The weather was too good to resist on Thursday afternoon for another bicycle ride. There were bright blue skies up above and lingering in the back of my mind was the fear of the beastliness that I knew was to come in less than 24 hours' time.
I rolled out on the Raleigh Electric. Within the first ten minutes I had experienced two close pass incidents.
I reached Ainger’s Green. The crappy St George’s flags are still flying from the lamp posts, albeit now having slipped down to half mast.
Close passes and crappy flags. I sometimes wonder, why do I bother with bicycle rides when there’s plenty to annoy me?
Then I reach the lanes. Oh woh. These were bone dry and completely empty of all traffic. I almost picked up something of a late October suntan with the glorious conditions.
Not a lot changes around these parts. The wind turbines continue to turn. I had headwind, then tailwind, and then a little crosswind to contend with. I spent a lot of the ride in tour mode.
I passed a particularly stunning house that I’ve always had my eye on. It’s now got a for sale sign. It’s been beautifully refurbished but it’s in a crap location. Oh well.
Around 30 km in I started to get some cycling hippy shit in my mind. I figured out that the cadence, as I turn the pedals, also turns the clogs in my mind. I can be very creative when I’m cycling.
There you go again. Stop being a fucking peddling hippy.
Some new infrastructure was in place on the main Clacton Road that is usually quite hellish to ride upon. My loop route involves around ten minutes or so along this road before you head for the safety of the lanes once again.
The new infrastructure meant there was a one way system with a couple of sets of traffic lights. This led to a slightly better journey.
I then reached my favourite spot on the entire ride. The road is incredibly smooth as you enter into a valley that curves around, showing some amazing vistas up ahead. One of these included a pumpkin patch. They look like tiny satsumas in a field from a distance.
I managed to fit in a Lidl run on the way back. That’s always a bonus.
That’s one more ride ticked off before the next storm approaches.
