Monday, July 26, 2010

In memoriam.

'I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.'

Oft quoted, Tennyson.

But is it?

i dont know. Maybe it would be better never to have known what you are missing.

I'm done. sick to the back teeth of the constant cycle of hope and disappointment. For the third (or is it fourth?) straight year, i caught myself thinking that maybe this would be a good year. A summer in which we have 3 months of reasonable weather. Not perfect. Not blue-skies-and-little-fluffy-clouds good all the way through. Just a balance of some good, some great and some bad weather days. I would take that happily. I could ride some, get fit, enjoy the hills.

But scotland isn't know for compliance or compromise. It is not known for playing fair, either.



Today i drove for two and a half hours to the place where the forecast suggested i had the best chance of a reasonable window to at least get on the bike before it started raining. If i was in the hills and had to battle my way back, so be it. But no. It never let up until i got back to the car a little over two hours after starting. Pools collecting in my shoes. My water resistant clothing dragging grit and sand over wet, chaffed skin. Morale so low i dont even know how to pick it up.

It hasn't really stopped raining for four weeks. It srated before 10 at kirroughtree. In my mind, the world resembles cormac mccarthy's road milieu. Grey, desolate and broken. I cant help it. I've been here too many times before. It has worn me down. No amount of 'harden the fuck up' is digging me out of this pit of spite.

I'm sick of making the best of the rivers of wet, sandy, grinding paste the trails have become. Sick of the near trench foot and hand. Sick of the 50 meter-at-best visibility. Sick of the cold. Its july for *fucks* sake. July. Sick of looking at the forever-inaccurate Met Office website - desperately searching for somewhere, anywhere, that might allow me a window of opportunity for a ride that doesnt start in the rain.

But, it is not to be, is it?

I am a believer in making your own destiny (though i recoil from how grandiose that sounds). So i have a few choices. Leave this bog of a country with it's squalid 'season' or stop riding unless the weather improves.

I dunno. Pass me the Atlas and i'll think about it.

13 comments:

simondbarnes said...

I'm totally with you there Jon, it's properly shit. I've not touched a bike for 3 weeks. To rub it in we've even got a fucking hosepipe ban :-/

Going to have to get a job in Santa Cruz.

Anonymous said...

Indoor bike polo?

Dan said...

you need the flexibility to be able to pick your days ... Friday was superb in the hills, Saturday wasn't.

I can't fit that solution to my life style and if I figure a way I'll let you know!

martysavalas said...

what dan said. saturday was lovely in the borders. 6 hours, very little mud.

or get a better forecast - http://www.mwis.org.uk/areas.php

krs said...

Go kayaking.

Just because it is called 'summer' does not mean it is the best time to go riding.

When is the best time to go riding?

When you can.

Tangentially: When weather meets Brian Eno: http://www1.secam.ex.ac.uk/nao-art.dhtml

martysavalas said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
davechopoptions said...

Indoor skateparks when it rains. Look forward to seeing your Flairwhips.

badger dave said...

Head slightly south- can count on one hand the amount of times it's rained for 2 days in a row here.

sadly I'm an admin monkey for the next 4 weeks :'(

andytrailfettler said...

Bend, Oregon for consistently dry, warm weather May to October. ; )

agree on the rain of late. We went to N.Wales recently (instead of S.France!!) and cut it short, mainly because of the poor weather. still, the fair weather spell from mid April to mid June was exceptional.

for an alternative weather service try:

http://www.yr.no/place/United_Kingdom/Scotland/Peeblesshire/hour_by_hour.html

or metcheck.com ?

hope you get some fine weather rides in soon.

Robert said...

You know where you wanna be don't ya

Anonymous said...

I thought it was just me. I thought I needed to MTFU. I thought I needed to embrace the rain and discomfort. I can't anymore, I hate it. When it's good in Scotland it's great, when it's bad it's shit. It has been mostly shit for the last 3 years. New Zealand, Germany or Spain for me I think.

Buck said...

The weather is always nice in Michaux.

NOT! this summer has been hot as two rats f@cking in a wool sock.

But we do have a good amount of them, and we'd love your company more often.

Had a fairly good race in Michaux last Sunday, parenthood has eaten my fitness, but it is still fun as shit. Pump track season is coming.

Anonymous said...

Thank god I'm not the only one.

I think I prefer winter in this country - you don't expect anything but shit weather, so even a little blue sky is great.

At least I get to Oz for 3 months each year

BMac