You won't believe this....

There's a saying which goes "the only surefire way to catch a train is to miss the previous one", and I'd like to add my own version, which goes: "The only surefire way of getting up early in the morning is to not go to bed the night before".

Consequently, I looked out of the window at 4:30 this morning and noticed it was getting light. Blimey, I thought, it only got dark 5 minutes ago. So at 5:20am I left the house and went for a walk. There were a few clouds in the sky, fluffy white with red tinges where the sun was trying to get through. A bit chilly, a bit breezy, but very very quiet (what do you expect at that time of the morning?)

I walked and walked, down the Irwell Sculpture Trail which follows the path of a disused canal and a disused railway line. I stopped after a few miles, sat on a bench and smoked a cigarette. I looked at my watch. Still only 6:30am. "This is marvellous", I thought to myself, "the day's hardly started yet and here I am enjoying every moment of it." The path, as expected, was quiet. On the walk out I saw two cyclists. I know it was very early on a Saturday morning, but I live in a city of several (well, a few) million people - you'd have thought more than three of us would have been up and about and getting away from it all.

I walked about 5 miles to the bridge over the motorway. I've no idea how far it was because I didn't take my GPS with me (flat batteries). I didn't take my camera either for the same reason (muct charge them up some time) so I missed the opportunity to take a photo of my long early-morning shadow, or the sun lighting up the tops of the trees and leaving the trunks in the shade. Of course, I can get similar pictures if I go back there when the sun is setting, but it's not the same.

After standing on the bridge over the 8-lane road (and thinking where all those people are going at 7am on a Saturday), and feeling the bridge wobble a bit in the breeze, I turned round and headed for home. On the way back the trail got decidedly busy. I saw a cyclist and a lady riding a horse at the same time. Any more of this and I'll have to fight my way through the crowds.

My legs started aching after 7 or 8 miles, and the last few miles back home were not quite torture, but a bit achy to say the least. I got back home at 8:45am, three and a half hours and probably somewhere in the region of nine or ten miles after leaving.

And boy do I feel good. Mentally, that is. Physically, I'm a wreck. There's a massive blister on my right little toe, and my legs ache all over. But at least I can enjoy the rest of the day in the knowledge that my good deed to myself for the day is done. Hopefully I'll be able to stay awake until a reasonable time this evening and get a good night's sleep at the same time as everyone else (for a change).

You never know, I may feel like going out on the bike tomorrow!