Tour de Fleece 2011 - the crash

Yesterday on the Tour de France there was a moment when a spectator stepped out into the road into the mas of cyclists. A great tangle of bicycles and riders literally, piled up, delaying many of the top riders by over a minute.

My first day on the Tour de Fleece didn't go much better.

Thanks to the time difference, I settle down to watch the Tour de France in the pre-dawn light. The rhythm of my wheel counters the banter of the sports castors. I love this event because I get so much spinning accomplished in three short weeks. I suppose I get into a 'zone'.

Yesterday morning a hen came cooing at my window - far too early in the day for a chicken to be out of bed, especially if you consider that I hadn't unlocked the hen house yet. It turns out that someone else had unlocked it for me and helped themselves to a hen, several baby chicks and just about ripped off the head from my mummy chicken!

This hungry bandit was a raccoon.

I spent a great deal of time yesterday nursing mummy hen back to life. She has one chick still alive, so I hope she will pluck up the strength to pull through.

Since yesterday's spinning is so pathetically small, I decided to share a picture of mummy hen instead. I know she looks just awful, but truly, she is doing worlds better than yesterday.

She can open her other eye now and can stand up on her own for almost 20 seconds. She's far more alert but I'm still not certain if she is eating or drinking on her own yet. It's still touch and go, but hens are remarkable creatures, so I have hope.