Have you seen our mummy?

Today had been targeted for a bike ride but I almost didn't make it after suffering a back spasm while pumping up tyres this morning. I left not knowing whether it was going to be a three-minute or a three-hour ride. As it turned out, sitting in the saddle was more comfortable than standing up and I reasoned that the exercise would be good for it. It felt slightly better on getting back home.

It's been shorts weather on the bike this last week, but today was marginal. I couldn't bring myself to revert back to winter kit so I braved it. For the most part, I stayed warm enough, until Malham Moor, which is always a few degrees colder. My hands and feet got chilled and never warmed up again, despite keeping up a good pace all the way home. I always find it hard to choose between the inevitability of being too cold or too hot on the bike at this time of year. It's always either one or the other. There's not enough room in my pockets for all the layers I need, and once I'm riding I'm averse to stopping to faff around with kit. 

As I was climbing out of Arncliffe I spotted two baby lambs by the roadside, cuddled up together all on their own. They showed no fear of me at all as I carefully approached them. I was a little concerned to see them without their mother in attendance. They only got spooked as I got within inches to check that they were okay, at which point they gambolled away. They approached the sheep you can see in the picture here and seemed to ask if she'd seen their mother. They exchanged just a few bleats and they were both off, skipping away across the fell in their effort to find her. I hope they did.