Drizzle

Drizzle. Almost 30 miles of it. It was dry (if grey) when I left, but after stopping by the office to pick up my forgotten cycling glasses I was soon greeted by an advancing wall of murk as I cycled towards Thickthorn. So above you can see pretty much what I could see for the next 2 hours.

I was reasonably well togged up, thankfully. I had wiggled my way into my neoprene overshoes (then realised they were on the wrong feet - d'oh - but couldn't be arsed to swap them) so I had toasty toes, and my top half was snug in a thermal, a short sleeved bike top, and my favourite cycling jacket from Mountain Equipment Co-op in Canada, which I ♥ even more now I know it's showerproof. Add on running plus cycling gloves, and a buff under my helmet, and the only part of me that was cold was the fronts of my thighs which soon had that special tingly-and-numb-at-the-same-time, school cross-country feeling thanks to my lightweight tights. Still, as long as I kept moving, I was fine. And I did keep moving - The Fear was thankfully more or less absent this ride, although I had a bit of stiffness from yesterday's gym session to keep me company instead.

I knew most of the route already, and managed to follow it without retrieving my soggy map. Only one stop, as my close-fitting Crud mudguards got a bit clogged on the back roads and I had to clean them out with a pointy stick (the one thing my multi-tool lacks), and otherwise I was moving pretty steadily at 25km/h or more. That is, at least until right near the end when I hit what I can only describe as A Proper Hill at Croxton - who put that there?! I was definitely tiring over the last 5-10 miles, despite grazing on Haribo, apple juice, and a nice mix of almonds, sultanas and Green & Black's milk chocolate, but that hill was nearly the end of my legs! After that it was a nice coast downhill to my only meeting with a numpty driver on the whole ride. Welcome to Thetford, eh?

Amusingly, at my final destination, not only did I enjoy a long-awaited cup of tea, hot shower, and a lovely afternoon with friends, but there was cake later. What kind? Lemon Drizzle.

Drizzle by HAMED MASOUMI, on Flickr