Mirroring

Go large. I insist!

There's a little story behind this picture. I'd spotted this tree last year while cycling to and from work. I reckoned there was a good photo to be had but it's about 200 yards from the road, across a wild and boggy pasture with no right of way. I thought I'd wait for the right light before I ventured across. Well, I cycled in by my long route this morning, which has three big hills. I'd just climbed the last of them when I spotted this tree almost glowing in the morning sun, which had just broken through the cloud cover. I looked at the sky and reckoned I had just enough time to get across before the next band of cloud came over. I was also enticed by the brooding clouds behind me. The light was never going to be more dramatic than this.

My estimate was right and I got across the rough field just in time to get a couple of shots before the sun disappeared. In my rush what I failed to notice at the time was the extraordinary way the wall mirrors the plantations of trees beyond. Indeed, the mirroring is so precise that it's hard to imagine that the wall wasn't built by someone with a very strong artistic aesthetic. I couldn't believe it when I looked at the picture full screen just now. I love those kind of surprises. And I still can't decide whether this is the result of coincidence or design. What do you think?

I spoke to Roam again tonight and said I owed him an apology. Struggling on the hills this morning it dawned on me that his legs must have felt as heavy as mine did today when I took him out riding when he was young. Cycling up hills has always come naturally to me. It never occurred to me before that it could hurt that much. Poor kid!!

I don't want to experience that much pain again for a while. I'm now even more motivated to get serious about the training. I've been putting it off until work settles down but I really can't wait that long. It feels like now or never.