Are you cold today?

Posted on 29th Apr 2015 by essiep

4°C clear start.
Do you feel the cold more if your family is from Africa, or southern Asia? Many pupils at school think so. They all had anecdotes about their families at home who run the heating at home on high. Some wear warm, woolly clothes right into high summer. They suggest it’s genetic!
I suppose it’s a form of ‘soft racism’ but they would be horrified to consider its association with that word. I offered the idea that we can acclimatise to a country’s climate, but they thought race was the real reason.
There is much distortion in the meaning of the word ‘racist’. I would be surprised to hear that feeling cold has a genetic cause. However, I am prepared to change that belief.
Evidence anyone?

Hard soil, Cyclocross.

Posted on 26th Apr 2015 by essiep

I rode Cyclocross with MapMyRide+! Distance: 43.6mi, time: 03:38:57, pace: 5:01min/mi, speed: 11.96mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/958793413
Developed yesterday’s route, including that trail loop. It includes a steep, short descent with am immediate right turn. I nearly lost it on that curve since the surface is loose.
Later, went north to the nature reserve near Bank. There too, the soil was dry and cracked which hammered my arms and shoulders. See the photo.

Though the ride was only 44 miles, it felt more like 60. Look at the duration for a comparison.

Disused railways.

Posted on 25th Apr 2015 by essiep

10°C, brisk NW, grey sky and the rain has finished for now.

I rode Cyclocross with MapMyRide+! Distance: 19.3mi, time: 01:41:30, pace: 5:16min/mi, speed: 11.4mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/957677509

Took a familiar route on canals and disused railway tracks. For variety, there are side tracks that are rideable including this one in the photo. It’s a rail bridge that is closed off, rather crudely with tree trunks. You can see over if you climb up, but there is only farmland beyond.
This track looks like trail bikes have hewn a route in footpaths. They undulated so that it was almost possible to propel yourself along by pushing the bars up and down like a kid’s rocking horse.
Finding places like this is the great thing about cyclocross.

That ride makes the week’s total 189 miles. I don’t feel that tired either. That means my fitness is good.

Cold dry start.

Posted on 19th Apr 2015 by essiep

I rode Fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 50.1mi, time: 03:08:57, pace: 3:46min/mi, speed: 15.9mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/949380413
Cold dry start with light breeze from the north. Quite a contrast with yesterday’s blazing sunshine. I ducked out of Bannister Hill but went up Dalton instead.
Decent ride overall but sad to see roadkill hares. Both were males, probably full of young enthusiasm for the spring. Oh, the needless destruction. I despair.

Yesterday’s sunset on Formby beach. That sky was clear right down to the horizon. Breathtaking.

Long shadows

Posted on 18th Apr 2015 by essiep

15°C, no wind, no cloud either.
Spectacular weather, not a cloud right down to the horizon. Even the usual haze near the horizon was minimal.

We watched two men on horseback ride by. One said “he’s going” and they broke into a gallop. As they thundered and chuffed by, the sound echoed. The echo was strange, it twanged in one direction, at a right angle to the sand ripples. They must have picked up the sounds at wavelengths that match the ripples in the photo.

Long shadows near to sunset cart long shadows. Even small surface forms stand out. This part of the beach reminds me of a fingerprint. If I get time later, I will run part of this site through a fingerprint reader.
Oh, hold on. I don’t have one.

Brown-field site.

Posted on 17th Apr 2015 by essiep

12°C, dry with white cloud and weak easterly.
I love this time of year. My fascination for the inner city wasteland is greatest now until June.

Here is the first shoots of artimesia absinthium, (or is it vulgaris). This plant still holds its spell, not just because Chernobyl day is soon. The photo was taken in Walsall on the site of a demolished factory near work. They like sandy, slightly acidic soil and are most easily found on brown-field sites.
If only they would grow in my garden. The soil is too rich after all my efforts to feed it with compost.
The continuing recession should give these plants a chance to flower and set seed. That patch of land is for sale but there are no indications of a buyer yet. I expect it will be bought by a developer who builds tiny flats as “affordable homes”.
For me, there is always a little disappointment when these plots are dug up.

0.8 miles: POP!

Posted on 9th Apr 2015 by essiep

17°C, milky sun and no wind.
Started out on the Jake with the commuting wheels fitted. They have Schwalbe Durano tyres for the fast but puncture resistance. Less than a mile out a sharp high pop rang out. Instantly the front tyre was flat as I made a right-turn on a busy A road.
Rather than fix it there, I walked back to get the other bike.
Here is the puncture:

Part of the tube is actually missing. Looks to me like the tube was pinched inside the rim and chose a bad moment to burst.

I rode fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 36.04mi, time: 02:15:09, pace: 3:45min/mi, speed: 16.00mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/935796653
Plan B, grab the fixed bike, the Paddy Wagon and rode the same route. For only the second time this year I got up Bannister Hill. This time was on the higher 42×16 gear. No serious struggle today.
Those wheels are brilliant. So fast and nimble.
later: it turns out that the climb up Bannister Hill was my personal record 9′.08″.
Bask!

Drying mud.

Posted on 8th Apr 2015 by essiep

17°C, sun and negligible wind. Dry.

I rode CX with MapMyRide+! Distance: 18.4mi, time: 01:47:20, pace: 5:51min/mi, speed: 10.3mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/931767171
Better weather brings dry air and warm sun. Each day sees the ground becoming dryer and firmer.
I alternated rides this week on the CX and fixed bikes. Each is getting faster.
Today, the canals were less busy, only a few lonely anglers and couples walking dogs. Between them, I built up the speed reaching 17mph along some towpaths. It still requires considerable concentration, but there is less squelching around in black mud and nervously negotiating bridge cobbles.

The bike has thin mud at the back, but some of it smells of dog shit.

Meanwhile, the rest of the country basks in sunshine.

Posted on 6th Apr 2015 by essiep

I rode CX with MapMyRide+! Distance: 18.4mi, time: 01:47:20, pace: 5:51min/mi, speed: 10.3mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/931767171
Plod around some canal towpaths in figure-8 routes. On one bridge, a family stopped while dad fixed the lad’s puncture. That was his role for the day.
The mud is more viscous now and the thorns seemed to soften. Anyway, no punctures today either.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Monthly Archives: Apr 2015