This morning we said goodbye to summer time, and got an extra hour in bed.
Plenty of leaves on the roads making them slippery, and conkers to be avoided. I don't think their spines would puncture a tyre but riding over one does cause a wobble. On a bend that is not something you want.
Much of the after work loop is comprised of quiet lanes through woodland, some without lighting. Wildlife frequently scamper across the light beam, but I can hear much more crashing through the dark undergrowth either side of me. I know it's only deer, foxes and cats; unsettling nonetheless.
I found it really hard to motivate myself this week. It wasn't the weather, I have rainproof clothing and I'm not going to dissolve if I get wet. Maybe it's riding the same route day after day, or the shorter colder days. This is the first year I will have been out during the week; the darker nights are more noticeable. Maybe it's just that I feel I have less time. With a few days away from work coming up, I can ride during the day. Hopefully that will bring back some balance, and improve my mood.
I haven't missed many days since March, never more than two in a week. I am determined to keep it going through the winter. This is what gets me out everyday.
Saturday took a long time to come around, and the ride with Matthew and Richard. We rode to a cafe in Tatsfield. No inside seating meant it was chilly, but we sat reminiscing about our rides to Paris and along the South Downs Way.
Before they arrived I went for a local blast to catch some early sun. It was warmer than the cafe ride.
It's a late post this week, I didn't get out in time to meet Matt. Then had errands to run, finally getting on the bike late in the afternoon.
When you say there was no seating in the cafe and that made it cold, did you mean heating? You're sounding and feeling a bit like I do in terms of the colder days affecting my motivation, although this week, thanks to the Dunton Green ride on Saturday, I made my weekly total 81 plus miles. During the week, like you, I did my local 10-mile route, two laps and a bit monotonous if I'm honest, I managed to ride three x 10 miles = 30 plus the 18 miles last Sunday, so that's roughly 48/49 miles then rode the 31 miles, add on all the .54 miles on each of my local runs and it worked out at 81 miles. Good that you got out today, I didn't sadly. Had stuff to do and the rain hammered down for some time so I missed the Sunday ride, very annoying, although I doubt we would have gone this morning; that said I've got waterproofs too so maybe we would have met up. Hoping we'll ride out next Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI meant no seating inside, heated or otherwise.
DeleteIt's looking very Autumnal now . Loving that last photo . Brilliant !
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support. It's great getting feedback.
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