Into Spring gear

Been a while…

I know, I know, nothing from me for a month, but please bear with me as the weather gradually improves and plans get firmly underway.

The last few weeks have seen some quite impressive weather in the London area: gales, days of rain, random sunshine and alternations of warm and cold. The British traditionally talk a lot about their weather – recently it has very nearly (but not quite) toppled Brexit from the top spot in the chat list.

Persistent heavy rain turned the little brook which runs alongside some of my regular routed into a raging dirty grey torrent, at the same time flooding parts of the paths and rendering some areas impassable. As quickly as it came, so it gave way to drier times and a return to some normality.

At least flooded paths are a good test of GoreTex-lined footwear…

Most recently there is a hint of Spring, some little explosions of blossom and the return of green to the landscapes. Things are looking up.

Talking of looking up, it’s often the little cameos which stick in the memory. A day or so ago I saw a lady pointing her phone intently up at a cherry tree in full bloom. She was Japanese: homesick, or what?

Choices and combinations

A few words for the gear bunnies, now that my training schedule is fully active. Longer walks certainly sort out what works and what struggles. After various experiments I’m alternating my footwear between Merrell Moab 2 GTX shoes and Meindl Respond XCR mid boots, still undecided as to which would fare better on the long trek to Wales later in the year. There is little to choose between them for comfort, the boots are slightly heavier – a little harder work over longer distances – but more supportive around the ankles. There is lots of time still to work on that one. In both cases the combination of good footwear and the right socks is critical – I’ve talked before about Bridgedale and Darn Tough socks, so I am now pitching those against other brands of merino-based socks just to see what happens.

Having discovered them while in Yorkshire last month I’ve also invested in some Rohan Stretch Bags trousers – so far they seem to work well, comfortable, with lots of pockets in the right places, and lightweight.

Modular mixes

Now that my self-imposed training schedule is gradually ramping up – this week it requires at least 55 miles in total, but this must include at least three excursions of minimum 12 miles – it has proved invaluable to have a range of circular routes which can be plugged into each other to produce longer treks. Up to now I have circuits of 4, 8, 9 and 11 miles in various directions, which can be connected to give, say, 12, 15, 17 or 20 miles. I could also add them to a straight-line route for an even wider range of options.

Apart from seeing places and objects which would never be uncovered otherwise, this whole exercise helps to make connections, to link places together logically. It’s very much harder to do that from inside a car, but then that’s the whole point, isn’t it?