Returning to training / The Love Kickstarts again.

Recovering from this week's race hasn't been fun, the saunas, the massages, they didn't help my brain which was convinced I was wasting away.

Spurred on by David Millar's book I resolved to go for a ride this morning, come hell or high water.

Thankfully there was neither, just an ominous sunrise under a grey start to the day, a crimson strip of sky above Merseyside.

I was on my bike by 5:30.  I hauled myself through the carpark and under the bypass and as I exited the bridge onto the tee junction my head sang away, "and the love kickstarts again".

I took an easy route down to the coast road and returned, 5 km further along via a steady pleasant climb that I had reccied in the car last night.  To my great pleasure it was a steady, low gear, seated climb.  I hardly raised a sweat and to be honest it was a bit of a faff ride with occasional and slight bike positions changes thrown in for good measure.  Still, what better time than on a recovery ride.  A 45 minute ride was probably more like 25 minutes but I had a good time and that's all that matters.  Time for a brick run before breakfast. 15 minutes.  On the dot and eating.

Work. Well that was an interesting day.

Once I'd finished I ran away nice n early to go for a run.  A spectacular evening filled with...

colour,...

Dragons

Ocean scenery (towards Connah's Quay and Ellesmere Port)

Unexpected fishing ports

What I found truly amazing is for the first time tonight I could see Beetham Tower in Manchester, the Liver Building in Liverpool, the Isle of Man and the humpback bridge in Runcorn. Incredible scenery.  Sadly all too vast to be captured on my phone.

And by the time I got back to the hotel, someone had let all the water out of the estuary.