18°C, brisk W, sunny and dry.
In a way, heading out with a tail-wind is a good way to way up. The penalty happens when you ride back.
All this DofE work has hit my cycling. That can mean twitchy legs and trouble sleeping. A decent ride can fix those as well as another. I am surprised to find my posture is far better post ride.
Category Archives: Summer bike
Perfect summer’s day.
19°C, no real wind, bright sun.
Rode along thinking about my yet to build new frame. The fit on the cross bike seems best of the bikes I have. It should be easy to copy over the measurements.
I need to make building it as painless as possible but it will need 180mm cranks. So far, I have: frame, headset and wheels.
Catch-up.
Sunny and warm week.In an attempt to make up for last week, I’ve been out at least once a day. Over the last 2 weeks, I’ve somehow gained 2 kilos in weight.


Whizz, two dead-ends
16°C, moderare E breeze, sunny and dry.

Tried some new routes towards Leyland. I made some mistakes and had to backtrack several times. The default Google map didn’t offer info on rights of way. That’s my excuse and I paid the price by riding on gravel tracks on 23c road tyres in the hope of picking up a decent ride soon. Quite a few of those rough track surfaces were bolstered by building Ribble. They were reasonably level bit glinting ceramic shards were visible. I feared a puncture.
Nevermind, it was one.ofnthose comfortable days where riding at speed was easy. Very enjoyable.
Perhaps tomorrow I should take the cross bike out.
Shorts in February, really?
18°C, bright sun with a light S breeze.

Another record breaking warm winter’s day. That average is 1 down from the last ride but I did start a bit sluggish. All was normal after the cafe stop which included one of their wonderful espressos.
The new crankset is not usable yet for an irritating reason there is one chainring bolt missing. Turning over the garage didn’t find one so it will have to be purchased. Spinwell in Southport didn’t have one. Search on.
Racelite new year
15°C, milky sun, warm and dry. light S.

Grabbed a ride on the Australia#¹ route after a morning of home decorating. Today is like spring a month early. The pace is good. I don’t normally get this bike out so soon in the year.
#1, it looks a bit like Australia on the route map; sort of.
Cool sun.
11°C, still with bright sun.
Rode the Racelite possibly for the last time before winter.
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3200059993

It took some warming up, but the usual rule worked – 1/2 hour or 8 miles, whichever comes first. 35 miles is a but short for a Sunday ride so I did some intervals.
In all, the ride was just a shade under 50km.
Tartleton oil patch
17°C, 3/5 sun brisk SSW dry.
I rode Racelite with MapMyRide+! Distance: 52.54km, time: 02:11:13, pace: 2:30min/km, speed: 24.02km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/3086065537
A normal ride on the summer bike and a familiar route. At the lights in Tartleton, a puddle of yellow liquid. It didn’t smell but was viciously slippery after getting it on the tyres. What was it, it didn’t smell of diesel so maybe a vegetable oil?
I phoned the police about it, that liquid was dangerous if you are on two wheels.

Lollipop route.
23°C, light NW, milky sunshine, still dry.
I rode Racelite with MapMyRide+! Distance: 65.81km, time: 02:46:14, pace: 2:32min/km, speed: 23.75km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2943936343

This driveway looked quite desolate last time I passed, that was just afternthe trees were coppiced. Now, in recovery, they’re looking better.
Anyway, the ride was in very nice conditions so the pace good. Stopped at Velo Cafe at Twin Lakes, possibly the best cycle cafe around here. The next part of the route inadvertently turned into a lolipop route. Home too early, or start too late more likely.

Three rides
15°C deep blue, light ÑW
I rode Paddy Wagon and Racelite (2 bikes) with MapMyRide+! Distance: 83.08km, time: 03:28:04, pace: 2:30min/km, speed: 23.96km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2882959417

And then I rode this bike for a few hours. I don’t recall riding two different bikes in the same day before. How interesting, the comparison I mean. The Racelite was the easiest, fast, smooth and comfortable. Perhaps it’s time to fit tne summer wheels to the fixed bike.

Recently, I have worried about loss of stamina on longer rides, but on the Racelite, I could have kept going. Today was a perfecr late-spring day.