Blinded by the light

It is that time of the year when the sun is low in the sky and blinding. For much of my morning rides to Wolverton I cycle directly into the morning sun and it is a little bit scary. The shadows are black and the sun flashes blindingly through the trees. For much of the trip I pedal forward into the unknown. I have become rather pleased to see a dull, overcast sky as it means I can see where I am cycling too. The thought of landing in the canal doesn't thrill me despite enjoying the odd dip in cold water.

I cycled to Potterspury last Saturday. The only way to get there is via the A508. It shouldn't have been too busy on a Saturday afternoon, but it was. Argh...At least the sun didn't blind me on this jaunt - small mercies. This is not a long trip by the way. Potterspury is the next village to where I live. Sammi, on the other hand, cycled from London to Birmingham last weekend to go to a football match. He caught the train back and spent a short time at my place and then spent the night with Danielle before returning to Brighton. Cycling that sort of distance is more hardcore than I am up for these days.

Danielle is also into cycling. She takes the girls in the trailer which is attached to the back wheel of her bike. The girls love it and Danielle is getting fitter by the day. There is one bit of the trip between my place and hers that requires a bit of effort. This is the steep path that leads off the canal to Old Wolverton. It is a much shorter version of the British Club hill in Singapore. I make sure I am in first gear and then pedal hard from the bottom. Danielle, on the other hand, takes a speedy run up to the slope. We were cycling together. I was ahead and going slow. Danielle put a spurt on and shouted at me to get out of the way. I stopped all together and she made it up the hill. She is definitely getting fitter!!! I walked up.

Diane and Jeremy came over this weekend so we went to the Barley Mow where there was a "Sausage and Cider" festival. For this, there was a special menu with very special punctuation problems. "Vegetable's" abounded but possessed nothing. The butternut squash was homemade too... That was a treat. I would have been less impressed had it been home-grown. It takes silly English teachers to get the giggles over a menu, especially when the waitress couldn't see the funny side of it. We set off home, thinking of all the alliterated food and drink options we could celebrate... "beer and burgers", "coffee and cake". 

It is blindingly obvious that we should take time to laugh at the banal, and find lots more reasons to celebrate.