Monday 9th May Balmy or barmy?

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Monday 9th 55-71F,13-22C, quite windy, bright sunshine some cloud. Forecast to be warm and sunny all day. An early shopping trip is expected to leave the rest of the day free to record the Mercury solar transit. I had to cover up well to avoid very serious sunburn from being out there for over 8 hours! Only 7 miles.

Tuesday 10th 64-72F, 18-22C, bright sunshine but rather windy. I went for a walk to the sight and sound of countless birds. One pair of Coots has a growing family of chicks already while another pair are still exploring a second pond nearby.

Blogger was badly broken this morning. Unavailable, then visible but no log on possible. Nearly 10.30am CET before it was back to normal. No pressure to go out. Rest day.

Wednesday 11th 60-70F, 16-21C, continuing bright and windy but with more cloud today. Though that was short lived. Gusting to 30mph later so I had better go out before lunch.

Another warm walk along my usual route up through the woods. An angular Red kite went over, soaring with the wind. A dead mouse on the track showed signs of a cat mauling. While a dead Grass snake had probably met a much larger foe. It look unharmed, though inverted, in the grass verge. It is the turn of the warblers to sing in all their variety. Many more swallows have arrived to swoop effortlessly and erratically over the fields. I shall be going out on the trike after coffee. Only a couple of more days of warmth left before the temperature plummets to 12C on Saturday!

It was even warmer when I set off via the forest. There seemed to be headwind whichever way I rode today. The difference was in my speed. Coming home I was seeing 20-24mph and climbing effortlessly despite being well loaded. Only 10 miles.

The Brooks Dispatch arrived by email showing that they have a C19 rubber model now. At 185mm wide it should provide plenty of space compared with the 165mm width of the C17 Cambium. The strong lateral curvature remains so the C19 might actually be a better match for a B17 at 175mm. The C17 is probably more of a Team Pro in active width. I'm not remotely tempted though having already been burnt by a painfully unrideable C17 when I succumbed to their lying hype. It took some time to recover from the damage caused by the C17. It had as much to do with comfort as a boulder chosen at random from a quarry or seashore. Since it clearly matches their claim that it never needs to be broken in there is absolutely no hope of improvement by their own admission. "It will ride up with wear, Sir" used to be a get-out clause for the ill fitting garment of yesteryear. Sadly, the Cambiums won't. Not ever!

Thursday 12th 64F, 18C, bright sunshine and rather breezy. More of the same is forecast. A pleasant, hour and a half, relaxed walk around the village "block"  in shorts to stay cool. Lots of birdsong.

Left before lunch to head north and hoping to avoid a headwind. It was gusty and difficult to identify wind direction. Slightly easier coming back by the same route. My toes were hurting when I climbed out of the saddle and proved to need my nails trimming. A foolish oversight! I survived on a cheese sandwich, a banana and two small cartons of pure apple juice to keep me going. I had run out of chocolate muesli bars so went without. 41 miles.  

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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