Five layers of clothing were needed for the Sunday morning rollout. I also optimistically packed a face mask. You never know when you might want to pull over roadside and replenish with a cheeky Sunday morning coffee.
This was the second attempt in a week to make it to Dedham. The first was aborted last weekend after I got cold, not to mention a little bored. It wasn’t a great start on Sunday morning. I made a wrong turn less than five minutes into the ride. Whoops.
I managed to spot my first red daffodils of the season on the run into Elmstead Market. They looked like they were extroverts compared to the more sedate yellow offerings.
There was noticeably more cyclists out there compared to a week ago. The weather has started to change. I’m optimistic for the months of riding ahead.
Water levels in the roadside ditches / moats are receding. I spotted a single magpie about 100 metres in the distance. I waited for a second to appear, but luck wasn’t on my side. Colin Wanker always said this brought him good fortune when he was the Manager down at Meadow Lane.
I made it to Dedham, and then did a swift turnaround and had a slight detour on the run in back home. It looked like Lawnmower Wars were breaking out in some of the grander Essex front gardens. Call that a Flymo? You probably need a driving license for that, fella.
Some very decent horsey people had a very decent horsey hello. And then to my surprise I passed some bloke riding a horse and trap.
I was soon back on the home stretch. My knowledge of agriculture is piss poor. But one of the fields had a Bowie Ashes to Ashes nuclear tinge to it. Far too early in the season for burning of the crops, but I haven’t got a chuffing clue what was going off there. Maybe it was just the tint on my cycling specs.
Chapeau!