Through a glass darkly

Today’s guest picture comes from my Welsh cycling correspondent, Keiron. He took the picture of this wonderful tree at some cost to himself, as he had to push through the hedge in the foreground to get a clear view of it .

The forecast was for fine weather, but with the wind to get stronger as the day went on, ending up with gusts of 30 mph. Under the circumstances, it seemed like a good idea to get going fairly soon if i wanted a cycle rode on my push bike. It takes me a lot longer to get both mentally and physically organized to go out on my bicycle then it used, but I was out fairly promptly, and got the benefit of the lighter morning winds.

I was still pedalling generally uphill and into the wind at the start of my ride, so I never was in danger of getting a nosebleed from going too fast. I had hoped to do a long ride today, but the brisk winds put paid to that. I opted instead for a shorter ride, but one with quite a lot of up and down in it to help keep me fit.

I stopped for a stretch and snack every 10 miles or so, and took a picture to send to Mrs Tootlepedal to show her where I was.

I was at a familiar bridge after ten miles . . .

. . . and crossing the River Annan near Dalton after 20.

I was on my way home and crossing high above the old main road near Eaglesfield after 30 miles . . .

. . . and in sight of Tinnis Hill after 40.

On my way I passed some pink hogweed and a pretty wild rose . . .

. . . and went through Lockerbie, where the ornate top of the Town Hall always appeals to me.

I took a quiet back road from Lockerbie to Dalton, pausing to look at the river and a tree when I stopped for my 20 mile snack.

At Dalton, I added the church there to my large collection of rural churches. I read on the internet that ” close by the roofless shell of the 1704 parish church stands J M Dick Peddie’s 1895 sturdy Romanesque church. Built of the local red sandstone and with an attached square tower with short slated spire.” I could see the roofless shell behind the church.

From Dalton onwards, I had the increasingly strong wind behind me, but the 25 miles into the wind up to that point had taken their toll, and my legs weren’t interested in a lot more hard work, so I just cruised along to Eaglesfield by way of Hoddom and Brydekirk. In spite of stopping for snacks, I hadn’t got my nutrition right at all, and I was very pleased to find the post office and shop in the village open. A chocolate ice cream and a banana provided me with enough pep to get home. I had energy bars and gels with me, but nothing seems to beat a banana as cycling fuel for me.

I had set out in sunny weather wearing dark glasses to combat the glare. By the time that I got to Eaglesfield, the skies had clouded over, and it had got really quite gloomy. Luckily, I had a spare pair of plain glasses in my cycle bag, and I was able to change my glasses over and see where I was going.

It was definitely too dark for sun glasses when I went through the summer tunnel on the Solwaybank road.

I hadn’t had a set itinerary in my mind when I started out, but I was happy with my route choice which covered 47 miles with plenty of climbing on the way.

Mrs Tootlepedal had been very busy in the garden while I was out, and I had a walk round when I got back. The sun came out again.

I went inside for a cup of tea and a slice of bread and marmalade, and while I was there, I had a look out at the birds. The seed in the feeder was well down, and a goldfinch and a siskin were keeping a sharp eye out for competition.

I was pleased to see that we still have redpolls visiting, or at least a redpoll.

I had a shower, and then put some mince and carrots on to cook for our evening meal. While the pan was simmering, I had another look at what Mrs Tootlepedal was up to in the garden, and took a couple more pictures of garden visitors while I was out there.

I may have mentioned before that siskins are very messy eaters of bird seed. We have had a lot of siskins at the feeder recently, and few if any chaffinches have been around to peck up the fallen seed. As a result there is quite a mess under the feeder, so I was very pleased to see three young starlings doing their bit to clear it up when I looked out later on..

The flying bird of the day is a siskin getting a hot reception as it approached the feeder.

Footnote: I append a clickable map of today’s ride. The wind and temperature readings that Garmin puts on the map are not very accurate, but the elevation profile does show that it was quite an energetic ride with constant undulations. This accounts for the low average speed.