21°C, some sun, but mostly drizzle with heavy pulses. Moderate S.
A nice warm start, but drizzle set in. From the south. There were pulses heavy enough to make bubbles in puddles. I was tired at the end but after the last week, that’s not surprising.
Up early, as I do in high summer. This was the fastest yet, helped by using proper running shoes. Ideally, I’d like a.oair that are a big less squishy and more springy. I don’t need to build stamina this way, it’s all about building resilience in my legs.
Watched the airshow for a while. From the back garden, Hawker Hurricane, then at the seawall: Mig 15. Then ride through the brown and stopped to see a P51 Mustang. That was great, I loved the sound. It makes a whirring as well as the clattering rumble from the 27 litre engine. It looked fine in silver and red livery.
Sounds ideal this; spent the afternoon killing around on the grass in the garden. The deep cerulean blue sky was perfect and unblemished. Occasionally, it was cut by a vapour trail or a pair of buzzards. Eventually, I rode back home. This time, the route was mostly towpaths and then gravel. Near the end, I grew tired of the vibrations, especially the last 5 miles. I shall sleep deeply.
17°C, light S. Lots of sun.
Something bit me on this ride. I didn’t really feel it but my lip swelled up as I rode. During the tricky part of the embankment where I couldn’t let go of the bars. I did get a quick swipe but thought nothing of it. Towards the end, it looked like a Botox failure (mind you, botox always seems to look wrong).
Another thing I brought home was the smell of cow maure. The nature reserve allows cattle to graze the other side of the embankment. One part of the embankment was thick with dung and no way to get past to avoid it. My shoes and the tyres were caked in it. that suff is very difficult to wash off.
16°C, moderate SW, full sun.
That was refreshing! After supper, the sun was glorious so out ce.the Jake CX from the shed. It’s got a new headset from Hope and a new bottom bracket. Wow, that made a difference. It’s so silky and light at the front end. Next job ought to be the wheel bearings. The Chaim has plenty of life.
Summary for the week. Warming up after a cool weekend. Strong sun and little rain.
Ridden the Zing, Jake and the Paddy Wagon this week. The first day felt hard and was rather disheartening, but as the week wore on – it felt more natural. I’ve worked away most weekends on DofE so that has interrupted my cycling habits.
Rides were 36.1+ 51.7+27.9+ 21.5+32.6 = 169.8km
So that’s 104 miles in 5 days. I’m happy with that even with the low pace of several.
Some repairs are pending. My summer road shoes are falling out of shape, the left tends to tilt my foot outwards which then changes the whole leg. My left knee sweeps outwards with each stroke and lowers the prower into the pedal that side. Those Carnac shoes are ancient, I’ve forgotten when I bought them, probably in the 90s. A new pair are on order.
Secondly, the headset on the Jake cross bike has gone notchy so I’ll get replacement races soon too. Next problem is lubrication in gear cables. Muc-off lube tends to dry up quickly making gear changes hit & miss. I’m going to try a heavier grade of oil. Maybe confine the thin dry lube to the shifter mechaisms.
8°C, strong SW, mostly sunny
Kona Jake: it’s such a good bike for me. The fit feels natural and it’s light and reasonably quick. There were a few placesa where I had to carry it over fallen trees (felled by one of the recent gales. We’ve had 3 named storms over the last week. There is debris everywhere. The beech is a mix of dead grass torn from plants and masses of human rubbish.
It’s been a worrying time at home for the roof. Last time it was like this, i had to climb a ladder and replace missing tiles. It’s fun riding in the wind at times. Some directions I can on ly do 6mph standing on pedals and then I return at 30 mph with no effort.
21°C, full sun, moderate SW breeze
Dry sunny Cannock Chase. I was braver.
4°C, full sun but ice patches remain light NE breeze
This is Cheshire lines which runs up the side of Lancashire. It looks icy but there were no problems with grip. It was a fine day and I was so glad to be out.The muddiest part is by a sewage works and though the puddles look large, the best line is straight through the middle of them. Around there should stink but now it doesn’t. That is a Covid problem – I can’t smell bad things. You’d think that was good, but actualy it’s a nuisance. How can I tell if food is off, or whether a shirt needs a wash?
15°C, light S wind, dry but for rain in the last mile.
A ride ruined. I stopped after 2 miles with a soft tyre to blow it back up. 2 miles later, it had lost pressure as I got onto the gravel section. The inner tubes are slime filled which seals punctures but I was thought the valve was bunged up. It certainly looked green (the colour of the slime).
Eventually, I took the tube out and found 2 needle-like thorns. Okay, 1 more try… No better. Being 10 miles from home, I put a normal tube in. Meanwhile the clouds loomed dark.
I’m now taking a break at home because I’m having troubles finding the holes to patch.
7°C, sunny with light wind
Coming to the end of the wettest autumn I can remember. Black gritty mud coats most roads and puddles hide portholes. When I get time, I’ll put CX tyres on the commuter.
What about this little painting? It’s acrylic onto A5, painted while the others were watching Strictly. That makes it about 1 ½ hours or so. It needs a little work around the left eye and hand; about another half hour.
I found this quite tough in comparison to oil paint.
Most of these problems could be solved by using a slowing agent, the problem they introduce is that they look milky. All of those problems could be solved by using oil paint.
Micycle 