REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT

You know, cycling to and from work, past rolling fields of blooming flowers and under newly-green trees, is actually not so bad. At this time of year the weather is pretty mild - although the wind rarely seems to die down - and it is a good way to give my lazy butt a bit of exercise. But along with with all the frivolity comes a couple of troublesome issues:

1. Overhanging branches are fun to ride under when your mount is a horse; not so much fun when you are on a cycle. You can lie on a horse's neck and bury your face in their mane to avoid getting scratched off, and most horses will keep moving until you've passed through under the branches. Unless, of course, your horse stops - always at the thickest and/or thorniest section of the vegetation - and starts to eat the branches, leaving you to vainly kick and cluck and hope to make it intact to the clearing beyond. But generally you make it through. On a cycle you don't have something soft to bury your face in, and have to duck and hope that you have enough momentum to get under the canopy without losing steam and falling over. Of course, I could keep peddling, but haven't yet mastered the art of hunching and cycling, so will have to rule that out for now and continue ducking and hoping.

2. Bugs become an issue at this time of year. I think I need a little pop-down note from my helmet's visor which reads something to the effect of "Bugs Live Here. DO NOT under any circumstances breathe through an open mouth, no matter how much you need to huff and puff, unless you feel like ingesting a large quantity of insect protein". Yeah, remembered this the hard way yesterday on the way home from work.

Totally unrelated:


This was the view from our upstairs study/guest bedroom this afternoon, on a not-so-mild-weather moment. The photo is deceptive, as the sky is not really blue but rather frightening shades of grey and black.