Category Archives: Cycling

Winter warm ride

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

47 on the 51st.

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Fresh but mostly dry. 6~10°C, some showers on a fast moving wind.
My head of dept. called me into her room this morning. Then her 6th form group burst out with ‘Happy ‘Birthday’. I stood there, feeling slightly awkward but uplifted. My year 9 overheard it and rang the same when I returned. They also thought I should get a birthday badge. They’re difficult to find for numbers over 30, so here’s an idea.

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Get a 15 Today badge and wear it upside down.

Yes, it has been a good day. I left early to get some miles on the bike. Nearly 50 in all today; should have ridden 51 but that wasn’t practical. Most of the ride, I didn’t know how far I’d gone so far. At various crucial turn points, there was no light to see the clock and I didn’t want to stop in the rain to check.

I rode with MapMyRide+! Distance: 37.37mi, time: 02:41:28, pace: 4:19min/mi, speed: 13.89mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1259651025
Plus the 10 mile commute this morning.

Fifty, non-stop.

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4°C, fresh and reasonably dry. There was rain in the night.
I rode Fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 50.47mi, time: 03:23:13, pace: 4:02min/mi, speed: 14.90mi/h. Fitted the orange winter wheels.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1257322077
The only notable point about this ride was that I didn’t stop. Fifty miles in one sitting. It felt fine too. Even after getting home, I had enough energy.
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Walk the bike.

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6°C, light NW. Rain to start and clear later.
Commute with MapMyRide+! Distance: 14.99mi, time: 01:48:39, pace: 7:15min/mi, speed: 8.28mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1254815419

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Sketch in the margin of my planner.

Set out in rain but full of energy. At 9 miles front tyre lost pressure on an awkward stretch of road. Soon, all was lost and I had to walk about half a mile to a brightly lit pub. The new tube only lasted another mile or so. I can’t keep putting tubes in so decided to walk the remaining 3 miles.
At least it was dry by then. It’s so difficult to reliably fix a tyre when there is dirt all over the road. That dirt includes thorns. Also, I need tyres I can trust, so both will have to be replaced with something more resilient.

Autumn storm chain.

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12C, wet and showery, brisk SSW.
I rode Fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 28.99mi, time: 01:54:37, pace: 3:57min/mi, speed: 15.18mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1241984279
Only a short outing today. Dark skies threaten heavy rain carried in from the southern approaches. Those threats were carried out, but it was never cold.
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Everywhere you look, some days, there are little inanimate characters.

Fog and mud.

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I rode CX Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 35.67mi, time: 03:14:03, pace: 5:26min/mi, speed: 11.03mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1233102627
Woke to very dense fog; and a choice of Fixie or cyclocross bike for today’s ride. CX gets me away from the traffic in poor visibility and to safety.
I picked a familiar route and took a diversion in the last leg. Along Southport seafront, a few cyclists pedaled northwards, and I steadily passed them.
One guy was on a Fat Bike so I asked him about it. They’re intriguing machines, and bizarre looking. Anyway, an odd thing happened moments before- I got told off! It happened on filtering though a small group of less experienced cyclists. (See below)
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The Fat-bike guy showed me a route thorough gravel roads to get me close to the return leg by canal. Excellent route, but the ‘Private Road’ signs were offputting. Maybe I made a mistake somewhere near the start. I never did find a level crossing.

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