0°C, hoary frost.
Brave it on two wheels later. It’s slippery out there this morning. Apparently, hospital food isn’t too bad, I’m told.
I rode. only a mere 28 miles but it was so cold and I wove gingerly past numerous ice patches.
0~4°C, clear, calm.
First ice: just runoff from fields, so I walked a few short stretches this morning. As I rode in, the moon set in the north west. The self-same moon rose on the way home. I wondered about that, does the moon set at exactly sunrise when it’s full? I bet it’s not that simple.
The ride home was colourful- I got shouted at after weaving through stationary traffic. It sounded like the guy had prepared his piece in advance:
“DO YOU LIKE HOSPITAL FOOD” He yelled on stopping at the lights. I admit to being rather puzzled by this. He shouted some more, stuff about cyclists’ reputations. No wonder…
Sounded like a prejudice affirmed. I suspect a Daily Mail reader on a rant. I had maneuvered round his car while it was boxed in by another turning right. Was I then, a scapegoat for his frustration at that sticking point on the road. Certainly I did nothing that affected his journey, there was no risk to me- both cars were stationary.
7°C, light cloud. Chilly.
If you have time, when you get to work, let off steam about annoying drivers who got in your way. I did that this morning and a flood gate opens for others to relate their stories. In this area, many drivers who want to turn across a more majour road will pull out in front of on-coming traffic. I braked for one today in amazement. I have then a long emotional horn sound to “indicate my presence “. She reacted with an expression of her own, one finger plus a glare. It was almost as though she thought I had done something wrong.
7°C, rain.
Arrived at work in quite a bad mood. The bike felt like it was falling apart, the rear axle didn’t grip the drop-out properly so it wobbled. The wheel is quite new and it seems that the axle needs a spacer.
The result was that the bike felt quite unstable, and then consequently I felt unsafe. I get stressed by that feeling. I stopped half a dozen times on that ride trying to fix it, but after any uphill pull, the axel lost the grip on the dropout again.
10C, light rain.
Pulled in on Cannock Chase on the way up north. Rosie needs a run and I rather like walking in forests in the dark. While getting my stuff ready with my head-torch on, a black car pulled up and the police got out. They wanted my details and checked my car. View stood there in all their gear and phone one of those large torches into the car. They soon softened though. View were on an operation to catch poachers, it’s quite s problem this time of year- deer poaching. Credit to Rosie, they shone the torch into the boot and saw a poodle wearing a fleece jumper. Presumably poachers don’t use poodles.
Finally the officers have me a phone number to use if I see poachers. How exciting!
But, what do I look for? I didn’t think to ask at the time.
10°C, mild and SW getting stronger.
Drive today, much to my frustration. The Met-office have issued a rain warning for this afternoon. I dread riding on the dark, wet A-roads in poor visibility. Every winter hosts these pent up frustrations. The coming storm is no monster, but its timing is poor tonight.
I just don’t feel safe, but I’m always resentful when I have to drive a car.
Dawn
So I set off for work feeling a bit put out. Nearing work, I followed an old Ford Fiesta. The brake light clusters were half full of water which sloped one way then the other as the car drove round corners. Each time the car stopped, the water would rock back & forth, damping away. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a floating object in there that looks like a fish.
11°C, S wind. Light rain.
Finally I got the photo; was worth the slight risk of a late arrival at work.
Rushall homes.
So here is a way to save thousands of nothings. Bargain.
9°C, NE light, sunny. CK:48.8 miles.
Rode along the coast to Southport. Before I got there I came upon a memorial ceremony at just before 11am. So, I pulled over and stood there. And watched. I removed my helmet for the duration.
On the drive home this evening, we stopped on Cannock Chase for a night-time walk in the forest. We’ve done this a few times now. Autumn has it’s own sensations that can not be experienced at any other time of year. I look forward to the onset of deep winter under the same circumstance. Night walks away from street lights is a vivid experience in snow. Could this mean I an finally finding ways to enjoy the season. Will my annual loathing of Christmas start to recede?
CR:52 Miles. Rain later.
This ride wasn’t too cold but it did rain on the return leg. I could have avoided it but for the roads. The mud was as bad as it can be, the back wheel skitted about alarming me enough to get off and walk. I had to walk a few times on this ride, even that was less than easy in cycling shoes. The shoe-plate is not intended for walking and are treacherous on slippery surfaces. The delay added up enough to allow the rain clouds to build. Now it has started, the rainfall should do a decent job and wash that mud away.
The Racelite bike is definitely the wrong mount for these conditions, the mud built up under the brakes such that I had to stop twice to clear it. Tyre levers are good for flicking mud out to free the wheels.
Now shut up, I need to go out and hose the bike down.
8°C, fog.
Thick fog: can’t see the road outside. There is fog dripping off tree’s branches, the washing line and the gutters. It taps irregularly on an upturned bucket.
I shall give it a chance to clear before riding later.
Tyrannosaur: I’ve had this bluray disc for over a month and now, finally, watched it. Stunning film, I highly recommend it to most people. It’s not an easy film to sit through, so be careful who you encourage to watch it. The reviews online are correspondingly varied.
As you can see I have been playing with a bitmap editor called Pixlr. It consists of 3 sets of adjustment layers on three themes- frames, lighting and texture. No doubt there will be more to come from me, especially since it’s an app that can be run on Google Chrome on the computer too.
It’s interesting because it affects the way you take photos. This offsets the accusation that I make of myself that I’m jumping on a bandwagon. And since it’s on your phone, you can get results fairly quickly. This picture is of an abandoned educational institution near my regular dog walk. The place has an interesting garden which is simultaneously entering both Autumn and a period of neglect. This shot shows a fennel plant at near full size.
I now have one for my garden too.
Micycle 