12°C, light S breeze. White stratus.
I rode Paddy Wagon, with MapMyRide+! Distance: 24.09mi, time: 01:33:27, pace: 3:53min/mi, speed: 15.47mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1230179587
This short ride felt normal. All I want to do is build back some form.
13°C, grey, warm and dry.
Those numerous symptoms are largely gone. Fizzy legs are back, mouth ulcers gone as has the malaise.
Which bike today?
Laurie Anderson, USA live.
Meanwhile, an LP plays in the background. Here is one I have not given a whirl for many years.
Ride:
Continue reading
10°C, bright sun. Dry too.
I tire easily, the thought of cycle ride today does not make the fizzy feeling like it normally does. At least my weight has stabilised at 13st. 13
Tricky: Angels with Dirty Faces.
A warm sound slowly fills my room.
8°C, still and light. Cold.
It’s a fine problem, to decide which bike to ride today: Jake, the cyclocross; Arrow, the mudguard winter ride; summer racing bike- Racelite. I’m recovering from a virus thing, so to be cautious- it’s cyclocross today. ‘Cross is not exhausting, simply difficult.
I dread bringing that virus back, as happened last week. A dose of exhaustion could be an invite to that damned bug. It’s gone on long enough already, more than two weeks. No chance of beating 6,000 miles this year then.
Never mind.
The ground should be still be firm, perhaps with some mud patches. Anyway, mud fun should be guaranteed. Perhaps the cattle will be away.
How it worked out:
Lay the bike down while I check the route.
Are modern cycle lights too bright? I’ve just taken delivery of a Knogg Blinder. At 44 lumins it’s nearly double the brightness of the light it replaces.
Great, I feel safer. But. Is it a problem for anybody else, you know- drivers?
What prompted this is a comment by somebody at work. They complained that it bike lights are too bright and are annoying.
They can’t be as bright as an Audi, so are cyclists aiming their lights carelessly?
I suspect so. I fit two front lights, one aimed at eye level. The other, a brighter one, points downwards to pothole level. Sometimes, I turn the light left if on full power when there’s oncoming traffic. Also, there is no need for full beam in towns. Modern led lights are bright enough to ‘be seen’ on lowest power. Some riders do blaze away, probably unaware of how drivers see them. Drivers have a much lower eye-level than a cyclist, a factor that is worth considering.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 11.51mi, time: 47:27, pace: 4:07min/mi, speed: 14.56mi/h. Slow.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1218989531
Mediocre ride with the energy sapping virus’s return the culprit. 12 days feeling ill, some at home. On a return to health, pent up energy poured out in a few fast rides. Now I’m all weak, trembling and pathetic.
Turning right at a roundabout, a young guy cut me up. I hate pulling the brakes on a sharp turn. He argued that I was not in the right lane. It doesn’t matter, you give right at a roundabout. Simple.
Diesel engines can be unlocked am a company like Revo. Apparently, the engine is detuned in the software for lower powered cars in the range. The manufacturer gains because their range of engine models is smaller. We can gain fuel economy, power and delivery through the Rev. range. The car is not really built for the higher power, not the gearbox suspension or brakes. But, if you drive normally, you get the benefits at no loss. I will wait until VW have removed their emissions cheating software first.
10°C, calm grey and dry.
As she walks in the room
Scented and tall
Hesitating once more
And as I take on myself
And the bitterness I felt
I realise that love flows
…(Portishead- The Rip).
~~~
Today, I meet my car. We will go for a drive and I will closely inspect what I am soon to hand over thousands for.
I rode Fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 19.66mi, time: 01:12:08, pace: 3:40min/mi, speed: 16.35mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1215746635
Two weeks off, and I return. Fresh and like a coil, to unspring.
11°C, white cloud add calm. Earl early.
New lodger, talking about music, Portishead played out from the IPod dock at the time. His favourite track is ‘Sure’. Blimey, don’t know that one.
Well, I should have. It’s there is my collection.
It turned up on this LP, of the same name.
It’s too easy to buy things and not listen to them sufficiently closely.
11°C, grey cloud and fairly still.
The Diamond Challenge: is a 60th year event run by DofE. We’re invited to submit a challenge, made to ourselves, and raise £60. An appealing idea, it’s just a question of choosing which one.
1. End to end. Cycle from Land’s End to John O’ Groats. 900 miles, roughly.
2. Inaccessible Pinnacle, on Skye, a stack climb that needs ropes.
3. Three Peaks. Again?
4. The five Sisters of Kintail, actually seven Munros including a wild-camp.
Or…do more than one from this list?
The Diamond Challenge site suggests ‘pushing yourself out of your loosen zone’. A cliché, I know but I thought this over. If I pick one of the above, I would be right there, in the dead middle of my comfort zone. That’s where I feel the best. Does that mean I can’t do one from that list?
Well, I might anyway.
10°C, bright with light NE breeze.
…a spider walk on their face in the night. Well, some do. No, not me, I get an Oak Bush Cricket.
Here she is, still in my bedroom looking healthy enough. I put her outside so she can get on with hunting nocturnal insects, which is her normal occupation.
later; I only noticed later, on looking at the photos that she only has five legs.
Maybe there is a leg in my room somewhere.
Micycle 