the When Swans Attack ride

the When Swans Attack ride, a photo by rOcKeTdOgUk on Flickr.

"this is either going to be a wash out or an epic ride we talk about for years to come"
well we'll certainly remember the angry swan that had built it's nest about 2 feet from one of the busiest towpaths in the area at this time of year. we set out to visit the mug house, a lovely pub in Worcester using both the B'ham -Worcs and Worcs-Droitwich canal. As written in previous blog entries it's been raining for about a week and the towpath was always going to be muddy but in between the heavy showers the sun came out and it was like a different day so was tolerable. the route isn't exactly challenging so the conditions concentrated the mind even if it slowed us down. we encountered the swan just before Hanbury and fair enough it was guarding 4 eggs in it's nest, i've never seen Ben sprint so fast once he saw how the swan narrowly missed giving me a nasty peck!. i hope it manages to hatch it's brood without too much hassle. we made it to the Mug, the barmaid said we were dirtier than the other biker in the beer garden (add your own innuendo here), the other biker was a twitter pal @evilgordon on his lovely Matt Chester Ti off road fixie. we had a chinwag and beers then set off back towards home. Ben said he felt slightly detached from the bike because of the beer but for once i felt ok. discretion was the better part of valor once back in Droitwich and we took the tarmac route back to give the swan (and our own personal safety) a break. the weather was kinder on the return route and we made it back without harm. so maybe not an epic but certainly a ride to remember
ride 57
34 miles
total 1062
commute 295.5