Confession time

Dear Gerald - you are mischievously pricking my conscience!  Confession time!

You are so right, of course.  I have used train travel for visiting every Knoydart summit over 2,500 feet over the years but, mostly the Astra for sleeping, living and eating in for visiting each summit over 2,000 feet, once each, all over England and Wales and then Scotland.  In recent years, only twice a year, as my self-granted 'reward' for being so good at cycling to and from work almost every day for the last nearly 20 years of my career and using the bike for very nearly all my social work visits when I was officially classed as an "essential car user".

My 100% food-fueled mountain bike is also essential for so many of the remote summits miles up forest roads and tracks before I can start the big walk.  Becky Rosseff introduced me to mountain biking when she lent me her folding-in-two bike, in the early 90s!  That made me get my own in January 1995, which I still use.

I also drive more slowly on motorways.  Much of the time, with the lorries in order to get over 75 mpg with my guilt ridden conscience gnawing away, as I use up the oil and screw up the planet.  I've read in an XR book that it is called "cognitive dissonance".  I call it reducing my hypocrisy quotient to justify my wicked ways.

Better people than me do the round of over 1,000 summits in two or three continuous expeditions.  Even in my prime, that was always a complete and utter impossibility though, Gerald.  And, I've got so soft I'm using hotels more instead of a sleeping bag on the bare hill!!

Confession over and out for the count!