Leaving on a Jet Plane

Back in the day, when I was still fit and Neil was still gay, we would take off ‘down under’ for a proper big cycling adventure most winters.  The draw of the antipodes remains strong but, for now,  my scrawny legs and Neil’s love life preclude that sort of nonsense; so we have to aim a little lower.  “If we can’t do lots of riding with a bit of drinking”, we thought, “why not do lots of drinking with a bit of riding?”.   

 So we are going to Malaga, where we have rented an apartment and will do some day rides any time the weather isn’t suitable for drinking.  We are being joined by a select subset of the band – just Alan and Nick for the full10 days and David for the final 6.  We have booked a very nice place which ticks every conceivable box: it is within walking distance of a Chinese Buffet! 

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, my preparations for the trip have been sub-optimal – not much drinking and even less cycling.  Neil, who always cheats by eating sensibly and doing exercise, has gone even further this time and purchased a new bike made of pure unobtanium that weighs less than helium and has gears that could climb Everest.  Neil is going to spend a lot of time looking at this marvel while he waits for me to drag my lard up each hill. 

 Tonight, Plum and I are overnighting at the Lenny Henry Inn, Gatwick North before an early-doors departure for sun, sea and sangria.  We like the Lenny and have stayed there before;  we will probably have the mixed grill this evening and the full-English for breakfast (basically another mixed grill)…our last non-Chinese food for 10 days.  Tomorrow we will stagger over to the terminal and rendezvous with Alan; Nick will join us in Malaga much later, having flown from in with Lorraine Chase*. 

 I’m not promising a blog every day (who said ‘good’?) but I’ll keep you updated on how it all goes.

 *This will be lost on our younger readers and those from the colonies – Google “lorraine chase campari ad”