Kilmurry recce
Thoughts of doing my (slowburn!) planned cycle to Toonsbridge with the surprisingly nice weather latterly on Tuesday, or at least the "outbound" leg. Left it rather too "latterly", so by the time I was chatting to a man outside the pub in Crookstown, he was even more skeptical about the idea than I was. So, was by then scaling back ambitions to maybe just cycle up to Kilmurry, down to the road that leads around the south of the lake to make sure I knew where I was going, then off to the right and back the main road, maybe 60-70k or so. Well, as it turns out, a scouting mission really was required, since I ended up going badly wrong someplace after Kilmurry, and ending up in Teerelton. I'd actually seen the signs, but hadn't quite twigged "no, not actually supposed to be going there". Decided at that point I might as well press on to Kilmichael, which would at least be a straightforward(ish) way back, and not as soul-destroying as backtracking, which seemed to be the only other real alternative. Especially as I'd be backtracking to the turnoff I'd missed when it was only a bit dark, or yet further, or into entirely unknown territory. Didn't seem to be that much to KM2. Signpost, tried not to be too depressed at how the "distance to Macroom" number wasn't much smaller than the "Dunmanway" on. Right turn, onwards. Fairly speedy going, at least, trending downhill and a decent road. Suddenly I was outside a pub... Oh, not Toonsbridge. I paused to ask a smoker and/or exiter where I was... Ended up in a rather longer chat with rather more his garrulous friend. By the time I got moving again, it was almost immediately clear where I was... the junction with the road I'd intended to come, just after it crosses the river. Second sammich stop at the Spar in Lissarda. That was also cue for my bikeputer to take most of the rest of the night off. In better news, Aldi is selling wireless ones again on Sunday. So hopefully I can resume complaining about a different one shortly. Not suffering too badly on the way back, or afterwards. Just... drained. Must have been around 91, 92k, adding on the distance back from that spot. So, second time cycling 90k in a day... and second time not meaning to!
Didn't have the energy to go on an AO cycle Thursday, and the weather wasn't thrilling, anyway. Nicer Friday, and shamed into at least a token trundle up Corbally Cross. Even more sillily late, though. Only attempt at photography of the astro- sort. There's supposed to a a "spectular" conjunction of Jupiter and Venus soon, but mainly I'm thinking "wow, doesn't Venus look spectularly brighter than Jupiter?" Had a notion to come back a different way, and took the first right after the fork. That's a weirdly narrow and twisty little lane. Might have been better to go exploring in some sort of daylight! Doesn't help that it's pretty steep, and my brakes are... in need of attention. A couple of places I wondered if wasn't on a road per se at all, but periodically it got a bit wider again. And the intermittent houses were a reassurance, too. The 'puter was dead as a doornail right from the start, so the only data I was able to salvage was the traditional Marymount to the Cross time. 24m39s. Fair bit better than my tortuous attempt after coming back from Germany, at least.