2011 Streak 55/365: Cycle - 19.6 miles, Time 1hr 31min, Weather - brighter but the wind was still nippy
The weather forecast told me it was going to be almost spring like - sunny and milder. Great I thought I will shed my outer layer and cycle in a thin long sleeve running shirt beneath a T shirt.
I think they meant that it will warm up during the day because it was distinctly nippy first thing and the sun was still hiding behind some light clouds. Nevertheless I soon warmed up and I started to think it was going to be a pleasant, invigorating ride. And it was very pleasant - up to a point.
That point was on Windmill Lane, between Markyate and Harpenden, in fact where this photo was taken.
As you can see the road is completely flooded. To the left hand side, behind the verge, is a stream which had overflowed to create the road lake. So in the words of "We're going on a bear hunt":
Uh-uh! A river.
A deep cold river
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it
Oh No We've got to go through it!
Splash Splosh!
Splash Splosh!
Splash Splosh!
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it
Oh No We've got to go through it!
Splash Splosh!
Splash Splosh!
Splash Splosh!
I started to cycle through at a gentle pace, mostly keeping the pedals parallel to the ground, trying not to cause a spray. But it was deep and I could not see the road's surface. In particular I could not see an enormous pothole, which my front wheel sunk into.
Slow speed, stuck wheel! There could only be one result - an undignified tumble into the water. Splosh!
Completely drenched, I had no alternative but to carry on and get home but it was not pleasant. My feet in particular did not like being kept in a bath of the cold water sloshing about in my shoes and when I got home and peeled off my socks my toes were wrinkled white.
Sitting here now, warm once more, I am not at all sure what I feel about it. If I had signed up for Grim I would have expected to wade through icy water getting similarly soaked and thinking it was all part of the fun. But 10 miles from home, by myself, I was not quite so hearty.
If you asked me what today's ride was like, I think I would reply: good in parts.
4 comments:
How did you avoid getting the camera wet? If it had been me, my camera would have been in my saddlebag which I probably would have gotten soaked when the bike went down.
It was in a bag, in the saddlebag and I think it might have escaped damage. However my wallet was soaked and anything that is not plastic is in a sad state
We're not scared!
Did you go: 'Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!' as I did during the muddy puddle parts of Grim? It's sort of refreshing but, as you say, not when you are ten miles from home!
No 'we're not scared!'
But there was that Uh-uh! moment when you knew there was nothing you could do and there was nowhere else to go apart from the water
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