9th November 2018 Weather promises dashed.

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Friday 9th 41F, calm, slightly misty and rather grey. It was a gorgeous morning for a walk to the far woods. With the sun eventually breaking through to really light up the autumnal colours. It felt cool on my hands at first but the breeze died down. I took 115 pictures in an hour and a half. Lots of pheasants and a pale bird of prey being harassed by crows. The hunters spoilt the perfect silence at about 9.30am.

After morning coffee I was allowed out on my trike. So I took advantage of the calm weather. Unfortunately the sunshine soon grew steadily more watery. Until it really did rain at 17 miles and became heavier after that.

Only when I reached 30 miles did it finally let up. By which time my GripGrab gloves were soaked right through and I was suffering from saddle soreness and hunger knock. Though my windproof cycling jacket never showed any sign of dampness inside and I remained warm and comfortable throughout.

I stopped at a petrol station for a choccy bar but their prices were outrageous! So I hung on until I reached the village supermarkets. A small, but cheap caramel and nut bar soon sorted out my weakness and hunger. Now with a tailwind, I was cruising faster than previously.

A rare image of the Trykit looking back along the causeway. My apologies for the "photo-bombing" white rock being used as a parking brake. Note how the ABUS Dreadnought Class, Mini U-lock ship's anchor is completely crushing my Overboard duffle/saddlebag. 2lbs of unwanted ABUS ballast by any other name.

To call this a "cycle lock" is like saying that VW is an honest carmaker. VW are now hoping to undermine Tesla's Model 3 by producing a cheap electric vehicle at under 20k Euros. Its likely specifications can be safely taken with a very large pinch of diesel soot. Not so much an EV as a VW EB [capital B for bullshit.]

It is reported that vast fleets of plug in, electric hybrids have been bought with UK taxpayer's subsidies. Only a few of these have ever been plugged in. They were simply seen as a cheap way for corrupt businesses to replace their vehicles regardless of the cost to the planet or the hard pressed UK taxpayer. Give a few sociopaths a little power..

Today I saw  countless thousands of coots, hundreds of ducks, dozens of swans, a few birds of prey and a solitary Eider duck. Which was floating right beside the causeway but which refused to be photographed. I tried, but it kept paddling way until it was too small to see in the viewfinder.

39, mostly damp miles, down by the coast. A four hour ride at my usual average of 10mph @ 95rpm while shopping at five supermarkets along the way.

Saturday 10th 47F, grey, damp, misty and windy. Rain promised for later. The wind certainly made it  feel much colder than yesterday. A thousand gulls rose from their overnight rest on a field to rejoin the existing flock. It is an amazing sight to see how they circle behind each other at great speed while those taking the shortest route struggle against the wind. Their skills in avoiding each other in 3 dimensions puts the human race to shame. There were frequent showers and no good reasons to go out for a ride. I must get out my winter MTB boots.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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