I mean not like I normally take it with me. I go for doing some serious cycling, and the camera weighs some various hundreds of grams! as well as worrying for the security of the camera itself, one of my most prized possesions. the (low) risk of a crash is not really the thing, it's the rain type risks that normally weigh on my mind, or even to clarify further, the sweat factor. it's a pretty vulnerable device one would assume and it must get pretty steamy in my back pockets.
...but... I find that I ..,um, miss (I was searching for an english version of the spanish frase echar en falta and since it still hasn't come to me I can only offer a sort of translation, which would be to find that you are in need of something which is not there) the camera in almost every occasion that I don't have it with me.
and this morning was the most visually spectacular ride that I have experienced for a while.
here at home before taking off (late I should add, adding to my reputation, ((not for being late I should also add)) ) :)
I will come back to that cryptic comment later.
but to get back to the first strand, here at home, it was a spectacular morning. The clearest sky you can imagine
although only yesterday afternoon these were the clouds
but by the time I got to the meeting point, (on time, although I left at 9:18 for a 9:30 start, and it's 10 kms away where we meet), the sky had dissapeared, although not with rain clouds, but instead, because of thick fog.
that persisted for twenty or more kilometres. and is the first thing that I wanted desperately to be photographing. I love those white walls on every side, but I had to remove my glasses as they covered with a dense layer of tiny water droplets and I couldn't see too well. so I suppose the camera wouldn't have liked that so much.
but then later the fog dissapeared, as rapidly as the sky earlier and we were in one of those spectacular autumn mornings with crisp air and perfect visibility.
and perfect conditions for plenty of photos.
but as you know..
duh!!
and then to top it all off, I went and climbed this mountain for the first time, and the views are simply spectacular, and it's autumn, need I say more. and then I went down the other side and turned around and climbed it
truely super beautiful. and plenty hard in places to boot.
the other side has a series of switchbacks, 9% the last kilometre.
but not so hard as the morcuera from last week.
I was going to go down the other side of canencia and around the valley and climb the back of the morcuera but chickened out when I found I couldn't be sure how to get there and how far it would be. I knew they could be connected but I just couldn't remember very well the route.
and the back of el puerto de canencia seemed so spectacular going down that it was too tempting to ignore.
any how plenty of fun and hard work.
five and a half hours although 3 stops for punctures, one of them mine when there was no group to wait for me.
anyway thems the breaks, as it were.
To get back to the other thing, about being late but not being late and so on.
I don't have a reputation for being late, but instead quite the opposite.
I am always arriving at the time I said I would, which catches people completely off-guard.
It's not really the done thing here to arrive at the stated hour.
it's almost considered rude to be puntual, or that's not it exactly, but I am rambling.
the point being that the comment didn't refer to any reputation for being late, and in fact I was the second to arrive, finding manolo with his back wheel in his hand, changing the tube (first puncture stop, before we even started) and nobody else there yet.
The reputation remark above has the following explanation.
It's that I never take it easy out there on the bike. I just don't know how.
and I was late, so I had to gun it.
It's ten k according to my computer from here to the meeting point and I had only 12 minutes, although I also know that nobody will leave there right on the hour, but I like to be on time. (and I like to gun it right off the bat as well, not warming up properly or anything). anyway, going through the plaza de castilla I passed some old guy on his bike, like he was standing still. ( he was almost standing still, having waited for the traffic lights, not like me.) I was on the big chainring and really powering so as to go straight on to the highway with the cars as it is the shortest route but you got to go hard to feel safe.
anyhow as I had never seen the guy before you can imagine my surprise ten minutes later (we were still there, still waiting for monolo to finish putting his bike back together) when he arrived at the meeting point and was warmly greeted by all and sundry.
anyhow he then saw me and told the others how I had zoomed past with 55 by 11, although I actually have 53 X 12, and how I had headed for the tunnel.
I like that they are starting to show a bit of respect for my irreverent manner.
anyhow although I didn't have the camera with me on the ride, I do have a couple of thousand new photos since we last spoke, 48 hours ago or so.
for example
my little chiquitin
he's so cute ain't he
even when he's completely sick of being photographed
or thinks he is being hard done by
and his friend the lovely sheila
I know the doggy photos normally go over in eni's blog
but I couldn't resist showing a few here as well.
after all he had some photo's of grass last time, (come to think of it grass is one of his interests), but the grass photo's seem to belong here.
anyhow, thats enough for now, well, just to mention that one of my oldest friends, Dr. Mandy, sent me the blog of her little brother, now living in Lithuania.
check it out and I'll speak to you all again soon, whoever is there reading.
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