2°C, end of rain, no wind and mist forming.
I rode Mustang with MapMyRide+! Distance: 46.03km, time: 02:08:55, pace: 2:48min/km, speed: 21.42km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2668104400
One of those rides that were ‘needed‘. I set off in rain though it slowly lifted and even the sun got a look in. Charge on my phone was low so I dare not take any photos. Doing so could have killed off the battery and the gpx track would be lost. This afternoon was a very photogenic dusk.
6C, strong W, sunny start, wet finish.
I rode Mustang with MapMyRide+! Distance: 27.30km, time: 01:15:39, pace: 2:46min/km, speed: 21.65km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2637259882
Woodvale has a new gate sentinel. This Hawk replaces a Provost that stood in the spot before.
2018: has just started. A year full of change for me. New house, new town and new work. My cycling has depleted somewhat this year. I totaled 4,800 miles, nearly 1,000 down on last year. I did spend a lot of time hiking in the summer which is fine but the autumn was rather shorter than it should be. Now I know where I’ll live this spring, I find energy is renewed.
7°C, strong westerly wind, dry but grey.
I rode Mustang with MapMyRide+! Distance: 61.81km, time: 02:57:08, pace: 2:52min/km, speed: 20.94km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2635188499
I like this bike more now. that’s the difference 1cm makes. Earlier in the week, I put a longer stem on to relieve the pressure on my hands. It has mostly worked. anyway, today’s ride, though a little slow, was comfortable. I rode the hill climb up Bannister Lane near Parbold and got up there comfortably. It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t painful either. Later after a garage stop the route turned into the westerly wind. It’s nice to have gears for times like these. what I really like about this bike is the handling. It’s very light at the front, probably designed that way to make up for sluggish handling with big gravel tyres. I have 28c road tyres on this wheelset; though it would make sense to go up a size for winter rides, perhaps to 32c.
4°C, moderate NW breeze, dry but cold.
I rode Mustang with MapMyRide+! Distance: 30.60km, time: 01:44:54, pace: 3:26min/km, speed: 17.50km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2618452087
Punctures are always annoying. at least it happened in the front tyre, but the spare tube was the wrong size and the patch didn’t stick. That meant a run to a bike shop. A run because I had an appointment at 2pm. From Formby Country Club to Formby Cycle shop is 2.1 miles and I had the adrenaline. Actually, though it felt stressful, I was quite satisfied with the run. Maybe I should go for a run sometimes.
Outside the country club, a guy offered to help and we tried to fix the wretched tube. My spare was too thin (<25c). A quick visit top the shop got spares that I need and I was back on the road in only 15 minutes. that wasn’t the end of the stress. I belted home working hard to make the deadline.
On the outward leg, I used If it were up to me, I’d ban it.
2°C, big melt all morning, another snow dump followed in the evening.
I rode Mustang with MapMyRide+! Distance: 31.34km, time: 01:29:08, pace: 2:51min/km, speed: 21.10km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2616335668
Slow and short, but I desperately needed it after a week of turbo sessions. I hate the turbo but there’s no alternative with the depth of snow and ice we’ve had.
Refreshed by sunshine and blue skies, I will sleep properly tonight.
The latest snow craze to hit England is igloos made from recycling boxes. This one that appeared near my house is typical of the genre. The blocks have gaps, but so what?
These make a refreshing change from Michelin-man snowmen. Good work in my opinion, I wish I’d made one now.
1°C, snowing.
Heavy snow all day. I’m fizzing for a ride but packing ought to be done.
I’m moving in a month and have a 4 bedroom house to pack by myself.
15°C, milky orange sun.
Is this you Ophelia? I can see a warm milky and oddly orange sun at 11am. Most odd.
10°C, rain most of the day. Milky mist with some patches of sun.
Corryhully bothy is ideal for this route. In effect, I went straight out this morning onto the hill. Nevertheless, two hours went by before I reached the first summit. At only 6°C up there, there was no reason to stay long apart from hunger. A few hollows offered shelter enough to eat sandwiches.
The next few tops are all north. It turned into a ridge walk after the next summit, Stob Coire nan Cearc (887m).
As such, there was much to enjoy, despite the rain.
The most spectacular bit was a step in steeply inclined rock that looked impassible from a distance. My mind raced for escape routes should that step in the very narrow ridge defeat me. Each of those steps is about 10m of rock. From the bealach where I took the photo, they looked vertical. They were very steep up close too, but a clear scramble was obvious. The apex of the triangle in the photo is not the summit, for that look right to the crinkly skyline- it’s there by the cliffs. I love that feeling when walking on a ridge where your peripheral vision is down a huge drop in height to the glens below. There is more of that feeling after the summit and the ridge curls round to the right. More fine views and an opportunity to read the route down in the grassy topology. At first, the descent looks like a spur but it’s actually more a low wide whale-back that climbs up to more summits. The idea then is to find a route down into the glen as close to it’s head as possible. The further forward you go, the more climbing out of the glen to the bealach and back down again. It’s a compromise between descent and return ascent. Near the top of the glen are some nasty looking steps and minor cliffs that meant a diversion north into the valley to find a safe route down. Also, the further north you meet the river, the bigger it will be. Side streams join every 200 metres to engorge the river very rapidly- that means a more difficult river crossing. River crossings can be dangerous (and nobody knows I’m here). Braiding in rivers really can help, they divide the river into several streams that are much easier to cross.
Oh, and that col! It map so mucky, all boggy between slippery boulders. That was hard and quite dispiriting at a time of failing light and indistinct paths.. Oh well, it’s all down from here.
Even the fords are currently verging on dangerous. The last one, at least, cleaned my boots.
The walk took 9 hours and at times, was the a slog. The climb was steep but the return was so difficult.
Today’s rain filled all burns and fords with roaring yellow torrents. Every possible pathway was a stream, others were buried in ponds.
A very wet day. I’m now lying in my bunk with most of my clothes drying by the fire in this bothy. There are busy voles above and the roar of water outside. The rivers are now all in spate.
from 17 to 26°C, not much rain, some hot and close days.
Group A; This group had really hot weather on their practice expedition. On those days, they really struggled. Their stamina and concentration was really low. On Monday and Tuesday, they were problem free which supports my idea that it’s hot weather that really gets these kids. They become really slow and make mistakes with navigation.
Wednesday; it took three trips in the minibus to ferry the kids to Ilam for the pickup. The coach arrived on-time carrying the second half of the year-group who were ready to start their expedition. As you can imagine, there was much faffing about organising bags and the loan of boots to those who arrived in unsuitable footwear. Many more had decent boots on but wore trainer socks. Chris bought socks later to lend out.
2°C, light wind.
Snow in summer term? I always knew it was possible, we’ve had snow in April before. It once closed schools in April too. Today’s snow was only thin, but it’s there. However, it didn’t take tong to melt in the sunshine.
Micycle 