trois cols, colline verte et un renard

at 20 degrees and sunny it was too nice an evening to do chores, so the grass remained uncut and i took the road bike out for a spin instead. This was a compact ride, not a great distance but I tried to pack a few climbs in on the way.
It nearly ended half a mile from home though as a cyclist and  her son crossed without looking from the pavement into the road in front of me, luckily for all concerned i was paying attention and was able to stop, If i had been a motor vehicle I think there would have been some serious injuries.
relieved not to have been involved in a RTA i rode up and over the Col d' Lickey, the col de Clent including St Kenelms pass, the Col de télévision before a final ascent up colline verte to finish.
So quite strenuous but good fun, only marred by the near miss and wearing too dark a lens on my sunglasses as with the sun flickering through the hedgerows it was difficult to see the state of the road on the descents, especially when i went from brightly lit to shaded parts. I hit a few unseen potholes that unnerved me slightly and i resorted to not wearing glasses in the end and put up with streaming eyes from the speed just to be able to see hazards ahead.
the final incident came 2 miles from home where, if i had been a split second slower the fox that ran out in front of me whilst i was sprinting up a short incline would have had a nasty impact with my wheel. It seems it was an evening of things throwing themselves in front of me!
ride 44
22 miles
total 728
commute 212