The aftermath

Riding into work yesterday was marvelous. The spooky mist. The chilled, slightly diesel-scented air. The chance to see the sun come up for the first time in months. Coughing the clag up from the very bottom of my lung sacs.

The ride home was not so crash hot. I was planning on taking a detour and going the long way, but as soon as I "assumed the position" on the bike, I got a headache at the base of my skull. It didn't get any better as I went on, so I took the shortest path home and put my feet up.

My head was splitting when I woke up this morning. I don't know what it was, but something threw my neck out something fierce. That's the lingering effect of whiplash - the neck can be fine for weeks, then I'll turn the wrong way at the wrong time, and the whole thing goes guts-up. I took a handfull of pills and tried to sleep through it. I had colours moving around behind my eyelids, and a constant tone in one ear - not a ringing of bells, but more a single note from a synthesiser with a finger not lifted for hours.

There are two possibilities that I can think of. The first is that using a laptop is not for me. I think I spent all day hunched over a dinky little keyboard, squinting at a small screen. That could have done it.

The second is that I had to lug a backpack in, and I have not worn a heavy pack for a year or so.

I am hoping the first problem will be resolved by a new laptop that is supposed to be on the way, along with external mouse and keyboard and lifty thingy that props it up so that the screen is at eye level.

If that doesn't do the trick, I'll have to buy panniers for the bike. I don't want to, as it's the equivalent of putting a tow bar on a sports car. It can be done, but it's not a good look.

At present, I am hoping that I got enough sleep today to allow me to get up before dawn and ride for a few hours in the morning. What better way to spend Sunday morning is there?