Author Archives: essiep

7am canal ride.

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11°C, brisk SW and grey cloud. Dry.
I rode Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 17.8mi, time: 01:39:10, pace: 5:35min/mi, speed: 10.76mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/977307793
Started early, 7am start and saw few people. The return via Chorley was hillier that I remember but there were no surprise traffic on the narrow twisty lanes.

Mapmyride has strange bugs. If I change the ride type to cyclocross, then the GPS fails to work, change it back to Road Cycling and it’s back to normal. Even changing the ride type after my return voids the mapping. I will hold out for an update.
home:
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Another tree felled. I have enjoyed this cherry every spring, it put a magnificent show in flower and the colour glowed against the morning sun. Now it has gone and I am bereft, I hate to see a healthy tree cut down.

Evening canal 13

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11°C, W brisk, 3/5 cloud.
Evening cyclocross: did a short route on the Jake in a loop on the canal.
13.5 miles in 1h 20.
GPS failed again. It’s a bug in Mapmyride that started on the 30th April update. Again, it failed to connect to the GPS sensor mm my phone so would only record the time for the outing.
I have cleared the data for tomorrow’s commute, so it should be okay.
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Breaks in the cloud produced long shadows and a blaze of colour from fields of rape. Big grin.

Which bike today?

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16°C, mostly sunny with a light SW breeze.
Which bike today? What a good problem to have- fixed gear or cyclocross?
I rode fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 50.34mi, time: 03:09:48, pace: 3:46min/mi, speed: 15.91mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/970325615
‘Rode up Bannister Hill after riding up to Dalton. The big climb felt harder than last time, but this is the first time I have climbed up both.
Good ride at a decent pace.
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Venus Fly Trap plant. I like these chaps, they could star in a good animation.

Cross thread.

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11°C light rain under grey sky.
It should have been a simple job.
For a few weeks a cracking noise came from the Arrow’s bottom bracket. This has happened before when warm weather started. It’s as if the warmer, expanded metal gap loosened the lock-rings.
It should have taken an hour to fix it. It took over two.
The threads were stripped on the left side. That is a worrying sign of possible damage to the threads in the frame; a job for a frame builder.
Eventually, I got it out, cleaned the inside threads with a wire brush and got swarf in my finger.
It’s done now, but to play safe, I have a new bearing on order.

Leaf litter.

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6°C, grey cloud, dry so far.
Gardening is easy. Two winters ago, I collected bags of leaves from work. The caretaker collects them in the autumn and fills a skip. I then, bag up warm handfuls of slowly decaying leaf litter. I can drive about five bags each time.
Now I have rich, nutty smelling compost to scatter into my top soil. The plants will be grateful.

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This is a clump of Spanish bluebells. I don’t even remember planting them, so perhaps they have taken care of themselves.
May is the best month.

MapMyfail.

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11°C, light NW..slight snow.
MapMyRide failed yesterday. The app refused to communicate with the GPS sensor. Other GPS apps worked as expected, but not MapMyRide. Strange because there were no updates that could be a simple explanation. Other software updates?

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Eventually, I decided to uninstall the app and replace it. However, using the app manager, I noticed the Clear Data button, so tried that.
After logging in again, success!

Are you cold today?

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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.

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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.

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

Disused railways.

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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

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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.

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