Category Archives: Travel

Man in tights

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10°C, clear, SW winds. C=63miles.

Sunday ride today- a Saturday. I have new winter bib-tights. For non-cylists, let me explain "bib-tights". They are lycra tights, made of fleecy lined material, and have shoulder-straps to keep them up. These are good because they don’t restrict movement to a surprising degree; most pairs do. The previous pair definitely slowed me down while riding because of that. The price hasn’t changed in the last ten years either. that’s almost enough to raise an eyebrow.
 
One of the Buzzards was seen today, as well as a sparrowhawk elsewhere.

Orton’s Buzzards

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17°C, clear. Cy63 miles.

This picture ( not my own) is slightly different to those I saw today. One pair at Orton-on-the-hill, and the other near No-man’s heath. Both pairs had cleared the skies of all other birds, though one pigeon was visible hiding in a tree. This bird took flight once the soearing falcons had gone behind a copse. The birds of prey were repeatedly calling out to each other so it was easy to track them even when out of sight.
 
That picture is an edited one I had on file, but really it should  be one of mine. I have to get a camera to take out cycling on days like this.
 

There are nuts on the roads

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17°C, fog then clearing, Cy.=70miles 

There are nuts on the roads. Mostly chestnuts (of the conker variety), but a lot of acorns as well, all ground into a pulp by passing traffic.
 
Rer Megacorp have a website you can use to order albums. No need to go to London to visit the shop anymore. I stil only have albums by "The When" on tape, but they are proving hard to find.

Looking for a patch to hit.

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16°C, showers & sun

I didn’t realise that I do this, but now I do. A car pulled out on me as I rode home on drying roads after a heavy shower.
It was in a small road signalling right to go on the road I was on. Then it drove straight over, I didn’t see the driver as i was watching the front wheels , it braked hard and I veered round, but I was then watching the patch of road infront where I was likely to land after the impact. The car did stop in time, I did veer enough so that patch wasn’t needed.
Interesting the things that go through your head. Your life never flashes before you, you just look for what to do to save the situation.
Even airline pilots say this who have survived crashes. 

Matt and the unlikely meeting.

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19°C, very heavy rain in Worcestershire, sun in Bristol

What is the probablility, in a city of 450,000 people of an old friend from 10 years ago sitting in the same cafe that you are going into at the same time. It happened in a city with a lot of cafes, and it happened today. Mat Smith, it’s been a long time. I have a funny email to send to you mate!
 
Fledgling: took the youngest daughter to university today. Bristol is a fine town, especially when you miss the junction on the moroway and have to drive in on the Gordano road, then cross the suspension bridge. That was definietely the best mistake I made today, it saved more than a ½Hour in traffic on Hotwells road.
 
Berkley Church: see the photo below has family links for us dating back 200 years or more. Family would have survived the tsunami from the 1800s, as well as benefitted from the Smallpox immunity developed there. the shurch itself has relics dating before 1500 and the decorative frescos still remin on the interior walls in excellent condition.
 
 

Tipulidae

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19°C, Ç=67miles, clear

I have a theory, and it’s all about crane flys. It occured to me this morning on a dogwalk. Walking through the grass clouds of those oddly lanky harmless souls would take flight. The big question has been "why" and "what the…"? Now I can settle in the conformtable knowledge that there may be an explanation.

My theory is this: It’s their mating season and they do it in grassy/pasture fields. To get the best chance of finding a mate they need to be seen which they do by standing above the blades of grass, holding on with their long long legs. they cancatch several plants’ tops and hold themselves higher. The game is that to stand the best chance of getting a mate, climb higher than the others. I bet these creatures only live as comedy flying insects for a few days after living as some kind of larvae first.

Why have i set this post under the "cycling" category? This is the kind of thing I like to think about as I cycle along.

Giraffes love malteasers

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25°C, foggy start, after- cloudless and hot. Ç=73.3 miles

What a splendid day, September is good at this- crisp, warm, low humidity and another noticable change in the landscape. All the harvests are in, but there is green growing amongst the stubble. England at its best.
I was joined in a cafe by a retired couple from Armitage who were fine company. The whole thing felt natural, even when they told me about Giraffes taking malteasers. The cycing was easy- such that I got home feeling that there was at least another 15 miles or more in my legs.

Blast

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22°C, sun & strong winds, Cy.66 miles

Æsthetically, an interesting day. Ragged clouds racing from the sothwest driving bulkier cumulous with those intricate crinkly edges, and the hedgerows. The hedgerow’s colours are different at this end of summer, deep velvety reds/blues and violets in berries hidden by darkening foliage. Wind exposes them though. We discussed the merits of helmets, only considered because of the number of mossy branches that shatter onto the road in a shower of splinters as you ride along. A slight hazard mixed in with acorns rolling downwind or downhill.

Sparrows & finches

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18°C, high cloud; Ç=42miles

Puzzling behaviour, when disturbed flocks of finches fly along in front of a scarey cyclist- in the same direction. We travelled at least 200 yds with about a dozen little birds just in front and to my sides. Odd- why not just fly across and behind?  On further thought, parhaps they have a good reason to do it this way. They presumably have to keep to field boundaries, their best protection would be in hedgrows and avoid the open middle of fields where they’d been seen easily by a high-up predator. I saw a few hawks today (namely a Kestrel and another I couldn’t identify). Anyway, that means that I, being that cyclist would be travelling along parallel to the hedges would follow along their favoured routes of safe escape. So there we were, terrified birds and charmed me.
Maybe they weren’t scared off, maybe they were just embarassed about getting caught bathing in a puddle.

Following with trust & optimism

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20°C, turned out nice, strong W

Riding home today on a fast A road that sweeps in curves roughly in parallel to the Trent river. About 100yds I spotted a bird running across the road, a juvenile pheasant, large & lanky but still with stubby wings. I heaved a sigh of releif as it made it to my side, then I could see just as a car cleared that another was following. This one was struck squarely but a large 4×4, with a crunch itbecame a tumbling rag or diminishing life, only the legs left with any movement after the vehicle passed at over 50mph. That bird had followed it (sibling?) with trust and it’s whole life before it.
 
That’s the bit that disturbs me, the bludgeoning of noble qualities. It’s death was quick and probably painless as it looked like concussion from the way it rebounded under the vehicle. I felt just as bad after watching The Trawlermen on TV, tragic for those fish.
 
I always get rather perturbed when animals get killed on the road, but I have to confess here, it’s not that much worse when I see people killed
 
Otherwise a rather good day.
…It doesn’t matter