A very pleasant, if almost wintry, clear, starry autumn night's cycling.
Having checked the forecast which suggested a relatively brisk, but not too cold, minimum of 9C, I decided to don my legwarmers (first outing since last winter), and put my armwarmers in my jersey pocket for the return run.
Feeling the temperature on a quick walk to the garage and back to fetch the bike, I decided I should be fine in mitts. This was a mistake. By the three mile point, my fingers were already starting to feel it. It became apparent that the temperature was more like 5C or 6C, and I really should've brought my full finger gloves.
Arrival at the pub was more than welcome for finger defrosting, and I wasn't disappointed - a very nice classic pub interior complete with a wood fire and 6 different hand-pull ales on offer greeted us (
Rib, Bateman's Dark Mild, Over the Moon, Hurricane, Firefly Bitter and one other which I didn't spot which ran out shortly after we arrived).
It still took a while before the feeling returned to my fingers, but the pain was soon forgotten in the chat and the beer appreciation. They even had a jar of Mrs Semolina's Curiously Pickled Eggs. Auntie Helen had foolishly filled up on chocolate fudge cake, and so didn't feel able to manage a pickled egg. OD and I partook, of course.
For the return journey,
OD's Magic BagTHE LUGGAGE
TM came to the rescue with a spare pair of long finger gloves to go over my mitts, which made for a much more pleasant ride home.
I can thoroughly recommend the Prince of Wales - fantastic pub.
(PS - the collection of old signage that decorates the pub also extends into the gents :-
)
