Roadside Hawthorn

It was really rather encouraging to hear your key stories and understand that it's not just me, and not just men! You've made me feel a lot better about myself! I was reminded that I have a rather expensive lost key story to tell, but I'm back late again tonight and that can perhaps wait for another time. Thanks for all your contributions. I can only reiterate that this is very much your journal as much as mine and I love all the engagement. I really appreciate it.

Someone recently asked me how long my cycle commute is and I'm afraid I didn't get around to responding. I actually have quite a choice of different routes. Where I work is on the opposite side of the moor so one option (the shortest) is to ride the mountain bike right over the top, but I haven't done that in a while. It's a little daunting first thing in the morning. I'm using the winter road bike at the moment. The easiest option is to take the main road via Burley, Menston and Hollins Hill, but there is a lot of traffic and I hate dealing with that first thing. I have a long and 'mountainous' 17 mile route which is virtually traffic free, but I've not been getting organised quite quickly enough to do that one yet. My preferred choice at the moment takes me out the house and straight up to the Cow and Calf and then a circumnavigation of the moor to Dick Hudson's Pub, from where I descend to Eldwick and then skirt Baildon Moor to drop down by the tramway into Saltaire. That way I can avoid the traffic altogether and it comes to about 13 quite hilly miles, a decent and also sensible sort of distance to begin the day.

This shot is taken from the top road to Dick Hudson's looking north across the moor on what was a rather damp and misty morning. There was a strong westerly blowing so I flew past the point pictured in yesterday's blip at a good 35mph, but was barely doing a fifth of that speed straight into the wind at this point. I think it makes for a decent enough journal shot, even if it is another solitary tree. I guess it's the time of year. They really are the most blippable things around at the moment - by a long way. I'm not going to make any excuses!