Green Cottage

I’ve been doing a fair bit of cycling recently – last week I did a 22 mile circuit in the pouring rain up to the Entwistle Reservoir (absolutely soaked to the skin but utterly invigorated), and today I went up to the top road to Edenfield to have a look at Scout Moor wind farm. I didn’t actually get right up close to the turbines, I’m saving that challenge for a future occasion. The weather for today’s trip was beautiful, so I took a few photos unlike last week.

Cycling is an amazing experience – you notice all sorts of things you don’t in the car. Smells are one thing – in the rain last week, all the lovely wet smells of the countryside came through, and I could smell coal or wood burning as I passed through villages, which seemed to vary with the level of affluence (more wood in wealthier areas, more coal in working class areas).

Today, so many people had a smile for me – from other cyclist to walkers and dog walkers. There seems to be something about cycling which means you can have a friendly interaction with others in a way that car travel precludes.

It was really hard work, both last week and today, but reaching the foothills of the wind farm today was really exhilarating – just the knowledge that I had made it under my own steam, and that the electricity from the turbines was very likely supplying a bit of my house somewhere in the mix. The 4×4 occupants cruising past in their hermetically sealed isolation could never know these thoughts and feelings. And the exercise and fresh air itself gave me a real high, as well as landscapes which, despite being so close to home, I had never seen before. I’m really enjoying these local adventures, they give a real sense of achievement. I’m going to run out of possibilities at some stage though, as bikes are not allowed on the Greater Manchester tram system, so I am limited to places within reach of home. Still, all part of the challenge I suppose!!