Lots of irrelevant oversharing from today's unproductive utility run to be had before the caffeine and endorphins wear off..
Despite the forecast's grim suggestion of near-constant cloud I was pleasantly surprised to emerge into persistant sun at around lunchtime, if still being hammered by the brutal north-westerly wind that yesterday had succeeded in freezing my fingers in all of four miles of commuting home.
Cold and anxious I rolled to the cycle path, stopping to document the recent additions to the signage in the area:
This was significant as I'm a firm believer that everything in life is better with googly-eyes; today's discovery representing a watershed moment since these are just paper stickers so assuming I can source some, will allow me to leave behind my reservations about plastic waste and plaster a personality on everything in sight
Cold notwithstanding everything looked nice in the sun, the river being no exception..
Something is afoot in the woods opposite the bridge by the ring road with a number of trees being cleared - hopefully not for nefarious reasons..
I hit the first charity shop for predictably no furniture. Round the ring road to a couple more; again with no luck.. by this point feeling pretty knackered and generally grotty for some reason, despite minimal miles this week and a reasonable-ish kip last night.
The fourth shop yielded sod all; the first time I've been in since it's been refubed and now looks like it's been kitted out exclusively by a hipster constrained to purchases only from a 2002 Argos catalogue..
The fifth shop taunted me with the Zara suit I'd previously rejected due to its stupid skinny legs; the need for such attire now infinitely more pressing as unfortunately I have a funeral looming in my near future.. Also tried on a nice new beige beige puppytooth suit jacket, however it was a bit big of both fit and price so I left it there and continued on my way; begrudgingly out of town into the wind then back in via the park for a dangle.
This proved once-more poorly-timed as there were kids everywhere; some occupying the monkey bars so I sat in the far corner whilst awaiting the expiry of their minute attention spans. Sure enough they were gone pretty quickly so I made my way back; only to be beaten to it by a group of young girls. Now stuck I loitered awkwardly in the vicinity; which is never a good look especially as a single middle-aged man with a non-conformist haircut... at least I no longer have a gaping hole in the crotch of my trousers.
Thankfully it didn't take long for them to do one either so I set up the rings and had a bit of a dangle. Unsurprisingly a bit limp given how I felt and the fact I've gained some weight over recent months, however at least I did a full session and despite my lacklustre performance I certainly felt it afterwards.
By this time the battery in my GPS head unit had completely died - infuriatingly since it'd been all "yeah mate I've got 65% left" before departing.. unfortunately the battery degrading seems to come with the very unwelcome side effect that occasionally (I think when discharged nearly-fully and subsequently recharged) it lies mercilessly about charge level.
Usually I'm wise to this and can charge accordingly (the problem goes away if you charge based on time, rather than believing the stated charge indication), however this time it caught me out - being the first time it's died completely on a ride. I did buy a spare battery when it started doing it but am yet to fit it, as I'm so tight / conscious of wastage I want to ring everything I can out of the existing one.
I hit two more charity shops in the way into town; the first touting an ostensibly decent biscuit linen suit, however it was a bit big and a shade tatty so I declined. Finally I pondered upon some beige £9 Mountain Warehouse walking trousers in the last shop (similar to the grey ones I wear for cycling) however in the end didn't bother as they didn't have zippable pockets and I'd be forever concerned about losing my wallet.
Heading down St. Giles I clocked this lovely old Merc - I'd love something like this as a daily driver (and in some ways it'd make a lot of sense) however I think it'd be less practical than a hatchback and the minority with manual boxes and petrol-sixes seem to command quite a premium..
Stopped for a wrap in the gloriously deserted home-time covered market before mooching back to the bike on Brasenose lane. Had a bit of a dance with an old boy also taking photos of the Radcliffe camera with a camera phone, who I assumed to be a tourist. He probably thought the same of me, and as we got talking I discovered that he lives about half a mile from me and also likes to just come into the city for the pubs and fine ambience
Just before I made my excuses and left as I was getting cold, my new mate spotted a plane traversing the skin beneath the moon and goaded me to capture it. Humouring him was the easiest route and it turned out not completely bin-worthy..
Considering it was just past kicking out time on a school day the city streets seemed very quiet for some reason; not that I'm complaining..
Finally it was back home via the co-op to scour for bargains (nope) and grab some Guinness. After some top bantz with the bloke in the shop I departed; the final picture of the day being of three dickheads parked on the double-yellows outside.
Having bothered the council I now know that it's basically pointless sending them photos, however the main purpose today was as a passive display of disapproval towards the one bloke getting into his car at the time. He evidently clocked me and as I subsequently unlocked my bike he took the time to slow down (further delaying the traffic his ilk were already holding up) to loudly enquire as to whether I got a good photo.... my back was to him and I just ignored him; perfectly avoiding escalation while hopefully pissing him off even more for having to skulk off without the satisfaction of a response.
Back at the flat everything feels so much better after today's sketchy start; no doubt thanks to the exercise, sun and a few nice interactions with decent folk. As usual very glad I went out
