5°C, rain & warming. CK26 miles

Decent ride around Lancs in the gloaming. The new Armadillo tyre seems fine. Naturally, I’m wary of tough, puncture resistant tyres but there are many punctures to be had in Lancs- especially on those cycle-tracks near Southport. Puncture resistant tyres have, in the past, given a harder ride & are prone to skids. They don’t even offer any real reduction in punctures.
Today’s ride tested them reasonably well on slimy roads with black clay mud in Lancs lanes. I felt no wheel-spin or skittishness on corners.
Interesting how two rides can contrast. Sunday, I rode 33 miles and was pretty worn out at the end. Contrast that with today’s outing. Fewer miles, yes but finished feeling refreshed and warm all day. It’s not good to miss more than 2 days’ exercise.

Tomorrow is to be warmer- possibly 12°C and no rain. What a contrast with last year!

6°C, lighter wind. Sun became rain early afternoon

Legs took too long to warm up on this ride. Perhaps because of yesterday, perhaps caused by food or perhaps the fortnight off.

Laughed hard; I needed this one, almost too much. The rest of the site misses the mark a bit, so feel free to avoid.

Had this book knocking about since 2008 and recently decided I need something boring to get to sleep. You need something to put between work thinking and lights-out. Trouble is, it hasn’t entirely worked. It’s getting interesting, especially since the book is full of first hand accounts.

8°C, sunny & brisk W. CA:30 miles

It’s always a tricky one to decide when to return to riding the bike. I’ve had nearly two weeks of with what should be the winter’s heaviest cold. Suddenly, yesterday (Friday) I felt ready to get back on. That fizzy legs feeling had come back but there was ice on pavements as I walked the dogs early. One more day I decided.

10°C, clear, RW wind+chill. CA:26 miles

Rode to the usual cafe today, ate some simple cyclist’s food & came back at a plodding 13.5 mph. Perhaps it was too soon to ride after that awful cold of last week. Near Catton Park, there was the most unsettling sight. A pheasant, in a puddle of all places. I went back to check it and the poor thing was still alive. It had a head injury, a slightly broken end of beak with a little blood dripping. Apart from that it seemed reasonably alert. No attempt was made to flee my presence.

I have no idea what to do in this situation with these poor creatures, so I picked it up and placed it on a patch of longer grass in the sunshine. A vain hope I know, but maybe it could warm up enough to take off.

7°C, fog. CA:29 miles.

Got the ride, but the air was thick grey which sucked all the colour out of the land (except the orange streetlights I suppose).

Formby Beach