General ramblings...

Andy's going to return from his holiday in Jamaica – tanned and ready to face the world – and I guess he's going to be surprised to learn that no cycling has taken place since he flew off on December 20th. He might remember the snow and the cold weather, but I reckon he'll be slightly disappointed to find out that the usual Boxing Day cycle didn't take place.

The period after Christmas and before New Year, and also the early days of January, tend to be cycling-free for various reasons. Back in December 2008, both Andy and I went down with flu – or something similiar – and that scuppered cycling (more so for Andy than me); but this year, with Andy out of the country, it's been me that has suffered (as detailed in a previous post) and if I wasn't suffering, the icy conditions made cycling impossible. Throw in being away in the New Forest for most of the week leading up to New Year's Eve and that just about scuppers it.

Christmas lights in Corsham, Wiltshire, courtesy of fellow blogger
Michael Prior and from his site michael-priors-pictures.blogspot.com/

In 2009, things were pretty good. I recall a Boxing Day cycle, nobody had flu and things were fine.

Generally speaking, of course, it's a funny time of year. Once Boxing Day is finished, the Christmas decorations take on a kind of irrelevance that intensifies as we move towards the New Year and then, of course, there's those six days in January when the decorations in shopping malls seem to represent the past trying to hang on to life as the new year gets under way. It's odd because there's an air of expectation and a kind of stillness that implies a world getting ready for the fun (or otherwise) to come.

For me, it's always a bit of anti-climax. All the fireworks go off in London and everybody's singing Auld Lang Syne and there's a split second feeling of optimism, which is quickly dashed as I realise that New Year's Day is just like any other, except that the shops close early and the trains are offering a limited service. Then, with 2010's decorations still visible and the new year still in a kind of incubator, thoughts turn to work. I decided not to make any new year resolutions, other than buying myself a rear light to cope with the early morning darkness, but as I write this on January 6th, I still haven't gone down to Evans to buy one.

One thing I must do, though, is shake off this cough and get out there. At the moment I'm vegetating a little, sitting around the house clearing my throat and taking Lemsips and getting later nights than usual. By next week, though, everything should be back on an even keel in terms of the routine of life and, with a bit of luck and weather permitting, we'll be back on the bikes soon.

Our house is now devoid of Christmas decorations. The tree has been banished, naked, to the front garden, the baubles have been packed away and are awaiting a trip to the attic and all the cards have been placed in the bin. Looking around, it's as if nothing has happened; the house is back to its normal state and will remain this way until the end of the year when it all kicks off again.