Monday 5 July 2010

A roadie and potager update

The weather yesterday (cloudy, overcast but still warm) provided me with the perfect opportunity to get on top of the weeding in the potager. It's quite amazing how many weeds spring up when a hot dry spell is followed by a few very wet but warm days. But potager progress is good, with the first beetroot harvested today and Early Nantes carrots at a size which is perfect for their inclusion in a salad. The new potatoes are also now ready but please don't ask me if they are first or second earlies or whatever as I have no idea! The varieties (that I planted at the same time) are Rocket and Charlotte and both are equally tasty, either boiled lightly with a sprig of mint and a pinch of salt, served with a smear of butter and black pepper or served cold in a salad with natural yoghurt and some chopped chives. I also pulled the first red onion yesterday which was quite delicious. The tomato plants are growing well with plenty of flowers but needed tieing in to their bamboo stakes once again and the first sowing of French beans also needed some extra support. The second sowing has come through in the past couple of says so hopefully we will have beans through until the end of August. Lastly, the sweet peas have finally flowered in their pots - their heady scent is just divine and a wonderful reminder of my childhood days!
Today, with the skies still overcast but the conditions dry, Andy and I headed down to Foix for another outing on the roadies. We went for a rematch with the Foix FFCT circuit no. 4 that we did just over a year ago and on which Andy bombed quite dramatically. This year, being fitter and lighter, it was sure to be a different story. Sure enough, we whipped around the 50+km with 544m ascent in not much over 2 hours - a vast improvement on the just under 3 hr tootle last year!! It was a lovely outing with just the right amount of incline versus long level straights. Stats on the usual site. But my legs are once again demanding a serious stretching session (although I did spend half an hour stretching yesterday evening) if they are not to seize up again. This getting older malarkey is no fun!

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