fresh air

Did I say that this was the first time I’d been out for months and months?

I was wrong.

Back in May, I did actually go out one night to post a letter.

But I felt so bad about it that I think I deleted it from my memory.

I never told Ruffy I’d been out. He would not have approved.

Since then, I’ve been very sensible.

I stayed indoors all the rest of May.

And all of June.

And all of July up till now.

But now Ruffy says it’s all right to go out on my bicycle.

I didn’t feel sure about it, but finally I took the plunge, and it was wonderful to be out.

Fresh air! A breeze! Sunshine on my fur!

I headed to the edge of town.

I decided to cycle round the Ring Road.

Because it’s a Ring, I knew that I couldn’t get lost.

It would be sure to bring me back to where I started.

It turns out that it’s more of a hoop than a ring, definitely a bigger circle than I’d realised.

It was good to get some exercise.

I have been doing my yoga, and I’m not a person who just sits watching the telly.

(In fact, I don’t have a telly. But I sometimes sit and watch the wireless.)

But I haven’t really been very active.

At last I was able to give my legs a good stretch.

I felt years younger! At least at the start.

It wasn’t all plain sailing, though.

I was so excited to be out, that sometimes I was looking around me more than was safe.

They could put up polite signs saying “Please don’t cycle here”, instead of setting traps.

Even where you are allowed to cycle, the roads and cycle tracks are not always in a good condition.

I quite often had to lift my bicycle out of a pot-hole.

This is exercise for all muscle groups.

I got hot and tired. It would have been wise to take some water with me.

I stopped a couple of times to rest.

First in the shade of a lamp post.

But I thought I’d better make some progress, so on I went.

Eventually I found a very nice park and had a bit of a sit-down, and maybe a snooze.

After that I was ready for more pedalling.

My legs were aching, but I carried on till they got too wobbly to pedal.

Then I got off and pushed all of the rest of the way home.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired in the whole of my life.

I had intended to phone my friends as soon as I got in, to tell them about my adventure.

But I just sat down and drank about ten thimbles of water,

and then I fell asleep and didn’t wake up again till just now.

I feel quite well, so I don’t think I’ve caught the Virus.

Though I’ll have to be alert and watch out for symptoms.

No fever, no cough, and the water tasted just as usual.

So far so good.