Start of the summer!

Brilliant, clocks forward at the weekend and summer is here!  The weather has been great for a week or so now and its been great for getting out and doing stuff.  At the weekend just past I was out for a training run on Saturday morning with shorts on!  OK it was still a bit chilli at times, but when the sun came through it was feeling warm.

Sunday the weather was even sunnier, although a bit windy.  Since it was a bike free day we got the canoes loaded onto the car and headed through to Loch Ard for a paddle out to the island and a picnic.  It was quite a workout driving the open canoe* up the loch into the headwind with Oli and Gus onboard, but they also help trim the boat better into the wind, and we made better progress the Laura in the Dagger*!  She seemed to really enjoy her paddle too, although found it pretty hard work.

I had a go in the Dagger after lunch and took it for a short spin round the island.  Its a great wee boat, really manoeuvrable with the skeg retracted, but if you pull the cord to lower the skeg it tracks well and its got adjustable foot chocks so you can drive it forward and steer a bit with your hips.  Next time we go out to the island I want to take some camping gear and stay the night.  Its perfect for it, there's even a small bothy.  Probably not quite enough loose wood lying about to make a great fire, but easy enough to chuck some fuel in the canoe, of pop across to the forest on the shore to stock up with more wood.  The trips we've had at Loch Morrar to the islands up there have always been brilliant fun, but being able to do something similar just half an hours drive from home is cool.  Much better than Loch Lomond too, as we found the islands there a bit busy with noisy party boats in the summer.

Cycling wise things are going pretty well I think.  The Saturday run was good, 100 pretty fast miles with some good hills, and my legs seem to be strong.  I've been keeping up the hill reps, but will need to find ways to maintain my motivation for them as they're pretty hard work.  Now the clocks have changed we're back out for chaingang on Tuesday nights, starting tomorrow night.  Really looking forward to it, and hopefully the weather will stay dry!

*Boats are a 17ft! Mobile Adventure 'Peace River Cruiser' Canoe, and a 10ft Dagger Approach Kayak