Season 2016

[Bierzo Baggie]

Went to mass this morning and decided that an act of penance wouldn’t go amiss. So, after a light lunch of pig’s ear and a slither of octopus, washed down with a pint of lager I dug out the running shoes and launched my car up the lonely Morredero road.

 
20 minutes later I’m in Espinoso de Compludo at the start of one of my favourite routes. It’s cold but windless. I leave the car outside the House of Scouse. Lord Scouse is not in residence today. The village is barely populated in winter and in any case all sensible Spaniards are tucking into their very substantial lunches. This means that 3pm is the ideal moment for a bit of Sunday running in an isolated place. Any earlier and I might be shot at by hunters which is rather too much penance for my liking. Any later and it will be dark and the road back may be icy.
 
The circuit has a bit of everything. Wide tracks, narrow forest trails, a long fast descent and a mammoth climb at the end.
 
75 minutes later and I’m back at the car exhausted. The sky spits out some sleety rain but I still don’t feel cold. Just tired and hungry. I’m a lot slower now. Last year’s mileage was my lowest since I was a teenager! But the penance is over and it’s good to be back!