As I got in the car this morning I thought I'd better check when I needed to reset my mileometer to achieve the magic 123456 with 789 on the journey mileometer. I had already passed it. God dammit. I guess if I am clever I can reset the journey counter 78.9 miles before the big one and still be in with a chance. But you know that I am going to miss it. And probably 123456 too. What's the point in touring if I can't manage this?
The drive home was fairly uneventful, though the spring sunshine was cheering and I was soon back in the arms of my soon to be wife (as long as she doesn't finally notice what an idiot I am in the next 12 days - after that there is NO WAY OUT)
We got a chance to go out and enjoy Harpenden in the sunshine. The town is surrounded by countryside, but there is also a a large park (the people here are very lucky) and we went for a walk and watched the cool kids flying up and down dangerous looking ramps on their bikes. I was never this kind of adventurous kid and marveled at their lack of fear. There were a few smaller kids going over slightly less perilous ramps on scooters - I told my fiancee that I reckoned I could easily do that, but she wasn't sure. I told her I might come down here tomorrow afternoon on my bike and pretend I am a new kid in town and try and join in with the gang. I would only be caught out if they spotted I was 44 and was totally unable to do any of the stunts. Some people might think a 44 year old man trying to get in with a load of teenage kids by pretending he is a teenager is a creepy thing, but that just shows how sick society it. I would be doing this not for any dirty motives, but merely because I want to stay eternally 14 myself. I am like Michael Jackson. Maybe that wasn't the best simile to choose.
It's been such a full on few months that an hour or so in a park and some time taken out with my partner felt like luxury rather than normality. It's easy to get caught up in our work and frustrations and explode with stress (as I almost did in Liverpool yesterday), but crouching amongst the daffodils in the sunshine watching boys fly through the air on bicycles is all the relief I need. That came out wrong.
