In the dark

Yippee, the days are drawing out but most of my rides are still in the dark. Actually I quite like it when the world reduces to a tiny hemisphere of lamp light and I go into a world of my own. It's best not to arrive anywhere except back home, fluorescent tops, bum and knee saggy leggings and day glow ankle bands are not elegant.
I know that spring is on her way because I'm beginning to see frogs and toads crossing the roads, every time I have to stop and carefully carry them to the grass verge. It's embarrassing to be caught red - frog handed but I can't bear to see them squashed, little arms stretched out in vain towards the safety of the verge.
Pathetic as it sounds I also stop to remove worms from the road but I do draw the line at slugs which have to take their slimy chance.
I am the person who moves dead rabbits, badgers and foxes out of the road. I hate to watch their bodies flattened a little more by every passing car. It's best if the buzzards and magpies or even then blow flies can clean up their once proud bodies.
Back to the dark: there are strange rustlings in the bushes, the rare and silent shadow of a barn owl and the tooth rattling pot hole that you know all about yet still catches you out, the constant water leaks near Trythall School and Trescowan and friendly hootings and flashing from cars that pass in the night.

Thanks

It's early days and already there are many people to thank.
Diana who helped with the initial setting up of this site - her beautiful blog Pebbledash is an inspiration and really worth looking at.
Everyone who has left written comments - it is very encouraging to know you are out there reading what I write.
Huge thanks to everyone who has already given donations through Justgiving and to me in person. This is the main purpose of the cycle ride and I want to raise as much money as possible for our local hospices.
Thank you to Isles of Scilly Travel for kindly donating two Scillonian tickets to be raffled at a later date.
Thank you to Rich for his offer of IT support which I will be sure to call for in the coming months and to Hazel who rescued me from a computer nightmare when I was stuck over the hospice logo and setting out my leaflet.
And lastly thank you to Kate who created and maintains this fantastic blog, who nudges me to write regular postings and never ceases to encourage me.

A good moment to include a comment from a friend in Edinburgh who wrote "Your blog is tremendous - it makes me feel very 21st century just knowing someone who has such a thing!"

Ups and Downs

Ever since I decided on this adventure the weather has been one long down: since Christmas Cornwall has been frozen solid, practically underwater, subjected to fax destroying lightening, blanketed in snow and now leaden and sodden. I’m pretty good at cycling in most weathers but even I draw the line at icy sleet blown by a northerly gale especially considering most of
my rides are after dark.Luckily the ups outweigh the downs; cycling home the other night under an almost full moon with the lights off, sharp shadows outlined on a silvery road, Orion stretching huge across the sky and the Plough standing on its head. Another time a fox ran along beside me for several yards before turning off and disappearing into the darkness. This morning I spotted a russetey brown back hiding in the ditch and was rewarded by a jack snipe hunched against the rain, he eyed me up for a bit before zig-zagging away between the goat willow.

One day spring will come.

thoughts of summer....

I saw a nice thing on my bike ride: the Scillonian in the dry dock beginning to get herself ready for the season. Last summer was so awful and winter is going on for ever it is wonderful to think of warm sunshine, and the sparkling excitement of a heaving Scillonian deck.

The Bike Shed

Snow stops play. The weather men were right, on Monday it snowed and on Tuesday it snowed again. I knew it was serious when the postman didn't get through and yoga was cancelled. Penzance was green and grey but up here everything was white. Luckily I am made of sterner stuff, as soon as the snow melted I was out again cycling down to get my Cornishman, it was dark and sleety with a bitter north east wind but I was toasty warm inside five

layers.

Twangggggg

It is hard work getting started on preparations. I spent ages last weekend
getting together a leaflet to publicise the trip and get sponsorship.
Because I want to use the Cornwall Hospice logo I sent it to Karen Holman to check it was OK only to be told I had to include a paragraph of “small print”. This wouldn’t fit on the A5 sheet so it’s back to the drawing board.

Last weekend was dry and I managed four bike rides, all about 15 miles and all quite hilly. Things looking good until I was doing a forward bend at yoga and something in my back went twangggggg. Thankfully Clare Conboye’s healing hands came to the rescue and I’m now back in the saddle, albeit in gale force winds and with the threat of ice and snow this week. Its not easy being a cyclist in January and February, especially when limited to after work and evenings.