I have just had a weekend bivvying out in the woods, waiting for the summer to start, and to fly over this amazing landscape of valleys and mountains once again.

Sitting here around the fire, looking over at the col in the distance, it is hard not to think you are in the foothills of the himalaya, somewhere like Bir.

I can remember flying over that col a few times, usually a thousand feet above it on classic days…one time  a hundred feet below. And it makes me realise that we dont always need to be flying , the  memories seem to endure.  To watch a Raven or Buzzard can sometimes almost be as thrilling as pulling on a brake line, and banking into a turn.

But evenso…bring on summer.

post script…and less than a week later summers here, and i fly over those distant mountains to do a 54k out return over the wilds of the migneint. Even with an r10 it felt a battle, so I salute the 52.5 of Chris Canata  in 2006. Hopefully with the longer days soon on the way that paultry 1.5k can be extended a little further.