Today was a thoroughly relaxing day. I knew I didn't need to do anything at any particular time when I arranged for breakfast at 8am. That's probably the right time for tomorrow too. I'll be ready to leave before I eat, so I think I should be able to get on the road by nine. That's always seemed to be a reasonable time for me - I've sometimes wished I was an earlier starter, but I certainly don't have any heat issues to deal with here, so I'm just going to go with the flow!
So, back to breakfast. I was asked if I wanted the full Irish breakfast. Of course I had to ask what this is before I could reply. Full Irish = bacon, sausage, eggs, potato bread, mushrooms, and grilled tomatoes. I said yes to the full Irish - but requested it without the meat. Then I found out that there was also cereal, orange juice, grapefruit sections, and stewed prunes (or wait, aren't we supposed to call those dried plums now?) waiting for me at the table, and Devaina brought me toast and a pot of tea while the rest of my breakfast was cooking! I don't think breakfasts are going to be an issue here - eggs for protein (probably too many... ), and cereal and toast for carbs - that should provide the fuel I need!
Even though I had a full night's sleep last night, I was still feeling pretty sluggish, so I took a two-hour nap after breakfast. Hopefully those couple of extra hours won't screw me up when I try to sleep tonight!
OK, time to put my bike together. One of the neighbors came over to chat as I was doing my magic act of pulling a bicycle out of a suitcase. She and her husband live in what used to be the servants quarters to this house. Looks like a perfectly reasonable place to live, and it's right on the lake too!
I had a bit of a scare when I opened the bike case. I had stashed my pedals in a small felt bag - and the bag was empty. I could have said "oops, I forgot my pedals" but I knew I put them in the case. When I pack the bike I dis-assemble it and pack it in the same place, so it would have been obvious if I'd forgotten the pedals. It turned out that they had fallen out of the felt bag and were underneath the bike frame. A little odd since the felt bag started out under the bike, and ended up on top of the bike - but then again I remember the airline throwing the bike case on the conveyor belt upside down! I was pretty sure the case hadn't been opened since everything else looked like it did when I packed it, there wasn't a note on or in the bag from the TSA, and I know that all checked baggage at Logan Airport is Xray-screened. I have to admit that the thought that the case was opened did go through my mind, although I don't know why anyone would take a loose pair of pedals. Before I found the pedals in the bottom of the case I started thinking about how (where?) I could pick up a set of pedals, since it's impossible to ride a bike without them. Oh wait, I remember seeing an antique bike that was propelled by bouncing on a platform between the two wheels, no pedaling needed - but my bike doesn't work like that! No problem - I have the pedals!
See, I didn't make that up. Here's a picture of a 1935 Ingo-Bike, which is propelled by bouncing on the platform between the wheels. They were manufactured by Ingersoll-Rand from 1934 to 1937, and I actually saw one demonstrated at a rally where there were a number of antique bike demonstrations. This one is pretty funky, and I'd say more of a scooter than a bike. But still, it was among the antique bicycles... Photo courtesy of The Owls Head Transportation Museum
Tony put together a loop ride for me to do today, but he said it was about 40 miles, and that was a bit longer than I wanted for a lazy day. Instead I did an out and back ride following the tail end of his route. I headed to Florence Court where there is a National Trust site with an old manor house and grounds. The house was built between 1756 and 1764. I wandered around the grounds for a while and soaked in the sunshine. It was a cool and mostly cloudy day, but when I got there the sun decided to visit for a bit. That felt nice. And I managed to remember to ride on the left side of the road. It still feels very odd to me, but I'm happy that the bike obeyed! The ride was very pleasant on narrow and gently rolling roads, with very green fields and hills and lots of cows and sheep for conversations. (You do know that I talk to the animals I see, don't you?) There was also a very well-behaved and leashed dog hanging out in the courtyard at Florence Court. He was quietly watching everyone while waiting for his person to bring him a nice cold bowl of water.
While I was enjoying the views at Florence Court I met a very precocious little boy on a bike. I chatted with his parents and grandmother too, but his questions came first. They came so fast it was hard to answer them, hard get a word in between his! His questions... how do you brake on your bike? What's that (pointing to my bike computer)? Is it a clock? He was fascinated and cycled through the functions several times. What's that (pointing at my pump)? How do you shift your bike? Can you do a wheelie? Do you ride with a sweet in your mouth? And of course this last question was followed by him sticking his tongue out to show me the hard candy in his mouth. I managed a couple of questions of my own at the end - I asked him where his helmet was (it was in his mother's hand!), to which he replied that he didn't need one. And I asked if he could do a wheelie. He said he couldn't, but that some of his friends could. I loved his enthusiasm, and I hope he doesn't fall on his head before he or his parents decide that he really does need that helmet! I spent a bit of time talking with the adults who were with him after he tired of playing question and answer. They were curious about my bike and my trip...
I only saw one other cyclist on the road today (besides the little boy who really wasn't on the road), and I didn't actually see him riding. His bike was leaning on a fence, and he was leaning on the fence too - smoking a cigarette. Those two activities really don't go together that well!
I got back from my ride at about 3:30 and decided it would be smart to check on restaurant hours for tonight. It's Sunday, and I figured I needed to be careful since this is a tiny town and things tend to close earlier on Sundays. I ended up going for an early dinner - at 4:30. I was ready to eat, and that allowed me to order off the lunch menu, which was a bit cheaper even though they were serving full meals. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to be craving fresh vegetables before I get back home again. I had fish for dinner, which was supposed to come with chips. All of the other meals came with "fresh vegetables and the chef's choice of potatoes". Of course the vegetables caught my eye, so I asked the waitress to switch to the other side dishes. The vegetables turned out to be very overcooked grated carrots, grated broccoli, and cheese-covered cauliflower. I prefer my vegetables lightly steamed or sauteed, almost raw! The good thing was that the mashed potatoes were great, and the meal came with a salad too. More food than I needed. And I finished up with a scoop of mint-chocolate chip ice cream. That was good, and the amount I wanted - rather than the restaurant's standard 3 scoops! Maybe if I'd done more miles today 3 scoops would have worked for me (I rather doubt it based on past trips), but today just one scoop hit the spot!
It took me until the end of the day today to do what I said I'd do last night - to stash my loose change in different places so I could easily pull out the right kind of money (pound sterling vs. Euros - I've stashed my US coins in a totally out-of-the-way spot) depending on which side of the border I'm on. I noticed that the one-pound and two-pound coins have writing around the edges instead of having a smooth or ribbed / patterned edge. The one-pound coin says "DECUS ET TUTAMEN" - anyone know what that means? And the two-pound coin says "STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS". Now I'm going to have to keep an eye on the coins I get to see if there are any other sayings.
Update on September 14th: Brian Huntley very nicely satisfied my curiosity about the writing on the coins. Here's the translation he supplied: "Decus et Tutamen" is Latin and is a clever reference - it means "An Ornament and a Safeguard." And "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" is a partial quote by Sir Isaac Newton, who, in a rare humble moment, said "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants" (implying his work was build on the work of the physicists and mathematicians who came before him.) Many thanks to Brian for the translations!
Before I fell asleep last night at the very early but travel-induced time of 8:30, I noticed that was just starting to get dark. I have no idea where Ireland falls in its time zone, so I don't know if the difference in daylight (it's getting dark by 7:30 now at home) is due to Ireland being on the west side of a time zone or whether its due to how far north it is. I'll have to look at a world map when I get home - I believe that Ireland is either at the same level or further north than Newfoundland. I won't complain about extra daylight at the end of the day!
