Karen writes: Long ride in wind
I'm falling behind with my cycling here, and it didn't look likely that I was going to get a long ride this morning when I got up. Looking out the window, it was raining, and I could see the trees blowing about in the wind and white-caps on the sea. Reluctantly I decided to go anyway, even if I only did part of the planned ride it would be better than nothing, so buried in layers of wet weather clothing I got on the bike and pedaled off towards Clevedon.
It was miserable for a little while, but after about half an hour the rain stopped and the sun came out. It was still gusting, but it was soon hot enough for a couple of layers of the clothes to come off. I found I could start looking around rather than keeping my head down to keep the driving rain out of my eyes and having to concentrate on staying up right and out of trouble. I found a 12 inch adjustable crescent spanner on the side of the road, that taxed my brain a bit, where to put a foot-long bit of heavy metal on the bike, especially troublesome as I still had several riding hours still to go? Didn't want to stick it in a pocket in my top, if I fell off I could imagine getting skewered with the thing. Fortunately I keep an elastic tie under my seat, who knows why, that secured the spanner so it didn't bump the bike or me, it probably looked a bit odd but leaving the thing on the side of the road just seemed silly, who knows, you never know when you might need to dismantle something?
I did a couple of laps out the back of Takanini, why I insist on riding out there I don't know, perhaps because the roads are relatively flat compared with closer to the coast... and I'm lazy. In Takanini the rain was rehydrating the dried out squashed animals, some of the same rubbish I was riding past in February was still lurking, and the nasty drains and nastier drivers made me think that when the distances get longer I need to find other places to ride.
Finally I had done enough, I turned around and the wind was behind me on the way home while the weather got better and better so that by the time I pulled in the driveway, took my cycle shoes of and put my slip-ons on so I could push the bike up the steep slope, I was thinking I could have kept on riding. Not to be though, got the weekly long run first thing tomorrow morning.
It was miserable for a little while, but after about half an hour the rain stopped and the sun came out. It was still gusting, but it was soon hot enough for a couple of layers of the clothes to come off. I found I could start looking around rather than keeping my head down to keep the driving rain out of my eyes and having to concentrate on staying up right and out of trouble. I found a 12 inch adjustable crescent spanner on the side of the road, that taxed my brain a bit, where to put a foot-long bit of heavy metal on the bike, especially troublesome as I still had several riding hours still to go? Didn't want to stick it in a pocket in my top, if I fell off I could imagine getting skewered with the thing. Fortunately I keep an elastic tie under my seat, who knows why, that secured the spanner so it didn't bump the bike or me, it probably looked a bit odd but leaving the thing on the side of the road just seemed silly, who knows, you never know when you might need to dismantle something?
I did a couple of laps out the back of Takanini, why I insist on riding out there I don't know, perhaps because the roads are relatively flat compared with closer to the coast... and I'm lazy. In Takanini the rain was rehydrating the dried out squashed animals, some of the same rubbish I was riding past in February was still lurking, and the nasty drains and nastier drivers made me think that when the distances get longer I need to find other places to ride.
Finally I had done enough, I turned around and the wind was behind me on the way home while the weather got better and better so that by the time I pulled in the driveway, took my cycle shoes of and put my slip-ons on so I could push the bike up the steep slope, I was thinking I could have kept on riding. Not to be though, got the weekly long run first thing tomorrow morning.
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