It may be because Christmas is approaching and the good people of Suffolk are feeling just that – good – but I've noticed a marked improvement in the consideration shown by drivers whilst I am cycling. It could be a tactic to lull me into a false sense of security before the zombies pounce, but it also might just be that Bradley Wiggins has so raised the profile of cycling this year that enough bonhomie has been left for drivers to recognise I actually exist. (It hasn't disappeared entirely – yesterday a zombie pulled into the cycle lane, just a few feet in front of me, rather than brake.) Even with this change, it's still dangerous to let your concentration waver as you ruminate this, that and the other while admiring the starkness of Suffolk in winter.
It can be very Zen-like, cycling. I often try to ponder plot changes to my work as I cycle, but the true benefit comes from letting go of the the everyday and becoming one with the situation. My subconscious is thus left free to play around with ideas while I get on with the business of staying upright and admiring the view. I have lost count of the number of times I have returned to my keyboard after a hour-and-a-half out on the road, to find that the creative muse has been a busy little Trojan and produced all sorts of treasure.
I hope to finish the rewrite of the first part of my WW2 e-book trilogy before Christmas and then I can get onto the joy of playing with a new SF idea. But in much the same way as I don't expect the standard of driving to stay where it is, I'm not holding my breath ...
Don't do stupid – it's just not clever.
Total recorded cycled miles since 21st July 2012: 2099
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