I'm afraid I must be terribly British and talk about the weather again. Not to moan about bad weather, more to frame a couple of excellent days last weekend. Perhaps typically for this time of year, the weather is dominated by low-pressure systems coming in off the atlantic in a conveyer-belt effect. About 3 or 4 days out of 5 there will be some rain, and some days are quite wild, with strong wind (including gales) and big dark skies. This really serves to emphasise the other days; when it is clear, it is very very clear, in that way reserved for crisp wintry days, and it is inspiring by contrast. On some days it requires willpower to go out; others it would to stay in.

Last Friday I went out for a run before visiting the gym. The intention was to run for about 10km, which takes less than an hour, but the night was so clear that rather than returning home just after sunset, I kept going "just a little bit further", until I had run around town for about 2 hours (a nice tour of some of our hills) and still found it hard to make myself stop.

On Saturday it seemed nice again, although there was now a little wind, and I went off for a bike ride. I've not been out much recently—since I cycled back from Auchterarder, the longest ride was to and from the Pentlands for a run. Anyway, on Saturday I cycled out through Musselburgh to Prestonpans, and back via Portobello and Leith, maybe 30 miles. An excellent day out along the coast, the views over the water back to Edinburgh were excellent, as well as across to Fife.

Now I must pop out and get a run in.