Catullus

I just came across this quotation from Catullus, translated by the ever-amusing Edward Enfield:

You come back to your own home and you lie on your own bed and after all that struggle abroad there is nothing left to worry about. What could be better? This alone would make it all worthwhile.

Excerpt From: "Downhill all the Way: Cycling Through France from La Manche to the Mediterranean" by Edward Enfield. Scribd.

It is beyond doubt true, but already, I'm missing being on the road, and thinking ahead to the next trip, this time with far less luggage.

Me again

It just goes to show how cycling can fill your life. When I was cycling, you got a fact-filled post every day, but now...tumbleweed. I haven't been doing nothing (is that a double negative? I don't think so.), but most of what I have been doing has revolved around catching up with all the stuff that I didn't do when I was away enjoying myself.

We have a big garden. I don't enjoy gardening. Worse than that, our big garden consists of a mixture of granite, marble, bracken and what we laughingly call the lawn, but what you and your friends would call a field. Just to make absolutely certain that not one iota of fun can be obtained while working in the garden, this seems to be an especially good year for horseflies.

On the much-missed nature table, something which is puzzling me. Last night, when out cycling, I saw a dead badger beside the road. Although it's a quiet road, badgers have very poor eye-sight, so quite likely it was hit by a car. This morning, while out walking, on the other side of the ride, another dead badger. What do you think?

Finally, and I don't know why I'm telling you this, I am actually doing something revenue-earning tomorrow. One of my former customers is paying me to take the train to London, plus my time, plus a free lunch so as to sort out his laptop. I did tell him there were probably people locally who could do it more cheaply and he said those magic words that all self-employed love to hear: "Money is not an issue".

Back to my war on bracken, but I'll leave you with this photo of why I just love living here:

Gee..but it's great to be back home...

One of the plus points about going away is that it makes you appreciate how good you have it at home. I like my comforts and I like my privacy, and  you have to forsake both when you're on the road on a bicycle. The thing that I found most irksome was getting clothes washed and, more importantly, dried. After a month, you really do get fed up with putting on damp socks. I had a gauze bag and thought it would be possible to dry stuff by putting it in the bag and trailing the bag in the wind, but a) you look a dick and b) everything just gets dirty again.

I do like Brittany Ferries, their boats are large and comfortable. Certainly a better option than driving back to Cornwall from Portsmouth, or even worse, Dover.

My bike was utterly disgusting, it took me a morning to clean it, and the chain is still a bit yukky. It has developed a very irritating creak when I'm pedalling hard, and I am trying to track it down. Hopefully not the bottom bracket.

Anyway, home to a garden looking like a rainforest, and bickering at the flying club...I must start planning my next trip.