28th January 2015 Arse over tit!

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Wednesday 28th 38F, +3C, heavy overcast, wet and windy. Yeuch! My slipper fell off at the top of the stairs and I went arse-over-tit across the landing. Apart from a graze to my forearm I have very painful shoulder muscles. Probably a good day for a rest. Must get some new slippers!

Thursday 29th 33F, +1C, overcast, gales, snowing. My right shoulder muscles are still painful from the foolish, involuntary, indoor acrobatics. Forearm graze no longer debilitating. Weather unconducive to tricycling. Expected to get worse. [The weather. Not me.] It snowed or sleeted and I ached continuously so I took another rest day.

Friday 30th 33F, +1C, still, blue skies but cloudy. Light overnight snowfall. Walked to the woods along the spray tracks and back again. A flotilla of large, all-white, male ducks, with black heads, was cruising the small lake in the marsh. A fidgety heron circled and glided repeatedly between short perches. My damaged shoulder muscles were much less painful while walking but started hurting again as soon as I stopped. Pensioners and somersaults obviously don't mix well. It's probably an age thing. I shall be going out on the trike after lunch. It stayed heavily overcast but dry with almost no wind. All the windmills were standing still. Detoured on the way home to get some more miles in despite being short of breath. 19 miles.

Saturday 31st 30-34F, -1+1C, still,  bright  but rather cloudy. White frost with the ground very hard. Enjoyed a walk up to the woods and back another way. My aches and pains seem to have subsided as a result. I was hit on the forehead by a stone thrown up by a speeding 4WD. Fortunately I had my fleece hat on at the time. I saw three deer out on a vast field. The rewards for taking a short cut obviously outweigh the greater chance of being seen. I had heard gunfire in the woods off in their direction. So that may explain their highly visible foray. A Jay and eight, gently honking Whooper swans passed over. Several more Jays disappeared into the conifers as I arrived. With the frozen leaf litter crunching noisily under my boots.

I extended my ride to include a couple of shops in opposite directions. Mostly sunny with light winds. Windmills at a standstill until later. I used the aero bars quite a bit to keep up my speed. It was quite easy to cruise at 20 mph on the flat. With 24 mph on gentle descents and 31.5 mph on one steeper hill. Though I really need to tilt my saddle nose downwards slightly to reduce discomfort. My Aesse jacket and Dintex gloves were wet inside with sweat but remained warm and comfortable. I passed a bird of prey which was too tired or hungry to move away from the verge. Then I stopped at a crossing to let a girl cross with her dog. The dog was so mesmerized that he sat down in the middle of the crossing and stared at me. We both laughed at its very odd behaviour. That's the end of January with far too many rest days.  26 miles.

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