It's Raining, Let's Go To The Beach

In the canon of "not great ideas I've had" the decision today to drive down to Harris with the bike on the car to go and ride the 50 odd mile loop round South Harris, taking in the 30-35 mile Golden Road to head back north to the car, well it gets straight into the top 5 (alongside things like studying law and mistakenly calling my primary school teacher 'mum').

On the hour and a quarter drive south the rain started as I hit the hills over to Harris. Figuring the rain might have been hanging around at the heights I carried on, and it did get lighter the closer I got to the start point. But the good thing about rides of 'choice' like this is that I can ditch it if its awful. So 6 miles in, the rain had got heavier, and the wind which had been forecast as a south to south-westerly, which would have given a lovely push up the longer, wiggly, Golden Road section of the ride, had turned into a north-easterly meaning the outward, more direct 15 miles would be with a tailwind, the return 35 miles primarily into headwind. And north winds are colder than south winds.

Of course if I'd come to this realisation before having finished a 3 mile descent that would have been great, but decision made to ditch I turned round into the force 10 gale and driving wind and slogged my way back up. Once back at the car I praised myself for the foresight to have put dry clothes into the car - which did mean some quick fire bollock-naked in the rain changing, all the while listening out for approaching cars. Mission accomplished.

The rains kept on for most of the day - abating enough to pop out for a walk on the beach later, then a spin out to Mealasta. But that really was about it.

No new birds (they're all far too sensibly not out and about)
Bird count: 46