Spilling over down the drain

A lot has been said and written about the Winter we are experiencing. Last time I cycled to work I thought, "man this is the coldest yet". But as I have had that thought about seven times already, I reasoned it couldn't be true. But then the next day my son told me that it had been minus 5C when he left for school an hour after I left home. So it in all probability it just may have been the coldest.

But, and you are all going to hate me now because I'm about to tempt fate, (say quietly to yourself and the weather god won't hear) "we haven't had much in the way of rain". Until today. And the next six weeks I suppose. Sorry.

The morning ride was quite pleasant, a bit of drizzle, and the roads a tad damp, but nothing untoward. On the way home I was just starting to think that the forecasters were wrong, when right on the dot of the forecasted six o'clock, the heavens opened and down came the deluge. I did my best to avoid all the traffic by going around as many back roads as I could. Spray from the cars just about finishes my morale off for the day. So although I arrived home doing a passable impersonation of a soggy towel wrapped around a drowned rat, I was at least happy.

I have devised a coping strategy to stop me getting annoyed with bad driving. As those that know me may have expected, it involves counting, categorising and recording. I've seen sense and decided not to start a spreadsheet, so FOR NOW it's just the first two. There are six categories:

1. SMIDSY incidents
2. Driving past me too close and/or too fast
3. Overtaking when it is not safe to do so
4. Failing to switch off dipped headlights
5. Use of a mobile phone while driving
6. General stupidity

The score on the way in was, 0 (pleasantly, although there was one on the way home), 3 (interestingly all white vans), 1 (the old favourite-overtaking before a traffic light on red, then slamming on the brakes, with me passing him again anyway), 3 (one for the darkness, and one of them after only a minute of cycling, likely to be less of a problem in Summer), 0, (although as half the ride was in the dark and the other half was twilight, I can't be certain) and 1 (my personal favourite, reversing at speed towards me around a bend, down a hill, after just overtaking me, to let an oncoming car through a gap).

Please feel free to adopt the protocol. I gave up counting on the way home, Friday night home time commuters are clearly in a rush to get home, whereas there was a distinct mellow feeling this morning. May have been the rain, may have been me.

Charlie stats here:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/67723562

Some good climbing practice and not bad speeds given all the conditions. My favourite road was that little cyclists-only lane around the back of Barrow Gurney. I think it's been imported from Flanders, could have done with a cross bike.

I met a very interesting cyclist this week, Jim Rees:

http://www.teaminspiration.org.uk/

More on that another time.

Enjoy the weather!