I'm spinning around, move out of my way!

Yesterday was a beautiful day, we really made up for the days before weatherwise. John, Beth and myself (whereforartthou Alex, we MISS you!!!) took off on an early morning ride. I was reluctant. Having a real psychological battle with getting on a bike before 8am. It just doesn't seem right somehow! Probably due also to the fact that I have been awake since cock crow anyway because Maplehurst has the noisiest birds on the planet. We have jackdaws nesting in the chimney who, at 4.30am sound like jack russells. Seriously. I swear they bark. But to have Beth's company it has to be early starts and (sshh, don't tell her or Coach this) once I am up then it's a pleasure being out on the trusty carbon steed. Not to be confused with Trusty Ironman. And we positively ambled for the first hour or so. John found a flat route! Yay! It wasn't til we were cruising down to Storrington that it kind of occurred to both Beth and me that, uhoh! Coach has something darstardly planned if he's being this kind to us. It isn't just because Beth already did 3 hrs yesterday and I wanted a lie-in that he is being so seemingly good to us. I even wondered if we would get coffee and chocolate at Storrington as usual even though we'd only been riding 50 mins or so by that stage. No chance (and I can't believe I don't know my husband better after two centuries). He waved us into the layby for some tasty energy drink (!) and beamed with mischief that we'd be going left at the petrol station. I don't think the truth dawned on Beth as quickly as it did with me. Partly because I have spent most of a decade driving up and down that road over the Downs getting to Chichester and laughing at the silly cyclists who insisted on attempting to cycle it! After one or two cycling hints (but never saying it would be a flat route to Bury Hill) John disappeared. I swear he bi-locates. One minute he is there, the next, phooooosh! Nowhere to be seen. I also think he goes ahead so he doesn't get to hear our curses.
But anyway, we did it! Beth and I just poli, polied all the way up the various hills ending at the top of Houghton Hill which meets Bury Hill. Beth did give in to a mournful 'Are we there yet?' just before the final ascent. John sat waiting in the middle of the roundabout like some atheltic leprecaun, justifiably proud of us. As were we! We had coffee and shortbread to celebrate then free wheeled all the way down to Pulborough. I clocked 38mph at one stage then got spooked and applied brakes. The rest of the route was very, very pretty through West Chiltington and Shipley. And flattish too. We got home in 3hrs 5m (I think), 38 miles at an average of 12. something.
I am suffering some padding friction issues but I won't go into that on a public forum. Anyone really interested can email me privately!
So then today (fri) we took Beth along to her first spin class at the gym. Poor woman...she'd had two days riding and swam 39 lengths last night. So spin was a bit painful and somewhat of a shock to her! Maybe because I bigged it up as being great fun. Which, I kind of remember it was when we all used to go in Chichester. This was hard work though today. All uphill it seemed. But over in 45mins and I still kind of enjoyed it in a perverse way. So Beth and I are going again next week!