As January gets moving...more ramblings

 I suppose the first question is simple: why was I walking around the street dressed only in a white duvet? I mean, alright, I wasn't really 'wearing' the duvet, it didn't have sleeves, so I really just had it wrapped around me, but my point is why? There's no answer. And then, somehow the duvet disappeared and I must have been clothed as I didn't feel in any way uneasy or cold. I was, however, running across a wide road and trying to reach the other side before this odd-shaped, retro van hit me. It didn't hit me. I reached the other side just in time and leapt up and over the very high pavement. From then onwards it's all a little vague. It turns out it was another of my fretful dreams, which I haven't experienced for a while, probably because the festive break enabled me to get all the crap out of my head, all the worry about this and that banished. But now I've been back a week or two perhaps all the stress is creeping back in, who knows? Anyway, I found myself awake around 0500hrs and in truth it didn't matter, I was in no rush to go anywhere, except that I was planning on a ride to Westerham or Tatsfield Village or even the Slines Oak Sloth*, but I was hoping I'd drum up the enthusiasm for a 20-plus mile ride and that normally means Westerham.

Library photo of Westerham, Kent

Cycling has tailed off considerably, especially this week. To be fair, for most weeks since the weather took a turn for the worst and the days shortened I'd managed to somehow put in around 50 (almost 60) miles, but I guess on average I been riding something like 54 miles on a weekly basis... until this week. This week I put in a measly 18.23 miles and that was last Sunday. I lost momentum yesterday. I had planned to ride to Westerham, which would have pushed my weekly total to something like 41 miles, which still wasn't good, but a lot more respectable than the reality of the situation of just over 18 miles. I don't know why I didn't simply bite the bullet yesterday, but I didn't and the weather was poor. That was the reason. It was raining in the morning and it persisted, but I can't remember how long for; it must have brightened up, but by the time things had improved I was in no mood to go out so I resigned myself to the piss-poor performance that I eventually handed in for marking.

Today was a different story. For a start, the weather was amazing. I left the house around a quarter to nine, so that's 0845hrs by the 24-hour clock, which I insist upon using for some strange reason. I was in two minds about where to go: Westerham, Tatsfield Village or the Slines Oak Sloth (see footnote). In the end I rode to Westerham and came back via the road that passes the Velo Barn, turning left on to Pilgrims Lane and later heading down The Ridge towards Woldingham. I reached home around 1100hrs (there, you see, I'm back on the 24-hour clock) and then set about enjoying the rest of my Sunday, which basically involved a walk around Chartwell in Kent and then sitting around the house watching clips from Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm and, of course, writing this blogpost. Avid readers might have noticed that I haven't been posting a great deal of late. There's no reason for this, I just haven't been posting that much. Also, you might be wondering why there aren't that many photos accompanying my posts. Well, that's easy. My phone (an Apple iPhone 5S) keeps running out of power. If you follow me on Strava, you'll note that a lot of my entries end after just six miles when the reality is a 20+ mile ride. I normally write something like '21 miles to Westerham, but phone lost power' but it's not a good state of affairs. Fortunately, I have an iPhone XS ready to use, it just needs a new screen and I have to get a new sim card. I'm out of contract now, which is great, but I doubt I'll leave my phone provider. I'm on a sim-only deal and it's fine, but I definitely needed a new phone. I've just got to get down to the phone store to get one sorted out. I think the XS has a far better camera than the 5S and I'm told the battery lasts longer. My current phone seems to run out even when there's supposedly 64% of power left. Using Strava takes up a lot of power and that's why lots of my Strava entries mention the phone running out. It's very annoying and means that I've stopped taking photos of my rides. Today's ride managed to record fine, but had I taken a photograph it would have been a different story.

Lives change, routines change and I've taken to watching independent movies at night times rather than terrestrial television. Some weeks back now I started watching movies that invariably involved 'a young married couple' visiting a remote farmhouse for the weekend only discover that there were evil forces lurking or nutters in the woods and it all turns rather sour. Good fun films to watch and movies that make you wonder why Americans going into spooky houses never think about turning a light on. You know the sort of movie I'm talking about. "Hello, is anybody there?" So, I'm watching movies like White Settlers, The Landlord, I See You, the latter two featuring a guy called Gerald, played by one Neville Archambault, who, in my humble opinion is absolutely brilliant. There's been plenty of others. I've started getting into Australian cinema with movies like Last Ride featuring Hugo Weaving, and Somersault, not to mention The Daughter, all good movies even if the latter was pretty harrowing at the end. Why am I watching these movies? Well, yes, it's better than watching terrestrial television, but there's more to it than that: I need some form of escape from reality, something that takes me out of things for a couple of hours and the movies seem to do the trick. I settle down with a cup of camomile tea or, as of the past few days, an Ovaltine, and that's me sorted until around 11pm (or 2300hrs) when I head for bed. Don't ask me why, it's just a survival technique I'm currently employing.

I can't remember if I've mentioned it of late, but we're in lockdown again. Everything's closed like it was in the summer, except it's cold out there and the cycling has tailed off as a result. The virus is more virulent, there's a couple of new variants and loads of people have been infected, some of us don't even know if we've had (or have) the virus and that's why things have taken a turn for the worse. Fortunately, it looks as if the vaccination programme has legs and is moving on at a fair pace. My mum (she's 91 you know!) is having hers next week, my mother-in-law had hers last Saturday and it's all looking good. I'm probably not supposed to ride to Westerham, it's likely to be breaking the rules, but if that's the case, I've been breaking the rules all summer. In truth, riding out alone and not stopping is probably not causing too many problems and even on a Sunday, when Andy and I meet in Tatsfield Village, it's still not an issue. Apparently we can meet one other person from another household.

Okay, so that's today's post. I hope to post more. For some reason things have tailed off, as I said earlier, but I'll endeavour to get back on track with it.

Until the next time...

* The Slines Oak Sloth involves riding along the B269 to just beyond Botley Hill, turning back at the mini roundabout and then hanging a left and riding along The Ridge towards Woldingham. The road bears right and takes me into Woldingham and then I turn right on to Slines Oak Road. I ride towards the B269, turn left and pick up the Limpsfield Road towards home. It's around 15.5 miles.