7°C windy, showers.
Not again: less than a week after the last cold, I get the next one. This is all sore throat and malaise with a bostin’ headache. This is where the best laid plans run aground: I could have clocked up another 200 miles and potentially breached the 5,000 mile mark for the year.
But no, not this time.
13.5°C, grey,mild, dry.
What is this bumble-bee doing up and about today, mid-winter? My guess, the dog disturbed it on wandering about the shrubs in the garden. They hibernate through to spring so maybe the mild weather woke him.
He raised a leg as though in fear- as if to rush me away. He knew I was there and was alert enough to sense threat.
I can’t see him surviving now he’s woken. I gave him some sugar and wished him good luck.I was gentle.
7°C clear windy. CK:36
Thinking ahead to a New Year’s resolution. I haven’t quite completed 5,000 miles this year for the first time in I don’t know when..
There’s good advice on use Bikeradar site, in short-
By Easter, be back to 70 mile rides, like I used to.
So does all this sound like a New Year’s resolution? Maybe, but why wait another week? Today should be clear to go out for a few hours.
Anyway, I ventured out and did 36 miles but rain got heavy in the last 10
Rain.
Another one done, now we can get on with enjoying this winter holiday.
7°C, rain coming.
Venture out: under the threatening skies. A short ride can be just the thing to clear out the tail end of a snotty virus. Decision is: do I change gear to the 17t?
later: well, I went and the rain was as predicted- steadily increasing from drizzle to light rain. Cycle tracks were under an inch of water for some stretches. Water sprayed up from the front wheel onto my left foot. Why does it do that, why not both feet the same?
I got back feeling okay but with a rather cold left ankle.
24 decent miles done.
I can tell that I’m out of shape, the recovery took longer that and 24 mile ride deserved. Perhaps post-viral effects at play. In summer months, 24 miles would seem barely worth the bother of getting kitted up. The best of times, a 60 mile ride leaves no recovery after-effects either.
11°C, wind.
Very long term which finished just as my cough/cold did.
Ex Cathedra: were as good as ever on this sixth year I have been to their Christmas Carol concert. We were sitting in possibly the best seats we’ve had- some choristers even stood next to us for a couple of pieces. Their voices were so powerful, the sound was on the cusp of tinnitus.
Waiting till the day after we broke up left me devoid of the urge to doze in the show. In previous years, I have gone after work and dipped in and out of semi-sleep during the concert. That’s an interesting way to be to listen to music- you listen slightly differently.
Winter is in a mild mood now, all warm and wet.
Now for some urgent late preparation for this season of unwelcome madness. I’ll be glad when it’s over.
8°C, few showers, sun, no cycling.
Recovery: a week of undefined illness has sapped most of my energy. Now it’s lifting I can’t feel the cold, and yes I know the air has dipped below 5C. So, I spent the day recovering.
I became quite geeky later in the afternoon.
Geekiness is fuelled by a feeling. It’s a feeling with deep roots, all the way back to childhood.
With a cold like mine, any activities today had to beundemanding, so I spent time looking round Google Earth. In a few places, there are circular mountain ranges that are just too perfect a circle. With a little research, it turns out that many are impact craters. Some are as young as 3.5 million years, which doesn’t sound that old, relatively, geologically. The earth is peppered with them, though some are only detected by their gravity anomalies One contributer has uploaded a .kml file that shows loads more. I was, by now, hooked.
And, this is where it gets geeky, I decided to see how they look in the flight simulator FSX. Some are quite clear, often a near circular lake, or an obvious crater. One, in far eastern Siberia, is not actually an impact crater but an eroded intrusive pipe (Kondyor Massif). Now it’s one of Russia’s biggest platinum mines.
English: American singer Whitney Houston performing on Good Morning America (Central Park, New York City) on September 1, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
3°C, gloaming with stay grey
Whitney Housten died last night.
-3.5°C, clear + hard frost.
Always the hardest week, next week we stop for Christmas.
Sudden temperature drop, a throaty cold and regular exhaustion. I feel the cold more when I haven’t ridden. Shame the conditions are possible, the virus impossible.
So zero miles to add from this week to a relatively low mileage year. I have only clocked up about 5,000 miles this year on the 3 bikes. Maybe a new year’s resolution idea there?
This morning, remaining coals in the grate still have warmth.
7°C. Some rain, sun too.
A mending weekend: TV, laptop, bike, smoke detector, hair, shelves
TV makes a short high buzz with a few minutes of changing channel or starting a video. One web forum sort said unplug it for at least 4 hours to reset it. So far, no better, possibly getting worse.
Bike: has a new tyre to replace the one that gave trouble on Friday. It’s all shiny and clean now.
Laptop: frequently drops the internet connection. The router is okay, the desktop pc, phone and DVD player all work properly. Again, the web forums say install new network card drivers. Done, and it’s better but still cuts sometimes.
Not the best way to spend a December weekend. Cycling is the best but I have a cough and listless.
So, housemaking it is.
Micycle 