Time.
Followed by energy/health, enthusiasm/motivation, and, of course, the weather.

The first is essential.  And obviously also fleeting.  The following three are factors with varying degrees of importance, possibly descending in such in that order.  Debatably.

If I get all four things together, then I’ll go riding.  Possibly with just two of the lesser factors on offer even.  But if, as is all too often the case, I can’t get it together, the chances are I also don’t have it together enough to be writing.  It’s sort of a binary thing.  Since riding is, surprise surprise, my priority, when I do get it together, I get out there, and when I come back in, I’ve probably run out of at least one of those things and so writing doesn’t happen then either.  So there has, of late, been a paucity of paragraphs, a shortage of sentences, and my words have been found wanting…

However today I went for a coffee run to Glastonbury with Alan, although my Garmin is denying all knowledge of that fact, which is verging on the irritating.  I had the time – it’s my day off.  The weather was, and is, fairly nice – sunny, bright, although a bit chilly & rather windy.  I was relatively enthusiastic – Alan has been off piste for a little while – and I’ve been missing the motivation that going to be riding in company gives me to get out there.  Plus I needed to get some miles in, company is good, and the coffee at Heaphy’s is my favourite locally.  However, as for the energy/health thing?  Well it turns out I didn’t have as much of that as I thought I did.  I struggled…*sigh*

Some days the tank is full, sometimes it’s half empty, and sometimes you’re into the reserve tank.  I wish I knew which it was going to be beforehand!  But then maybe last week’s unexpected zone ride wouldn’t have been so good.  And then maybe I wouldn’t have gone out today, and that would have been bad.  So I went out.  And ok, so it wasn’t great, but I’m still glad I went 🙂

In the meantime, though I still have time, I am all out of energy, I could use some painkillers, and my enthusiasm for doing anything at all is waning, even if I could do anything!  So I think I’ll make the most of the weather…if you want me, I’ll be curled up on the sofa, enjoying the sunshine, in the conservatory.   With my kindle, possibly a cat if it suits one of them to keep me company, and, who knows, maybe later on, something cold and medicinal.  Laters y’all 🙂

Cycling time: 1:41
Distance: 28.2 miles
ODO: 11219.9 miles