8.05.2023 Cycle path limbo!

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 Monday 8th 50F. Clear and bright. A sunny day is promised. Temperatures up to 15C/60F. Windy again. Gusting to 15m/s. Over 30mph from the SSE. My knees hurt slightly on the stairs. I'd better have a walk.

 8.30 13C/55F. Back from my walk. Lots of bird activity. A beautiful harrier soared over looking for breakfast. My second swallow sighting this year. 

 Traffic rather busy. I had waves from a couple of drivers. As I stepped onto the verge to give them room against opposing traffic. A tractor, with an outboard propeller, was looking for a pig shit tank to stir. 

 It's a lovely morning but windy again. The recipes for Thursday's cooking class have arrived as a PDF. The hp printer actually worked this time. Thanks to a new and obscenely expensive colour cartridge.

 Time to consider a ride. Should I ignore the wind? It will blow me back home after I turn around. Or that is the hope. 

 14.30 17C/62F. 80km later [50 miles] I am back again. It was often difficult to decide where the wind was coming from. Or whether I was manufacturing it myself from my forward motion. 3 hours of traveling time at an average of 26kph and a cadence of 85rpm. 

 I saw everything I wanted to but  missed my original goal [Ringe] by 5km or 3 miles. The first battery was getting low and I was getting tired. So I turned back and headed to my friend's house. For a rest and refreshment. 

 A large branch had broken off a willow. Falling horizontally across the cycle path. I tried to pull it aside but it was still attached to the tree. The saddle dropper post allowed me to limbo under it.

 After a chat and coffee I swapped batteries at his place. Then used Sport mode to get home with minimum effort. It worked. Though it didn't help the saddle soreness. It's not awful. Just uncomfortable at times. No problem at others. Probably friction. I was wearing padded racing shorts under thin, stretchy trousers.

 The GPS software was having a loony fit again. I downloaded my planned route from Google Earth to the Nyon. From the very first meter it tried to send me down every single junction. Even cul-de-sacs. It wanted me to ride into every farmyard and private drive. Then it blocked out the screen and told me to turn back at every opportunity for the next 50kms! It is lucky I know the route so well. Not so happy at losing my monitoring of speed and cadence to a GPS tyrant!!

 The sunshine lifted the gorgeous, spring countryside to another level. The beech trees were spectacular in fresh leaf! I saw lots of birds of prey today. Hundreds of geese and swans.  Either enjoying the wetlands or grazing the fields. Only my third swallow sighting this year. Where are they all?

 Both the greenhouse and balcony room were at 30C when I came home. I opened the doors to allow the warmth to be shared. It is up to 20C in the rest of the downstairs now. Warmer still upstairs!

 I think I'll go with scrambled eggs on toast tonight. Stretch my skills as a budding master chef. Stop sniggering at the back! Artistic rendition of my culinary genius by sunlight. Golden light was flooding the house. Including rippling light on the bathroom ceiling from the ugly pond.  

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