8°C, sunny with a fresh SW breeze.
Climbed Bannister Hill after a stop at the favourite cafe. I like that climb, it leaves you with a refreshed feeling that lasts all day. Perhaps I will try it on the single-speed soon.
The Arrow bike is running well but it still needs an extra link in the chain.
8°C, brightening up with increasing SW wind.
1, The birds were lively today. I heard curlews, lapwings and another strange one. The latter’s sound carried a very long way but eventually I got there. A guy stopped his van and had just finished playing his bagpipes. I stopped for a chat; he played in a band in Liverpool and couldn’t practice at home.
2, Look, this is creepy;
On a lamp-post in Formby.
“WAKE UP WHITE PEOPLE
SAVE THE WHITE RACE.
Er what? Save them from what exactly? A quick search using those words returns white supremacists in the USA. What is going on in their poor little minds? I’m not offended by this crass slogan, I’m disgusted by it. Needless to say, I scraped it off.
3, Later, a puncture. The tyre is something that the rubber delaminated from the case. How did I let it get so bad? There followed a nervous ride home, it could so easily puncture again. It didn’t.
4, new pedals:
Swapped from the Arrow winter bike, semi-platform SPDs seem a more natural option on a fixed gear bike.
The black cage is actually plastic and weighs very little. Clipping in feels no different. Shimano do a very wide range of SPD pedals and I may slowly phase in this style as others wear out. It’s only the cross bike that needs the extra mud clearance offered by the minimalist design.
Occasionally, I may ride this machine in ordinary shoes so a wider footprint is necessary. They feel better too and I can see a smoother movement of my knees with less side to side motion. I had no twinges in my knees today. Problem solved!
9°C, misty start but the sun breaks through
I’m so slow to warm up. Beyond 8 miles I felt the long cranks flowing smoothly in time with the raised pace. The old bike is creaky though. It could be the bottom bracket or even the seat rails, it’s rather difficult to tell.
Best of all, my knees were free of any twinges. Old pedals should be a worry; they go out of alignment and it’s knees that hurt.
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.
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.
13°C, sunny with light breeze.
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3392284945
I have a teacher’s cold (again). Since it’s an unseasonably warm sunny day, I rode the cross bike anyway. I soft-pedaled along the sea wall. The tide was high making the beach soggy. Cross tyres are too narrow to cope with we silty sand.
MapMyRide is not working properly again. It fails to share the image so here is a straight photo.
12°C brisk S breeze but brighter later.
That was a good day out. The route had plenty of variety, hills, flats and a good coffee stop. Later was a long slog on flat land exposed to the wind. My fitness is down on previous years to that last hour was wearing.
12°C, sunny with S breeze.
Soft mud of the season made this a smoother route than last time I passed this way. What an excellent day!
I saw Egrets, heard Oyster Catchers and many others I can’t identify. The glancing light made the land very photogenic. The only thing missing is the smell of spring is, as yet, missing.
11°C, sunny and Spring like.
Those eBay cranks have arrived. the BB bolts are missing but at least they are in excellent condition. There is barely a blemish on the polish anywhere.
Oh, I managed to get a ride in too. 32 miles in fine conditions.
10°C, SW wind and some soft drizzle
To close a rather satisfying# day with a blast on the bike. I rode the Arrow despite it being somewhat poorly. It has a slow puncture and a knackered chainset. Still, the ride went well. The replacement campag record chainset is due to arrive on friday.
#: The satisfaction comes from DIY. The chimney breast is plastered with base coat and I stopped when I ran out of Skim coat.
Micycle 