January goes out with a bluster and I buy a bicycle

It has been a mad twenty-four hours here at Camping Roquetas! The

Windy Roquetas beach 

wind started strengthening yesterday afternoon so my afternoon jog was reduced to a power walk in one direction along the beach. I positively flew back the other way though. Then, through the evening, the wind just got stronger and stronger until we could feel Bailey frequently shuddering from the strongest gusts. We hardly had any sleep due to the noise and the wind kept up until after lunchtime today. Now, at half past four, there's not a breath of breeze and the sun is spectacularly hot again. Weird! Dave's favourite weather report website said the wind speed had been about 70km per hour and the gusts were much more. We were lucky to only lose a small blue dishcloth, but the German couple next door have had to take down their canopy which ripped in several places. Another motorhomer opposite seems to have lost his whole sun shade awning - even though it was secured with storm straps. Scary stuff.

We struggled down to the beach this morning to try and get some photos but I'm not sure the gustiness comes across. Certainly the sea was not as wild as we expected.

A couple of days ago 

This morning 

In good news, I have done Yet More Shopping! I sold my Giant bike as part of our pre-house sale clearout way back in August and got a pretty good price for it. I had also already sold on my Brompton folder because I completely lost my cycling nerve again once I stopped regular cycle commuting. A very brief and scary attempt to ride a tricycle on Ile De Re reinforced my assumption that I'd probably never cycle again, but I have been feeling bad about it, particularly jealous of carefree cyclists. We could save so much on short journey diesel! Then yesterday, during a trip to Decathlon to get Dave a new fleece, we saw a selection of cheapish Bfold bikes in lovely garish colours - and I tried riding one up and down the aisles - and I didn't panic - and my stomach didn't do that flip thing it did the last however many times I've tried cycling - and the friendly shop assistant gave me a free set of lights - and my credit card worked - and I wheeled my new bike out of the shop! Yesterday I zoomed around the campsite a couple of times, before the wind got up too much. Today Dave and I have been for our first bicycle ride together in years! And it was not at all scary!

New bike! 

P.S. Dave looks fab in his new fleece.