Ride no.1

Posted on 4th Jan 2016 by essiep

I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 31.42mi, time: 02:10:53, pace: 4:10min/mi, speed: 14.40mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1295886353
I thought the average speed would come out higher than 15. It felt faster today. I’ve had the ‘fizzy legs’ feeling all day. As the cold rain continued, my frustration grew.

Moss.

The photo is a moss growing in a tiny pot out the back. They are the easiest plants to care for. You don’t have to do anything apart from provide a pot with soil and a deep saucer beneath that retains water. The roots like to be constantly wet. They do well in this country.

Then, a break in the clouds an hour before sunset.
Quickly I changed and jumped on the computing bike. In the hurry, I should have added pressure to the back wheel, it handled in an odd way. Besides the long reach, the long cranks turned easily and I enjoyed the pace.
The soft tyre nagged at my sense of security, but it held. Good, because the spare tube is doubtful, I recalled.

later:, the pressures were even lower than I thought, 55psi for the back, and 60 front. They’re now both 80psi for the return to work.

Last ride. 2015.

Posted on 1st Jan 2016 by essiep

I rode CX Jake, with MapMyRide+! Distance: 19.27mi, time: 01:37:13, pace: 5:03min/mi, speed: 11.89mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1292530459

energy is up, that means recovery. It’s satisfying getting covered in mud, perhaps it’s a boy thing. I do need a way to prevent mud going all over my bum and up my back.

Stop all the clocks.

Posted on 31st Dec 2015 by essiep

Warm and wet stormy winter continues.
2015 was a noteworthy year:
4,500 miles cycled, 1,000 each on the fixed hear and the cyclocross bikes.
Multi-day hike, (done),
Bivvy (first night),
Bothy night, (done),
Now is time to zero the odometers on all four bikes.

Paddy wagon, Jake clocks,

Arrow and Racelite.

Milage:
Arrow: 2,918.1
Jake: 975
Racelite: 532.1
Paddy: 953.5

Total about =5,378.7
That’s still 450 lower than last year. Repeated illnesses and long hiking trips away from home in the summer are to blame.

Slow mud.

Posted on 30th Dec 2015 by essiep

9°C, strong SW, clear morning with high cloud building.
I rode the Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 16.56mi, time: 01:38:29, pace: 5:57min/mi, speed: 10.09mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1290897703

The flooding has gone, but the mud is still deep on this saturated ground.

Everyone seems to have a heavy cold. It’s coming my way, which is why I rode so slowly today . I ache and can’t find much energy, except enough to ride at a steady pace.
Is it possible that this year’s wet weather has led to more frequent colds this autumn for me?

Today is a lazy recovery day. A day to read Hillwalking, the PyB book that I am working through for my HML qualification. There’s the link to this photo:

Photo from Idwal Cottage. I may be at home, but my mind is in the hills.

Red Warning: ride.

Posted on 26th Dec 2015 by essiep

I rode Kona Jake CX with MapMyRide+! Distance: 14.50mi, time: 01:18:12, pace: 5:24min/mi, speed: 11.13mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1288144687

Not a hard ride, more for the fun of visiting this flooded landscape. Most of the water stood in fields. Where water overlapped roads, that’s where problems were. It shifted sandy mud and rotten vegetation onto the tarmac and hid any potholes. I didn’t hit any holes. My feet got wet in the deeper road-ponds but never got cold.

Before it rains!

Posted on 22nd Dec 2015 by essiep

14°C, strong SW (surprise!), cloud building, a front is soon to arrive.
I rode CX Kona Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 14.63mi, time: 01:37:00, pace: 6:38min/mi, speed: 9.05mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1285052127
Met another cyclocross rider coming the opposite way. Another first.
Pity the cafes were shut, I hoped for lunch.
Mud is now very soft and deep. The bike often scoots sideways but it stayed upright. 11 months on, and still no falls. In getting more confident and relaxed doing this. Last winter I was so tense that I occasionally got stiff muscles. The persistence has removed the difficulty and left the fun.

Here is (possibly) the Shaggy Inkcap from last Sunday. This soggy example that has survived the mower. This stretch of verge gets cut fairly ruthlessly, but not this time of year.
After some discussion on a forum, this may be a close relative of the inkcap:

These look like Coprinus Atramentaria, not Comatus. Good edible but it’s poisonous when mixed with alcohol, so take care.

I like the idea of a poison that is only active when a person has drunk alcohol. Some might appreciate a bit of help with their New Year’s resolutions.

Winter warm ride

Posted on 20th Dec 2015 by essiep

12°C, brisk SW, and mostly dry, bar the last 8 miles.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 61.18mi, time: 04:30:42, pace: 4:25min/mi, speed: 13.56mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1283493073
Mostly dry and not at all cold. There were heavy showers, but only in the last 40 minutes.
The only problem was a tricky puncture repair. The thorn in the tyre was really difficult to get out. Another cyclist in Ashby helped out with some effective tools

Before the rain.

Again my spare tube failed. I will have to look at the patch. I want to check that the patch is centred on the previous hole.
Lung ache, on drawing a deep breath, my lungs ache. Is that the Saharan dust that our weather forecasters warned of? It’s like the feeling after cycling past a freshly harvested wheat field in august. Not nice.

Cyclocross: NCN62

Posted on 13th Dec 2015 by essiep

3°C, moderate SE breeze that brought rain on the return leg. Waterlogged with deep puddles everywhere.
I rode The Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 36.81mi, time: 03:08:31, pace: 5:07min/mi, speed: 11.71mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1277411311
Cold wet and squelchy on the tracks. Yesterday’s rain has not drained away yet, but it’s still fun.

Type Two fun, the kind that is good to look back on because it was grim at the time. It’s taking hours to warm up again. I wasn’t wearing my warmest winter clothes. One day it’s 11°C and next, it drops ten degrees. I blame that; it’s in no way my fault. Really.

It’s turned to mud now.

Posted on 28th Nov 2015 by essiep

4°C, W wind, clear sunny to start.
I rode Kona Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 17.67mi, time: 01:49:37, pace: 6:12min/mi, speed: 9.67mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1263120421

The familiar canal route is never too familiar. Last time on this same circuit, the grass was verdant and long. Now decaying leaves cover soft muddy ground. Hardly saw anybody this time. Even on earlier rides, people were out walking dogs in fine weather.
Over the summer, care was needed over hard lumpy soil. Now it’s so soft that the gears need clearing sometimes to keep them working.

The mud will be deeper over the next two months, but I am happier keeping upright as my skill has built up compared to last January.
The return leg was on rough muddy lanes. Here, the front tyre picked up a puncture, probably hawthorn. Re-inflation held at about 35psi. I’ll check it again in the morning. Washing the bike took long enough.

In a ditch

Posted on 26th Nov 2015 by essiep

10°C, light SW, clearing sky but yet muddy roads.
I rode with MapMyRide+! Distance: 23.80mi, time: 01:40:35, pace: 4:14min/mi, speed: 14.20mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1261941013
New tyres make the bike feel much more secure on poor surfaces. Rain has washed debris and mud onto the road. All good then, I started slightly grotty, it’s been a tiring day at work. Once warned up though, it became worthwhile extending the route a bit.
A mile north of Whittington, I stopped for a pee. Somewhere dark and quiet, I laid the bike in a gateway and went into a field. Aiming for a hedge, I walked into the blackness. The muddy ground gave way to a ditch. In I fell. On the positive side, there was no water in the ditch, or anything sharp. A metre down, I landed in soft mud. Safe.
I laughed in my own schadenfreude, even before I climbed out. The only effect was some nettle rash, and that doesn’t count.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Category Archives: Cycling