Grey and foreign

There are advantages in becoming older and greyer, or balding for men

One of the aspects of travel overseas which I have never liked is one's inability to blend in with the locals, to become just a part of the environment. It's mainly due to appearance; being typically North European with fair or blond hair and pale skins, Moonface and I have been noticeably different from the locals when we travel in southern Europe and we notice that they notice we are tourists.

It seems to be changing, these days.
On a recent holiday in Southern France, we were twice asked for directions. Perhaps it's because of our age and relaxed attitudes, but that's not happened towards the south, before. Shopkeepers don't seem to put on their special "tourist" voices so much, now, either, and I like the change. Personally I think it's our new appearances. Moonface may be blonde still, but now she's platinum rather than gold. And me, I'm definitely silver. It's nice not to stand out in as foreign.

It also made hitch-hiking easy. Back to our mis-spent youths!

Litespeed ?

The after-effects of last night's cider woke me up early this morning, so I went for an early-morning ride in the woods. My daughter's boyfriend had borrowed a bike from his shop, so I borrowed that in turn. £3000 for a bike !

It was fast, light, titanium and flash, but I didn't enjoy riding it as much as my £200 old singlespeed, which is a challenge, slower and makes me sweat more. On the other hand, I did manage to cycle clear over a log that has always blocked my way, until this morning.