Email from Vietnam, helmets, Out and About

I got two email's from Vietnam last night. The first from my brother in Hanoi who is going to Angkor Wat in Cambodia next week, pleasure not business, although I am not sure I would call golf pleasure, but hey, each to his own :-) .He has been checking out the troubles in the area and thinks that we will be travelling some miles away from the hot spots. The second email was from Saigon, from the Director of the Saigon Children's Charity passing on his thanks to everyone who has kindly sponsored me through my Justgiving web page (www.justgiving.com/jamieurquhartbangkok2saigon). I would also like to add my thanks as well.

The weather here in Cambridgeshire has turned a bit colder, around 13C this afternoon but very pleasantly sunny. I couldn't face my normal "training" run - I have done it a few times over the last few weeks. As the wind was blowing from the East I decided to head out into the wind and then get a push from the wind on the way home. There are quite a few green roads in Cambridgeshire and it is possible to cycle quite a few miles and be clear of traffic. Today the journey included a route from Histon up to Aldreth, mainly on green lanes, around 12Km/7.5miles. Depending upon the recent weather the tracks can be quite tricky so I took (and wore) my cycle helmet. I have fallen off my bike a few times over the last few years (5), most of the falls tend to happen off-road though. I did end up in Casualty one time, a purpose built wooden cycle "bridge" became extremely slippery one icy day.

I do have a helmet and use it when I am going off-road and will take it on the B2S trip. However I certainly do not believe that wearing helmets should be made compulsory. There are many arguments for and against but I believe that it should be the choice of the cyclist. A quick check of a Government Statistics database suggests that in 2002 there were 5,803 Adult pedestrians killed or seriously injured and 1,856 Adult Cyclists killed or seriously injured. So there would be more to be gained by making helmets compulsory for pedestrians, each year it would be more beneficial to larger numbers of people. Of course this is a crazy idea, yet many accept the simplistic view that cyclists should be forced. Given the concerns about obesity and lack of inactivity in the population (of the UK) cycling (along with other physical activities) needs more encouragement.

Rant off, back to the cycle ride. This shows why I cycle, you get to avoid the traffic. As far as I can see there will always be either too much traffic, or petrol (gas)/diesel will cost too much. So you can either sit there or bypass it all. You also get a bit of fresh air, exercise and thinking time.

Not far from the traffic I passed this church glowing in the sunlight, a sprinkling of autumn (fall) leaves already in the churchyard.

This next photograph shows one of the green lanes I cycled along today, a much nicer way of getting from one village to the next compared with the roads. I passed one person walking a dog, one walking alone and saw a couple of tractors out in the fields. I also passed a farm where some loud barking followed me from the other side of the hedge, but the dog did not join me on my side of the track fortunately.

Further on, on the way to Aldreth I came across some leeks already growing in the fields, look at the line of trees on the far side. Somebody planted those trees deliberately to provide that view, I particularly like the way the colours of the leaves contrast.

This picture is made from six pictures of the Aldreth Causeway (green lane) stitched together. Actually the path at either side is the Causeway so to view this properly you should enlarge it, print it out and wrap it round until the path appears straight. Today the path was reasonably dry, but requires more concentration than when cycling on the road as you have to focus on staying in a thin rut. If you don't one or other of the wheels will slip and you run the risk of tumbling into the drainage ditch at the side. When cycling on this type of path I do not allow my shoes to clip into the pedals and yes I have ended up on my back due to lack of concentration.

I did return through Wicken Fen but the wind had died down so instead of getting the benefit of a push I got to take pictures of reflections in the still waters. There is a little dot to the right of the ditch in the middle this picture. It was a hot air balloon taking advantage of the low winds. You could see the balloon light up whenever they turned on the burners to provide more lift.

I did manage to get a little closer to the balloon, this picture shows it drifting over themiddle of Wicken Fen. At one point it looked as if it would land somewhere in the middle of Wicken Fen.

Today's ride was around 72Km/45miles and most of it on green lanes or very quiet roads. it takes longer, it is hard to cycle very quickly on tracks and my legs end up more tired as I stand on the pedals to give more balance. Unusually while typing this, yes the television is on, I got a bit of cramp in my thigh, not something I usually suffer from.