5°C, stormy return in headwind.
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3266109343
The idea was to ride to the beach machines and drop into the bank. Actually, that went to plan but the rain arrived early. Then the return was a slog into the wind and rain where speed dropped as low as 7mph. The route was flat too, a-hem. Both hands and feet were cold by the finish, more because of the wet despite extra layers.
5°C, grey but calm.
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3261885259
A short outing, a circuit around Southport today. I’m really enjoying riding the Arrow. It’s happy on the muddy roads and the gears are close enough to get the right cadence.
This, I think, is probably the culprit. This bird’s regular visits explains why I have no more frogs in the pond. dammit.
7°C, cold with slight mist.
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3261322183
In a word: Refreshing. The old Arrow bike handles well without the rack. Even with big 28c tyres, it feels quick and nimble for a winter bike.
+1°C, some ice patches, roads dry.
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3259517338
I’ve layered up, but less flex in the fabric slows you down considerably. I’ve put the summer CX tyres on the Mustang. They reduce the road speed but not by much. The fatter tyre, 35mm offers more protection from hazards in dark commutes.
7~9°C, clear with cold easterly. 0 cloud.
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3253994575
This ride felt like an uphill push the whole time. Partly caused by the easterly wind. Unlike the Midlands, I had no option to plan a route in some directions, the Irish sea prevents some route choices.
Note to self: fit new blocks on the front brakes.
8°C, light cold easterly. Sunny.
Mapmyride let me down today, but it’s about 9 miles on the Arrow. Things went wrong when I rode into town to visit the record shops. The app has not been right since it was reinstalled.
I bought this bike in 1993 when I lived in Bristol. At the time, there were 2 good second-hand record shops. Each week, I’d ride to Clifton triangle to browse and buy. Notice the nostalgia.
11°C, grey but dry and calm.
Rode the Jake along the Ribble estuary. The ground was softer than last time but some sections were too broken up to ride
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3251440075
This was a recovery ride after a persistent cold. It’s not fully cleared and nearing the end of its third week. I despair at the longevity of this one. Despair? I’m downright annoyed about it.
12°C, sunny.
Recovering from a particularly stubborn cold, so I plodded in on the hack bike to town. Google lists 2 record shops which I fancied a browse. You get the best out of shops like that if you get to know the staff. The best ones will find records that think you’ll like. Today, both shops were shut. I’ll try again on Saturday.
I ‘bobbed into’ a couple of second-hand shops too. They were friendly places, one guy offered to make tea and made it clear that the offer was open to customers too.
As soon as I got home, I took fastballs out to the garden feeder, a sudden bursting flutter from the end of the garden is not familiar. The heron is back. That’s a very big bird to land in my garden, and a big bird to take wing to escape. It escaped between two houses heavily gaining altitude. How to Use protect my much loved frogs? Maybe a net over the pond? I’m not using anything that could injure that magnificent bird, but at the same time….
Fine, 12°C, blustery sun.
100 years is a significant anniversary, one century ago, WWI came to a sudden end.
We marked the day with a trip to Birmingham’s Symphony Hall to see the lad perform in a choir.
Music: the performance was split in two across the interval. Before, each school’s choir performed and presented readings.
School orchestras can be slightly wobbly performers; for me, that’s a source of charm. Strings and brass seem to show this quality more than others. Usually, voices are spot on. Readings were delivered wonderfully, with clarity and measured pace.
Poppies: one moment stood out for me. The Last Post and 2 minutes silence are to be expected really. But then something spine tingling happened. The edge of your vision was caught by fluttering shapes. Red poppy petals slowly fell to the floor, sometimes, whole flower heads. It’s ironic that the most poignant moment in a concert was silence. That was a beautiful moment that afternoon.
The second half was taken up by a grand performance of Mozart’s Requiem. A strange choice, I thought; it was written over 150 before the Great War. I didn’t see what it offered of relevance to this day. The Requiem is a long drawn out dreary piece that left many in the audience browsing through their copy of the programme. With so many composers of the early 29thC who relate to the birth of modernity, why Mozart? The choice was probably a comprise selection to satisfy the 8+ schools who took part. Mozart undoubtedly has innovations to offer in the context of his time, but the modernist shift was far more fundamental. For some, Mozart represents the conformity and obeyance that led to the WWI disaster. One level, his Requiem represents poor taste.
It was lovely to see Birmingham.
You can forget how attached you are to a town until a later return: much has changed, new buildings and more going up.
Why is this, I wake at 02.30, wide awake so get up for my usual night-time herb tea. Back to bed for more ceiling staring. I don’t get it, I’m not stressed, don’t have any worries and it’s been 12 hours since the last coffee. What’s going on?
Here is the plaster in the kitchen. And here it as was a week ago:
I suspect that the heat may have played a part it that plaster becoming detached. This is where the boiler used to be mounted and those pipes carry very hot water. I’ve not decided how to box in the pipes. Should they have insulation.
Is this a cold causing sleep disruption? the current cold has hung on a while just entering its third week. I’m so frustrated by this.
Micycle 