Diary of Covid-19 confinement, day thirty-seven

Happy 50th Birthday! 

Day thirty-seven, 22^nd April 2020

A lockdown birthday

Eek – I’m married to a 50-year-old! Happy birthday Adrian and congratulations for cycling up Mont Ventoux this morning, even if it was only virtually. 

Jersey in hommage to Tom Simpson

The weather was so nice today that he relocated his bike and technical bits from the indoor pain cave to the garden, ready for a ten o’clock start. It wasn’t quite the same as having the wind in your face as you cycle along, but it was much better than being stuck inside. I might have done nothing more than cheer him along, but that didn’t stop me from indulging in a morning croissant when he stopped for a coffee break.

Rouvy virtual Mont Ventoux

A respectable time of two hours saw him crossing the finish line at the top of Mont Ventoux, which is similar to his estimated timings for doing it for real. A glass of Ventoux red wine went down very well with lunch followed by a slice of homemade birthday cake. After yesterday’s disaster with the topping I think I pulled it back from the brink with the inspired idea of using a thick layer of marmalade to glaze, topped off perfectly with a sparkly candle from the boulangerie. We even Facetimed his mum so she could watch him light the candle and see the sparks fly.

It might not have been quite the birthday celebrations we’d planned, but the sun was out, we had a few distance-respecting visitors at the gate, and I don’t think it’s a birthday we will forget in a hurry. 

If you have celebrated a birthday in lockdown, how have you made it special?

22nd April 2016 - birthday boy in a beer cave

April holiday memory 

22^nd April 2016 on our Sarthe à vélo tour, we had cycled from Le Mans to the north of the department where the rain found us, but on our damp arrival in St Leonard des Bois, we found a beer shop - it was the only shop in town and all it sold was beer. What more could you ask for on your birthday than a huge selection of beers to choose from at the end of a day on your bike, enjoyed in a cosy hotel room, following a delicious meal in a domaine, and with me by your side?