Went for a bike ride yesterday, to Hertford via Harpenden, Kimpton and Codicote, and back via Hatfield and St Albans: total distance 42 miles. It started out dry but cold, but I was well wrapped up, so only my feet felt it. In Hertford, I had a pint and lunch at The Woolpack, and another pint at the Old Cross Tavern,, and bought three books at the Oxfam bookshop.
By the time I left Hertford, it had got a bit less cold, but had started to rain, and continued to do so all the way home: my feet and wooly hat were soon soaked. I went into the Galleria in Hatfield, and discovered a whole other section of it behind the main section, containing a cinema and "restaurants" (McDonalds and Burger King and the like, hence the inverted commas), reached by a bridge section. I've visited it dozens of times over the years, and have only just discovered that!
It was dark when I left, and I had to cycle along the Alban Way, most of which is unlit, to St Albans. Fortunately, my lights are reasonably powerful, but it was quite an eery experience, especially when some idiot cycling the other way without lights suddenly appeared out of the shadows and scared the shit out of me.
I recently passed my annual mileage target for 2018 of 1,500 miles, and am now trying to reach 1,600. This jaunt helped - I'm now at 1,567. I may go for another ride on Boxing day, to knock off the last 33 miles.
