Which bike today?

Posted on 4th May 2015 by essiep

16°C, mostly sunny with a light SW breeze.
Which bike today? What a good problem to have- fixed gear or cyclocross?
I rode fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 50.34mi, time: 03:09:48, pace: 3:46min/mi, speed: 15.91mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/970325615
‘Rode up Bannister Hill after riding up to Dalton. The big climb felt harder than last time, but this is the first time I have climbed up both.
Good ride at a decent pace.

Venus Fly Trap plant. I like these chaps, they could star in a good animation.

Drying mud.

Posted on 8th Apr 2015 by essiep

17°C, sun and negligible wind. Dry.

I rode CX with MapMyRide+! Distance: 18.4mi, time: 01:47:20, pace: 5:51min/mi, speed: 10.3mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/931767171
Better weather brings dry air and warm sun. Each day sees the ground becoming dryer and firmer.
I alternated rides this week on the CX and fixed bikes. Each is getting faster.
Today, the canals were less busy, only a few lonely anglers and couples walking dogs. Between them, I built up the speed reaching 17mph along some towpaths. It still requires considerable concentration, but there is less squelching around in black mud and nervously negotiating bridge cobbles.

The bike has thin mud at the back, but some of it smells of dog shit.

Greyness.

Posted on 30th Nov 2014 by essiep

9°C, sunny with light NW breeze,
Sunday, rode fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 52.31mi, time: 03:29:03, pace: 4:00min/mi, speed: 15.01mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/807418955
In contrast to yesterday, today I saw colour, blue sky and golden autumn colours.

Saturday, was it tiredness plus grey weather that left me wanting to sleep all day? Low grey clouds and light mist sucked all the colour out of the day. Dull dull dull.

Near the river Ribble.

Hot September.

Posted on 4th Sep 2013 by essiep

25°C, sun and light S breeze.
After work ride tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 24.2mi, time: 01:33′, speed: 15.50mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/374566469

Another after work ride. Didn’t feel as sprightly as yesterday, but it felt okay. I suppose I was somewhat hungry at the time.
Photo- taken this morning at about 6.40. walking Rosie. Strange was that small patch of fog in the lower end of the field. It had cleared before we left.

lost– have you ever lost something and become almost obsessed with finding it? Do you re-trace your steps over and over? Even view the lost things are mundane and not worth a great deal? I do. It’s only a bag of shopping, but it has stuck in my head. If you see it, it’s the one with:
2 bags of bread flower,
A packet of pasta,
Dog bags,
Fresh garlic.
Box of loose leaf tea

It’s here somewhere, I am sure.

Three rides.

Posted on 16th Jul 2013 by essiep

27°C, more perfect weather. CA+CR 55miles.
On a fine evening like this, what better way to use it than ride for hours, basking in the amber light. This 35miles, plus the usual 20 mile commute makes an impressive total for a work day.
Wouldn’t it be fine to get a metric century this coming Sunday?

I blogged about these structures last year, they were a puzzle at the time. These solar panels follow the sun, here reaching over their right shoulder for the setting sun. This time of year, that’s almost in the north. Quite a stretch.

Heatwave.

Posted on 5th Jul 2013 by essiep

We have a heatwave to come. Rumours are of two weeks worth but ten days seems more likely. England has not had hot sunny days in July since 2007. The whole nation seems delighted.
Interestingly, there is a significant number that express a dislike of summer. Perhaps view feel some social pressure to keep quiet about it though, so there could be many people who feel that way.
I am not one.

Dust devil.

Posted on 6th May 2013 by essiep

18°C, clear blue, light wind.
Ride with MapMyRide! Distance: 80.92mi, time: 05:21 pace: speed: 15.09mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/273429400
The bike ran smoothly, all that work in the winter to replace bearings and so on, has transformed the bike. Gone are the annoying clicks, skipping gears and poor handling. It feels new, and more comfortable than I can remember for years.

Then, a natural phenomenon not seen by me for years. A dust devil swept across a ploughed field near Clifton Campville. I stopped to watch, fascinated. Not seen one since the early 1990s.

A day of firsts.

Posted on 21st Apr 2013 by essiep

14°C, sun, cloudless.
Rode Racelite: MapMyRide! Distance: 35.95mi, time: 02:12, speed: 16.4mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/262780484

A day of firsts, first ride in shorts, first without a helmet, first butterfly in the garden, first bumble-bees. All that work on that bike has succeeded. Before setting off, I took the bottom-bracket out and carefully re-fit. The ride was silky smooth.
BTW: if I count the rides, this year to now, it’s over 1,200 miles.

No signs of any frogs. yet.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Tag Archives: sunshine