21°C and a lovely late September afternoon, so it was a road ride to Sandwich and back this afternoon. I'm still getting better at this road biking malarkey but this was the first road bike ride for three weeks. I was even vaguely aero-ish for, ooh, all of a couple of hundred metres or so. Mainly, though, a decent ride just felt good for mind, body and soul. It's good to be alive.
A couple of photos from Sandwich:
And a couple as I was heading toward the sinking sun:
Just a few shots from a climbing trip up Curbar Wednesday, strange weather.
Also came face to face with an Adder, never seen one in real life before. It was on the path and wanted to come the way i was approaching from, it tried to climb over a rock but couldnt quite make it, so i backed off and let it come towards me, which made me back off a bit more, and then just a little bit more, just to make sure. It did not look happy and after it had slipped off into the grass at the side i was very wary about walking by in case it was waiting to ambush too amazed to think to take a picture.
Rotten weather put paid to any exploits beyond a trip to the lock yesterday. It chucked it down all morning. So I tarted about posing my bike around the lock - like I do on most Saturdays- and then rode home.
It rained heavily for hours on end here, yesterday, also. Very windy, too. But today was better, and by mid-morning the sun was out, and so was I, but only so far as the garage. The Hardrock has been out of action for a month and I've been missing the tough old beast. To cut a long story short, it's ended up with a new chain, new cassette and a nice XT rear mech that was earmarked for another bike. The other bike might get that rear mech back if I can figure out why the LX one it's replaced stopped doing what it was told. Anyway, because there was one problem after another after another, it took until lunch to get the old beast ride-worthy. Then, I was babysitting, and so it wasn't until after 17:00 that I got out. I'm still doing the death bed stints, too. It's funny how the start of life and the end of life can have certain things in common: helplessness, for one. The song, 'Cassidy', is about the start and end of life, too. Neal Cassady had died and Cassidy Law was born.
14°C but with a chilly wind, the best of the day had gone and there was only time for a ride to the sea and back—a measly 15 miles. However, I almost had the trail to myself and the beach was quietly beautiful. Entertainment was provided by a dog called 'Basil' that was having a high old time, giving its human the runaround and trying to get it on with a female that was big enough to eat little Basil for breakfast. No photos of Basil, unfortunately—just the bike and the sunset.
too amazed to think to take a picture.
