Clean Cows

It seems that Mud Runner Oblivion didn't actually take place last weekend.  Really?  Really?  I thought I'd had a Pretty Damned Fine Race although sadly lacking in other Happy Cows...  Any road up, it was to do with the gales and the trees falling down so it got postponed (again - Really?) and will be held again in late June.  Twice.  On a Saturday and a Sunday, they're calling it the Dirty Weekend (inspired - organisers, we salute you!)  And the Happy Cows are doing BOTH.

Oh.  My.  God.

Once with creaky knees would have been tough.  Twice?  In less than 24 hours??  There's going to be a bit of a knees-up on the evening in-between (camp fire, barbeque, nice gentle music, beer) so we're all going to camp.  Except Beagle Nik doesn't do camping and is currently trying to find a 5 star hotel in the vicinity, Wee Gill has said she'll only do it twice if we can get George Clooney to meet her at the finish, and I haven't been 'under canvas' since I was six so am currently negotiating on a Winnebago with the Melodeon Master...

This week for various reasons, mainly to do with a wedding cake and a lot of Flumps, we haven't actually been running/biking.   However, we did do 'clean'.

On Wednesday Ice Cream Sian emailed me with a long sad tale of the local beauty parlour in Machen who had a possible dispute over use of their name and could Wee Gill and I (OK, Wee Gill as she's the lawyer, I just punt up to make polite conversation and carry her briefcase) look into it for her.  But the only time we could get together would be 6.30 on Thursday evening.  Fine, no problem - I go where and when my clients need me, and this was a really interesting case....

Wee Gill insisted on picking me up and off we went.  Odd that she didn't actually have a briefcase for me to carry, but no worry - she can do this sort of thing without the aid of a laptop...  Once inside, having said we were there to see the owner, we waited on nice squishy chairs.  Then Ice Cream Sian appeared.  Odd, but it was her lead, so fair enough.  Then Beagle Nik appeared, then Quick Ceri.  

It was a surprise birthday present!  How cool is that!  And there I am, all ready to talk trade marks and disputes and all that stuff...  Next thing I'm into a swimsuit (BIG thanks to Ice Cream Sian for organising that, preserving my modesty and not frightening the Happy Cows more than is strictly necessary) and we're having sandwiches and cakes in big fluffy dressing gowns.  We were in the big fluffy dressing gowns, not the sandwiches and cakes.  If they were in big fluffy dressing gowns they'd stick in your teeth...

Note the evil glinting eyes of both Beagle Nik and Wee Gill.  Not to be trusted, either of them...

And there were presents too!  Wine from Ice Cream Sian and Quick Ceri, sports socks from Beagle Nik (yay - I am SO excited to have clean socks) and Cow socks and knickers from Ice Cream Sian.  The knickers are big enough to be able to wear OVER my J-Lo bum-inducing cycling shorts but as I didn't have those with me I turned them into a hat instead.  And this was before I'd opened the wine...

We had a thoroughly lovely evening with a jacuzzi, massage, hot mits and a sauna.  Although I'm not sure if the sauna counts as Beagle Nik, Quick Ceri and I spent a good 15 minutes inside it in the dark going 'Phew, this is HOT' until one of the kind salon assistants came and switched it on...  Seems what we collectively know about saunas could be written on the head of a pin...

Beagle Nik also gave me an inspired present - look, a Mudd mask!  I think this is something Mud Runner could provide in their goody bags...

When I put it on it was even the colour of Eastnor mud (sort of greenish) but without the smell...  Lovely.  Just to properly get into the spirit I added my Happy Cows wig, bow and T shirt.  

I can't think why, but this sort of frightened the cats....

We will be 'training' tomorrow - as I'm the chief route finder (though still rubbish at distances) I shall take them on a pleasant new run around Ruperra Castle.  There are lots of trails with pretty names like Bluebell Pass, Snowdrop Trail and Forest Drive.

As they've been so nice to me we will aim at Bluebell Pass.

Followed by Steep Hill.