The Last Mud Run Home

It's getting dark at 6 now, so Friday was probably the last chance to cycle home along the canal in fading daylight. I wouldn't normally do it in the rain - this is supposed to be a little treat to myself to mark the end of the week - but as there's only ever one last chance I decided to take it despite the increasing gloom and the possibility of droplets becoming drops.

One advantage of a wet, dark evening ride on the canal is that I have the whole linear feature to myself - except for the wildlife. I startled a couple of moorhens, which skittered off low across the water leaving their little trails of ever-increasing circles on the surface. One heron turned the tables, startling me by jumping out of the bank near me, and flying off.

So that's it for the canal or the river on a weekday. I have cycled home along the towpath in the dark once. Getting to the start was an adventure in itself, the lane to the bridge being in poor condition and it's easy to miss the edge of the tarmac and end up in a hedge. Getting along a darkened towpath is easier with bike lights turned off, so that you don't burn a bright spot into your retina. If there's some moonlight or scattered reflections from cloud, you can see enough from that glow. Not that that stopped me falling over, my head a couple of inches from the edge of the water.

I think cycling home along the canal in the dark is something to be done once. However, I am yet to cycle home along the riverside path in the dark. That could be another adventure entirely.