Showing posts with label gulls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gulls. Show all posts

Monday, 18 July 2011

Cycling in the rain

I broke my cycling rules today, rejecting lemon yellow gear in favour of a total black waterproof look - from head to toe. I made the assumption that there wouldn't be many super-speedy cyclists out and about in the rain (I was right), which would mean less chance of being run into - which nearly happens quite regularly, even when I am dressed as a flourescent lemon. 


My sun glasses are perfect for cycling (they don't actually cycle) as they are big enough to stop my eyes from watering. I didn't dare wear these today due to the rainy darkness. The hood of my waterproof jacket is all encompassing of my head and face (if you see what I mean), and the addition of sunglasses plus rain would have resulted in extremely poor all round visibility. My ordinary glasses were reasonably alright, except that I had to stop occasionally to wipe off the rain.


When I complete this image with the final details, you'll wish you could see a picture! I tucked camera, peanut butter roll and i phone in a bag inside the front of my jacket, which apparently made me look pregnant. Fortunately, the offsetting of this by compacting my waterproof trousers at the ankles by someone else's (!) bicycle clips (usually worn only by men of a certain age) had the effect of counteracting any vague allusions to pregnancy. 


So determined was I to have a semi-picnic in the rain, that I attempted to attach a mug (with lid) of coffee to my handlebars, to be sipped somewhere along the way. My trusty bike used to accommodate Philippa on the back when she was a toddler (she is now in her twenties) and does not boast modern fitments of any kind. It is still reasonably good at transporting a person, but definitely not toddlers or drinks (hot or cold). Most of the coffee had spilled within the first fifteen minutes. 


The advantages of cycling in the rain, apart from not being able to see very well, were that I only passed two or three other cyclists. When I reached the beach there was hardly a person in sight. I bought a cup of tea from one of the many people-less seafront cafes and was shown a copy of The Sun newspaper, and you'll be relieved to know, had the weather forecast for the next month pointed out - more continuous rain. 


There was still plenty of action on the beach.


Seaweedy sea


Loads of gulls

Pointy tails

Prancing

Floating

Dozing

Saturday, 9 July 2011

Wednesday, 6 April 2011

On my bike

Glorious spring day and a dusting off of the bike.  Adjustments made to accommodate a new handlebar bag (Miss Marple style) last winter resulted in major clunking and grinding and general engineering problems. Probably more importantly, apart from alarming other cyclists, walkers and dogs, the gears were particularly uncooperative when travelling uphill.

With all this still haunting my recollections of last year's estuarine cycling experiences, off came the bag this morning. A quick poke of the gear-related bits and pieces in an attempt to put them back where they probably should have been, a lot of complaining about the bike, lack of bag, and my probable inability to ride it after a break of a few months, and I was off.

The long-awaited Ebford link is now open and today I would be able to cycle all the way from Ebford to Exmouth, without having to risk death by riding on any major roads. Just in case, I was wore my new flourescent yellow cycling jacket - another reason for feeling somewhat reluctant to take off with enthusiasm this morning. Yellow has never been a favourite colour.

View from the Ebford stretch of cycle track

Gulls that didn't get my sandwich!

The seaside at Exmouth

A washing line to add to my collection - on the Lympstone foreshore