8°C, short sharp showersh.
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3270371716
Battered in blustery showers. Apart from some dramatic skies, there were no great events to report. The Arrow bike has a new lease of life currently. I’ve taken the rack off and it handles very nicely. It’s the best bike for these winter road rides.
5°C, grey but calm.
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3261885259
A short outing, a circuit around Southport today. I’m really enjoying riding the Arrow. It’s happy on the muddy roads and the gears are close enough to get the right cadence.
This, I think, is probably the culprit. This bird’s regular visits explains why I have no more frogs in the pond. dammit.
8°C, light cold easterly. Sunny.
Mapmyride let me down today, but it’s about 9 miles on the Arrow. Things went wrong when I rode into town to visit the record shops. The app has not been right since it was reinstalled.
I bought this bike in 1993 when I lived in Bristol. At the time, there were 2 good second-hand record shops. Each week, I’d ride to Clifton triangle to browse and buy. Notice the nostalgia.
19°C, sun and breeze S
Commuting ride on the old Arrow. https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3193680025
A fine sunny ride home from work. The ride in this morning was spectacular. Half an hour in, the sun peeped above Rivington hill as it rose. For me, sunrise was a little late because of the height of the hill. I rode along quiet tracks and roads across peaty farmland. Soon the brightness would be a nuisance as I neared work.
Southport is home to large flocks of geese and ducks. They overwinter here in huge numbers and fly a daily commute. I admire them. The town’s dogs bark at them. The barking sweeps over urban areas in waves following the birds.
15°C, sunny and breeze from S.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 20.78km, time: 01:00:40, pace: 2:55min/km, speed: 20.55km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/3165767278
I think all of my bikes have been photographed here, except perhaps the Racelite. It was a pleasant enough ride but I still feel a little stretched not on this bike.
The brake levers need changing, there is a lot of play in the levers now. They’re making me nervous now. On the other hand, I’ve only ridden this just over 100 miles this year.
12°C, sunny and still, yet roads.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 69.82km, time: 03:17:28, pace: 2:50min/km, speed: 21.22km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2624397079
Excellent conditions for a winter ride. It was so good that I extended the route, and then extended again. I had plenty of energy too (though the average speed wouldn’t suggest so).
Riding into the sun on wet roads is fraught with the risk of dazzle. This near to solstice, sun’s rays are never that bright, even at noon.
All sounds good? Today was the first day that I took a vitamin B12 supplement. A deficiency g said to cause lethargy. Perhaps that has been the problem all along. Let’s see how this pans out.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 44.66km, time: 02:04:16, pace: 2:47min/km, speed: 21.56km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2563950748
Grabbed a ride before the cold front brings heavy rain.
As I said on Sunday, the bottom bracket creaks on this bike. On Sunday’s side, the creak became quiet by the end. Today, it was barely audible. It has settled down leaving a smooth running bike.
9°C, sunny with a light NW breeze.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 93.52km, time: 04:09:46, pace: 2:40min/km, speed: 22.47km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2560931983
This one felt hard. Perhaps the last couple of slack weeks have hit back. Also, heading home meant going West which means harsh sun in my eyes and a headwind. Too often, I needed to shield my eyes so I could see the road. A parked car could be hidden in that blaze of light.
That bottom bracket creaked enough to be an embarrassment, I avoided riding along with others for that reason. As the day wore on however, the noise abated. I don’t know why it did that.
More of the day casts long shadows in this season. To look away from the dazzling sun is to see vivid colours and sharp contrasts. I expect I’ll be craving that quality in a few month’s time. The photo above looks like mild HDR but it isn’t I did adjust for Curves and crop but that’s all. The sky really was a deep colour.
16C, grey and damp.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 49.82km, time: 02:10:09, pace: 2:37min/km, speed: 22.97km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2539294065
First night ride of the autumn. I went out on the Arrow which ran smoothly. However, the bottom-bracket creaks very loudly. I struggled to fix that last year and it has become worse in storage over the summer.
11ºC, grey but not too dull. light SW breeze.
I rode Arrow; with MapMyRide+! Distance: 112.27km, time: 05:05:28,
pace: 2:43min/km, speed: 22.05km/h. That’s 68 miles to you. I should have done 2 more.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2017927079
Spring is tentatively poking its nose out of the opening in its sleeping bag. Here are yellow tips of these miniature daffodils. Today’s warm weather (11°C), is blowing up the southern approaches from tropical climes. For me, that means no cold feet on a long ride.
The returning 10 miles was really hard. I haven’t done many rides over 40 miles this year so perhaps it’s inevitable. Oh, and I rode yesterday, the day before and before that. Normally, Saturday used to be a rest day.
Micycle 