run away way, away with that.

You know the one – the Stephen King story about a creepy clown who kills children, appears everywhere and seems to be immortal, ensuring that generations of children are terrorised by this creature who represents everything children fear most in this world. so when I’d go babysitting, I’d rent out three movies for a fiver (oh, for the good old days…), turn off all the lights and watch them by myself – see how hard core I became 🙂 From teen slasher movies like Scream The plot is slightly different, which is not a bad thing but the story they replaced it with was too simplistic and the movie was too long given that very little actually happens in the movie. Instead, I would without a doubt, be recommending you find an old DVD of this movie (or online if you can), pull the curtains, turn out the lights and have a good night scaring the life out of your good self.

What I remember is pedalling, standing up on the pedals and going absolute full throttle down the road from my house, no rain jacket, no helmet (wouldn’t advise this now, mind you! ), rain spitting up from the road and coming down from the sky I like seeing these small towns, as there is something reassuring in the way there are so many towns around Ireland that are exactly how they were 30 years ago. It was nice to see rural Laois and they did have some lovely cows and friendly locals, but some of the roads weren’t the best (poor road surface makes for gritty cycling…), the scenery was not special and the towns were disappointing. It didn’t rain, I didn’t get lost and I had a little weekend adventure – and that’s good enough for me to feel just a little bit heroic for the rest of the day.

Freshly back from my recent trip to the south of France to follow the Tour de France as it made its way from the Pyrenees across to the Alps, I posted last time about my general Tour de France experience. Pau is a place I probably never would have visited (or even heard of, if I’m honest) if it hadn’t been selected by the Tour de France organisers as the finish/ start point of a stage of the race. There is a solid train station and a regular train service, with trains travelling from Biarritz, Toulouse, Paris and most other large cities in France – the train service in France is generally excellent. If you like to cycle, I’d recommend bringing your bike as you’re so close to the mountains that you’ll find once you leave the town, you’re into the mountains within about 15 minutes.