The Primrose Path

Arthur Vince the organiser of this event assures me that the name of the event (The Primrose Path) has nothing to do with primroses, but is a reference to Shakespeare no less.

An early appearance of the phrase in print occurs in Shakespeare’s 1602 play Hamlet (Act I, Scene III), where Ophelia, rebuffing her brother Laertes’ insistence that she resist Hamlet’s advances, warns Laertes against hypocrisy.

Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whiles, like a puff’d and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads
And recks not his own rede.

The primrose path refers to a life of ease and pleasure, or to a course of action that seems easy and appropriate, but can actually end in calamity

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Audax DIY 200k for RRTY

Audax aficionados and regular readers will understand the acronyms. I am riding a 200k every month. February was quickly running out of days so with a dry day forecast in a winter of seemingly continuous storms I submitted my form to Tony – the SW DIY organiser and planned a ‘flat for Dorset’ route around the county starting and finishing at home. I live at the seaside so it’s never flat!

The route (CLICK for details)

My route was planned to stick to bigger roads to avoid the hazards of closed roads, fallen trees and floods in the aftermath of the recent stormy weather. What could possibly go wrong?

The Glastonbury 100 Miler

The Glastonbury 100 Miler is organised by Ian Hennessey. He describes it as an Audax event from Honiton to Glastonbury and back. A straightforward, early season leg stretcher.

The unprecedented amount of rainfall this winter has led to extensive flooding on the Somerset Levels. Ian had checked the route several times and, as a lot of it was under (deep) water, serious modifications had been made. At all times Ian was confident he could find a 100 mile route that would involve a visit to Glastonbury.

The flooded Somerset Levels

A couple of days before the event, Ian posted that the event limit had been reached with 65 entries. At this point Ian was still checking the route but remained confident that the modified route would be ‘mostly free of water‘. At this point it also became evident that Sunday 16th February would be a dry day with sunshine and light winds. After the continuous storms that have swept through the South West, this was quite remarkable.

Paradiski

Paradiski Piste Map. (CLICK TO VIEW)

We go skiing every year. This year we chose to go to the Tarentaise area of the French Alps. We stayed at the Golf Hotel in Les Arcs which gave us access to a huge skiing area known as Paradiski.

Hotel du Golf, Arc 1800

The combined resorts of La Plagne and Les Arcs offer over 400km of skiable piste.