Freshly shaved

Glasgow - Strathblane - Balloch - Glasgow
48 miles

I noticed this morning; after sneezing a while, looking outside to see the bowling greens covered in frost and then as I was cycling down a hill on the last part of my commute, that cycling in a cold wind is comparable to the feeling just after one has been wet shaved. That fresh sensation of feeling the chilled air entering deep into your pores. Invigorating as long as frost bite doesn't set in: be aware of numbness!

I'm now pretty sure that last week saw the final outing on the bike in summer clothes, allbeit wearing a lot of them at the same time. I enjoyed the old route up to Strathblane and over to Balloch aside the very disagreeable state of the roads: they feel like they haven't been attended to in decades and judging by the impending cuts, won't be for the foreseeable future. I smiled as the sun shone hard though, and the Campsies turned into the Trossachs before disappearing behind me. I thought about how thin a country Scotland is. I also considered the destroyer which was due for completion very soon and as I passed Yoker and into Partick it became obvious I had just missed the launch by a few minutes - its deck just visible and horizontal for the first time.