Apologies for late posting. Been busy. Monday's task saw us go up to Grantham then S and East. Set off well on my own and had really good climbs going North. As I passed MAH I saw a fire on track which got bigger and bigger. Turned out to be McCains chip factory burning down. I found a climb quite near and by the top was right by the smoke. Reckoned that a cloud climb would have been spectacular but judging by the blackness of the smoke I didn't want to go too near.

(later the fire service said it was good as the cloud was full of asbestos!)

In to Grantham and was surprised to meet the peloton coming out. Turned and went back to the fire getting there lowish. Like a fool I rejected a climb and ended up 15 mins later on the ground at Cottesmore. Bummer.

Yesterday however was much better. NAW WCB PIT RUT HB5 HUS 245k. I was determined to fly my own flight and mosied around happy to start up till 3pm. I got back to a large gaggle about 300ft lower when they started. I decided to follow despite being lower but about 2k down track I spotted a nice looking climb that the gaggle was flying left of. I turned right and took the climb. When I next met up with the gaggle I was at the top having made about 800ft on them.

I was again tempted to fly a long glide to near the Cotswolds edge but the gaggle went S and I thought "hmm..there is some good guys in there, I'll folow". As it turned out the next real climb I took was where I had intended near the ridge! In and out of WCB OK and back to a decent climb on the ridge.

Soon after I caught up with Watty who had started 20 mins earlier than me. He was about 200ft above me but I was finding his thermal a bit tricky to centre and when the gaggle bombed me I decided to leave. Wrong! After failing to get away well I set off towards Edgehill which was on track. The computer said I would get there at 500ft. I did!!! Fortunately the Church was on my side and I got a climb back up off the church. Onwards.

Good climb at Banbury...joined by the gaggle again. On the way to PIT I climbed on my own off a tractor and climbed high. Surprisingly the gaggle (good guys in there) went well south over Northampton?? I went straight to PIT and met up with T6 climbing in nothing. Left for Kettering and Corby. Good climb at COR and well into RUT at about 3000ft.

I reckoned I was just on glide home, but the gaggle felt otherwise and went straight back to COR. I decided to try the direct line to HB5 reasoning taht if I got a couple of turns I would have made straight for the finish. Didn't work out, gaggle correct! I flew towards them at Corby and found the best climb over the race track. 3kts onto a generous glide and whizzed home, finishing in a line with T6, 10, and 565.

Overall 8th...should have done better but happy with that. So pleased to get home that Steve Brown and I went out to a gastropub and had a jolly nice grub.

Hot again today. They are gridding us at the W end as there is a bit of E in the wind. This should keep the temperature down a bit in East Anglia and avoid the showers there. I trust we will get a task.