21°C, thunderstorms,
Woke early to the sound of thunder, later came the downpour to beat all.
Arrow ride tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 42.79mi, time: 02:42:39, pace: 3:48min/mi, speed: 15.78mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/335549677
I went out on the Arrow after the rain fearing that more was to come. None did, but the bike handles well enough for a summer ride.
19°C, grey, some drizzle, e wind.
Long Ride! Distance: 101.72mi, time: 06:36:19, pace: 3:54min/mi, speed: 15.40mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/333764455
Finally done a 100 mile bicycle ride. I took a steady pace right from the start and had two cafe stops. There was some rain, some light wind from the east but it brightened up later.
The best thing is that I was comfortable right to the end and felt alert too. I could have kept going, maybe another 20 – 30miles with a snack stop. Perhaps the moderate weather meant that there was no dehydration to cope with
The bike was faultless, and comfortable too. All that maintenance work in the spring was to avail.
And a hill profile-
That profile looks like the Alps, but the app stretches the vertical scale. Staffordshire does not look anything like that.
19°C, mostly cloudy, windy.
First job of the holiday is done. I used a palette out of the skip at work to make a new garden table.
Before:
After-
After about 3 hours of wood working
The wood preservative is drying now so I can’t use the table until tomorrow.
How satisfying, I keep going out to look it over. Almost inevitably, I mind turns to other similar projects- I have another garden table that is slowly collapsing with rot.
27°C, milky start.
I feel loss- the dog’s favourite field hat been cut. The grasses have turned to seed and well. But those spectacular thistles are wiped out too, just as they reached flowering. Shame, because I enjoyed their magnificent growth this year. Yesterday, they were taller than me. Now, all gone. I feel the loss.
Maybe sentimental I know, maybe they had to be cut to reduce the fire risk. It’s all dry and yellow here in this heat-wave.
27°C, more perfect weather. CA+CR 55miles.
On a fine evening like this, what better way to use it than ride for hours, basking in the amber light. This 35miles, plus the usual 20 mile commute makes an impressive total for a work day.
Wouldn’t it be fine to get a metric century this coming Sunday?
I blogged about these structures last year, they were a puzzle at the time. These solar panels follow the sun, here reaching over their right shoulder for the setting sun. This time of year, that’s almost in the north. Quite a stretch.
27°C, clear but muggy.
I’d enjoy cycling more if I were to loose some weight. Currently 14st 9lbs but I feel a bit squidgy round the waist. If I take off 5lbs that makes a round 200lbs, a good figure to aim for.
With that I could hill-climb with confidence, perhaps ride with a club more often.
Rosie cooling off on the slabs.
22°C, clearing. Perfect.
MapMyRide! Distance: 39.40mi, time: 02:21:42, pace: 3:36min/mi, speed: 16.6mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/327169155
Yesterday- broke my best time up Bannister Hill, today, broke it again. The strategy today was to keep up the pace after pud summit to High Moor which is the end of the Mapmyride climb. All this was done on the 42×16 Fixed Gear.
A fixed would make an excellent hill-climb bike for those end-of-season hill races. That is when you have carefully chosen the gear for if specific climb. This ride needs a gear that is not too low to take advantage of some false flats where you can build up speed.
Overall, the conditions were perfect and my fitness- much improved.
I have only just found how to take a screen-capture from this phone; so here, at last is a hill profile.
27°C, hard sunshine.
Walsall drivers have an annoying habit that I have blogged about before. Tonight, coming home through the hazardous Rushall lights I stopped to wait for green. When it came, I clipped in and rode forward only to brake for a brown mini-bus taxi coming from the right. He jumped a red light. I shouted in frustration
“red means stop”
He swore, really he did, as if I had done something wrong.
The next lights, the same thing happens, this time a silver car. He swore too.
What are the chances of that?
This happens more often in Walsall than other places I ride.
30°C, no wind, no clouds.
Sunday ride~ tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 84.73mi, time: 05:42:34, pace: 4:03min/mi, speed: 14.84mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/321195601
I rode up with the Burton club, view were heading to the Peak District for some hill climbs. They were quick and seem a disciplined bunch. I only got nervous on stretches with deep pot-holes.
Anyway, I turned off and made my own way to the Peaks with a cafe stop at Ilam.
From there, the route took me further north to Alstonefield and Milldale. There is a back route into Milldale by a road marked as impassible. Impassible roads are a bad idea, they are impassible. It was narrow and dipped down into the gorge at 1:7. I slid back, gripped the drops for a better grasp of the brake lever and took it slowly. My eyes darted from one side to another looking for places to crash should a brake cable break.
They held.
Out of Milldale there is a daunting hill to the east which worked out well. there were more steep hills which I took with renewed confidence and I arrived home feeling reasonably fresh. I credit the extra water I drank for feeling good even after eighty miles.
24°C, deep blue,
Heatwave day 2: Saturday, added the crown to my Hifi in the living room.
A co-incidence that the second lodger moved out today; the same day that I finished organising the room changes in this house. The last step was to crown my Hifi with the record player. I now have magic in my living room, CD is nice but doesn’t do the shivers down my neck that LP does with ease.
A very fine day.
Micycle 