Cycling in the Cotswolds

                                                                       

Cycling in the Cotswolds Autumn 2011       

The first taste of winter arrived today! I removed the ice from my bike and wondered if it would be slippy on the road this morning. Convinced that my slick summer tyres would be fine and not to worry. Ate my winter porridge central heating fuel, donned my thermal gloves and set off into the mist at 6-30 am just before dorn.

The sun rose slow & low into the damp morning sky bringing a chorus of bird song along with the sound of wild deer and rabbits scampering off into the woods as I passed close on my bike, with only the sound of bike tyes and my steamy breath to disturb them.
I paused in wonderment to take in the view from Charlbury hill at 8am and gazed at the mist lying low in the valley covering the land with only a few silouette trees to accentuate the white cotton clouds. The air is fresh  and sharp with a hint of cut grass and the faint smell of a distant log fire, I breath deep and suck in the smell of a fresh new day.

This was my reward for dragging my sleepy bones from bed at 6am on a Sunday morning and getting down the road at first wondering if I was mad or just stupid when normal people were still fast on enjoying the comfort of the duvet!