Yesterday I set out with the best of hopes, but within a quarter of a mile I knew I’d made a mistake. The wind was just too fierce and I wasn’t enjoying the ride. I turned back and cut back the brambles overhanging the pavement from the churchyard instead. It was a pity as I had hoped to use the ride to buy a couple of useful items, but I ordered them online instead.

A few weeks ago I started the season with a short ride. I had planned to go over the Mendips and decide how far I wanted to go after that. Getting up into the hills proved more exhausting than I expected so I decided to give that idea up. Rather than going over the hills I decided to stay the same side and headed toward Burrington instead. I then went through Wrington to Redhill and took the surprisingly hilly road round the back of the airport and made my way home via Dundry, walking where the going got too steep. I felt humiliated and hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come.

The next ride was more reassuring, with Gillingham as the destination. It had an added bonus as I found myself passing the Farris works on the way. I popped in and bought some gluten-free wafers. I felt pleased to have put the journey to good use. On the way back I had faggots and mash in a pub called The Smithy. This is a particularly friendly old-fashioned local where the staff and punters all know each other.

The previous time I called I'd listened to a really knowledgeable structural engineer talking about the follies of modern building practices. I’m no expert, but as an engineering technician in a former life I recognised the apparently forgotten principles on which buildings work. Roofs are not meant to be waterproof, for instance. They are meant to be ventilated and the tiles are arranged to deflect water onto the one below until it is deflected off the edge, usually into the gutter or perhaps sufficiently far from the foundations to flow away across the ground without undermining the structure. To me that’s just common sense and it has enabled me to fix leaks builders and roofers couldn’t, because they were trying to seal the structure rather than realign it. This man made huge sense and clearly knew his stuff.

On the latest occasion he wasn’t there but I had interesting conversations with the others about where I’d been and where I was going, which were ultimately the same place as it was a there-and-back trip.

Then last week I went down to Taunton and turned back on the edge of the town. It was rush hour and I wanted to find a quiet way back. I did and went up to Bridgwater in the hope of finding an Indian restaurant as that was what I fancied. There are Indian restaurants in Bridgwater but, as a stranger, I didn't know where to look for them. I really should have asked someone, but I didn't, so I finished up with a poor curry in a cheap pub instead. It wasn’t really enough and I’d have got more calories in a proper place. The two naans were the smallest you’ll ever have seen and they weren’t even fresh or warm. It filled half a hole but I really needed more food than that. I refilled my bottle at a water fountain provided for the purpose outside and set off again and, with the help of the biscuits I’d brought with me made my way home.

It was good to get out into the country again and to ride round a bit. It’s good to escape the cares of modern life on a trusty form of transport, though the bike needs a little attention at present. The new chainset I fitted in the autumn still needs re-tightening every 100 miles or so. That limits the distance and I hope it will improve eventually. It seems to be the only make of three-speed chainset which will fit my bike so I have little choice of something better. Then there’s the adjustable handlebar stem which has worn with age. If I don’t get that really tight every 50 miles the bars start to wobble. Fortunately I can keep a small Allen key handy for that one but it won’t get any better. I’ve got an alternative on order, fixed as I don’t really need to adjust the angle and a fixed one should be more robust.

Next week the wind should drop a little and I hope to get out again, but time will tell.