So, Ruby, are you feeling lucky?

tldr: No, we weren't feeling all that lucky lol.

While Janet went for some hairdresser pampering I took Ruby out for a first ride of 2024. Not far, as it happened, because all the lanes around were flooded... In the end I came back after only a few kilometres.

It's not just that the depth of the floodwater was slightly intimidating - cars were turning around, and while it's probably raindrops I'm not convinced the ripples on the surface in this picture aren't in fact fish...

The roads are so dreadfully pitted and potholed that assuming there's any sort of flat surface under the water is tantamount to recklessness. It is easy - I proved how easy - to drop down into a hidden six-inch deep pothole.

We will never be able to repair all the roads that more than a decade of austerity has left us with. I suspect what I need now is a decent trials bike!

Or a boat.