vin_petrol | The Earth Turns...

I had a very pleasant ride out this morning on my VFR750 to watch the sunrise on the solstice. The roads were bone dry and totally deserted, so I was able to *ahem* explore the envelope of its performance :-)
After studying the contour lines on OS maps (I was a boy Scout, you know), I had worked out a spot near Holtby on the A166, but this turned out to be not-very-good, so I rode further East and ended up on Garrowby hill, possibly for the first time ever in daylight hours. There was a nasty thick bank of cloud on the horizon so I didn't see the sun till about 20 minutes after the actual sunrise.
It was very quiet up there, apart from the incessant chatter of the birds, who were very vocal.
A nice ride back too, featuring somebody in a Chrysler Landcruiser attempted to keep up with me, which was entertaining!
I really like the solstice sunrise. I always feel vaguely possessive over the sun when it first appears. It's dim and low down, and the air is quite cool, and for a fleeting moment it's YOUR sun, that you've especially got up to see. The bright sun in the sky later in the day belongs to everyone, and its a faint memory of the one you saw earlier.
Happy Solstice, everyone!