Arrow, 9°C, brisk Southerly, dry until the last few miles.
Rode out to a park that’s new to me in Birkdale.
There are a reasonable variety of machines in a useful place. The one pictured (right) has a much lighter leverage than others in Sefton. And the pull-down machine is absent. 3 Stars ⭐⭐⭐ Would use again, recommended.
8°C, milky sun and strong southwest wind.
Grabbed the Mustang gravel bike for a ride and it came out with a puncture. So much for I destructible Marathon + tyres. I may have hit something on last night’s ride in the dark.
Instead, I went out on the Jake CX. Then had another problem. The rear tyre went down after 6 miles. It’s got a Slime self sealing tube to I stopped to re-inflate it. The pressure held but was rather low. I struggle to get it firmer than 40psi (which is a bit low for my weight). Remarkably, the pressure held. For the next ten miles. They keep a stirrup pump in the cafe so I bumped it up to 70psi. It stayed so the ride was back to normal.
However, the return was into a growing gale. There were gusts up to 40mph and I crawled along at 8mph. Nonetheless, the sun still shone.
8°C, moderate S, dry but damp.
It’s tough riding into the wind for long periods on a single-speed. The muscle burn builds up and slows you down.
6-9°C brisk SW wind, clear and sunny.
It’s been a while since the last bike ride. Icy weather has stopped me venturing out. Some days were so bad, I daren’t even go for a run. That means the default is the gym or at home, the turbo. I get ratty at these times and feel a constant fizzy agitated feeling in my limbs.
Back to normal now.
I’ve left the turbo up so I can get on each day. I hate riding the turbo.
Drive to work.
Winter weather: in a winter forced layoff. Ice is the concern. Last night we had showers of rain which froze on contact with pavements. It’s too dangerous to run or cycle.
Mars emerging (at 4 o’clock).
-°3C, clear and still .
I missed the start of the occultation (blame cloud) which ran from 4.58 to 5.56am. however, the re-emergence was clear while on my morning run. Using the outdoor gym was a problem because the machines were so cold.
Kona Jake, 5°C, light E, light overcast.
Icy weather is due in a few days. Let’s wait and see the best way to deal with running on frosty ground in the mornings. Meanwhile, I’ll bank some hours riding. This is the 4th day in a row with 25+ miles. I’ve got layers sorted out now so getting cold isn’t such a problem.
Light start, turned very heavy on the return leg. 9-7°C, strong wind and very heavy rain to coming home .
Just as the rain got heavier on the return leg. my route turned into a narrow strip of woodland by the river. There’s a few cottages and a narrow lane that leads to a school. At Eyes lane, anelderly runner zipped by in the other direction. What’s remarkable was that in the developing storm, he was naked from the waist up. Raindrops got larger in the squall. Was he heading back to jump in a sauna for that ho/cold shock thing that’s popular in scandinavia?
Note to self: at the café in I took a few minutes out to add some pressure to the rear wheel. As soon as I set.off, the bike felt renewed. The handling was crisp again and the bike seemed much faster.
Micycle 