Two tramps

8 days off work.

Straddling the end of May and the beginning of June, what could possibly go wrong?

I’ll say it, although I’m sick to death of saying it..!

THE BASTARD WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!

Don’t get me wrong. It’s always lovely to be off work, and I have been busying myself with work around the house, tinkering with bikes, reading, etc; but to have had predominantly poor weather all week has soured my time off considerably.

As any parent will attest, its hard enough entertaining a child (on half term) at the best of times. My little boy Joseph is Autistic and our life is quite restricted because of it, add rain (and high winds) to the mix and it can be hard work finding ways of keeping him happy and occupied.

I did have some plans for riding this week…

Didn’t happen!

Lulled into a false sense of security by mostly glorious sunshine on my first two days off, I dove head first into some gardening and household chores happy to have plenty of time for cycling after these important duties had been ticked off the list. Sigh.

I did manage to get out on Sunday for a spin with Steve and Ella, but I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t really feeling it. The sky was gloomy, the wind cold and of course we headed home early under black clouds and drizzle. Not particularly enjoyable. It was reassuring to find that Steve felt the same that day as we chatted out the miles this morning.

Both desperate to get out on the bikes and seizing a break in the forecast we finally made a plan yesterday to stay local, take it easy and share a beer for breakfast! I’m sure Steve was half joking when he suggested it, but I decided to take it very seriously. A bottle of Vanilla Porter was dutifully packed into the Carradice the minute the seed was planted.

We talked, we moaned, we laughed, we dicked about, we even discussed ways of salvaging our seemingly doomed ‘Un-Meeting’ on Anglesey this coming Weekend, but that’s a whole other story…

Two tramps was the theme today and supping on that beer by the canal whilst putting the world to rights felt like the exact right thing to be doing. I got that buzz on the way home. The buzz from a good ride, but more importantly the buzz from having thrashed out the crap in my head with a someone of a like mind.

No epicness, no suffering, just a little much needed therapy for two tramps on their favourite lanes trying to figure it all out.

Words and pictures - Paul Rance.