Cycling 2026

[Slim]

A little bit cooler today, still too warm for cycling in the afternoon, at least for long. But I thought I'd get a fondo in if I got up early enough. I set off at 0845.

I did the eastbound route, over the new bridge again, along Paudy Lane. Stopped after 49km and turned back, estimating that if I came back via Narrow Lane and Wymeswold then did the Sutton Bonington detour, I'd be back on just about 100km.

Not a bad guess - 101.53km.

I stopped along Clawson Lane to check on the two AA batteries I'd left along there in a sealed plastic bag. Last time I checked on them I had the impression that they'd somehow become stuck together. Looked closer - they were still in a bit of the original plastic wrap, not stuck together at all. I'm unlikely to need them in the next few weeks so I tested them in my DAB. They seem fine. I ran them for a couple of hours on the way home.

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I also stopped at the East Midlands Electrity Board station, a little off-road facility near Grimston. Last time I was there, on the way back from a long ride, I left behind an empty yoghurt pot and water tin, because I couldn't be bothered to find space in my backpack and hadn't brought a plastic bag. They were still there three weeks later. So this time I brought them home with me. I also saw another couple of bits of litter so I brought those as well.

Listened to a special Iain Dale show on LBC about the frequently wrong but always wonderful Ann Widdecombe. Quite touched by the outpouring of love for her from the various contributors and callers. I winced when Jacob Rees-Mogg started expressing his belief in the supernatural, though. Crazy stuff.

497 km done this month now.

I was a bit too cool for the first 10km. But definitely too warm for the last 20.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19269950368

[Slim]

Cool again today, due to warm up in the afternoon but thankfully only to about 24C. The wind was coming from the east, but I thought I'd do the southbound route.

I made a substantial modification. To avoid the climb through Earl Shilton, I took a long(ish) detour via Desford and Hinckley Road. Was it worth it? No, not really. Boring, busy roads.

After Kimcote, as I've done a few times recently, I went north-east through Walton and alomg Mowsley Lane. Then I saw a left turn called Mere Road, so since I only had another couple of klicks to do before turning back, I took it. Just to explore a bit.

But this took me ultimately back toward Walton. I'd looped round. Seemed a bit perverse to turn back so I just kept going and headed back the shorter way.

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Made up the distance by doing a brief detour to Ashby Magna then later, the long way detour along West Lane, east of Ellistown. Didn't bother with the Desford detour, just came back the usual way through Kirkby Mallory.

Actually had leggings on for the first 60km or so. A bit too warm over the last 20. I should look for a lightweight long-sleeved top that I can backpack easily. But what I like mainly about the ones I have is that they have a handy set of pockets.

Listened to more Dredd, Times Radio, LBC, 5 Live. 101.27km.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19295955334

[Nickslikk2112]

It's getting back into it after time off time again. Went out for a 26 miler on Sunday which was OK, even set a best time - for me - up a hill I'd done over 60 times before. Thought at my age I was beyond beating best times - unless I started riding new roads.

Went out today and took it up to a 40 miler and felt a bit jaded. Kept running into busy roads round Heath as well, took diversions to escape them and then found the probable cause of them - a Horse drawn funeral cortege.

Paid a return visit to the hill where I set my PB on Sunday and took another seven seconds off it. Didn't mean to, but I went past a group of three cyclists who were just setting off from a stop and as I was going fairly quickly at the time I decided to keep the pace up so they didn't come by. I needn't have bothered, I found them on Strava and their best times were about three minutes slower than mine.

Nice enough ride, bit like today's Tour de France stage, constant up and down, thankfully the ups weren't as uppity

https://www.strava.com/activities/19308431119

[Nickslikk2112]

Wish today's ride had been as flat as today's Tour de France stage, but hey, we can't have everything. Seems I did the same ride a fortnight ago, can't remember it, thought it was more like four weeks ago. Old age and memory.

No best segment times today, or even top three, but did do my best power output for 45 mins and 30 mins, didn't think I was pushing that hard.

Cloudy start to the ride, cloudy early middle of the ride, then at my furthest point from home the clouds cleared and back in bright sunshine. What did I do to turn righteous? Back on 40 miles anyway.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19322524126

[Nickslikk2112]

Managed to squeeze another 40 miles out of the legs today. They were feeling a bit out of sorts, I blame sitting for 6 hours on a plane last week.

It had warmed up again today and with the legs feeling lethargic I kept to low level roads, but did take in some new ones in Nottinghamshire. Not many, but enough. I thought Notts would be flat, but there were a couple of kickers involved, both on narrow roads and at both of the traffic appeared behind me just as I was about to ascend, bet that made their day. After that it was a drag up a road which was more gravel than the nearby gravel trails, with deep potholes between the gravel patches. Not enjoyable.

Then found the burnt field near Scarcliffe which made local news this week. It impressed me so much I went round to visit another side of it. OK, I'm not that sad, I was just putting in a loop to help me get to 40 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19335898147/

[Slim]

My plan for today was to do either a fairly simple eastbound ride or a more complicated route that I devised last night, which would follow the eastbound route for 40km or so, then go north into Nottinghamshire as far as a place called Cropwell Bishop, then north-east to a place called Sutton, then south-east through Redmile to join the eastern end of Long Lane, which is a long, flat quiet stretch of road that I'm fond of. Finally I'd come back through Harby, Hose, Long Clawson and Nether Broughton, which I've done quite a few times before as a sort of alternative eastbound route.

I got up at about 0830 and decided to do the complicated route. Set off at about 1000 on the Roubaix.

About 85 metres later, the saddle collapsed! Fortunately I wasn't hurt. But one of the two large steel retaining bolts on the seat post had just snapped.

I wheeled it back to the garage and set off on the X instead.

Long story short: I didn't do the route I intended. I took a wrong turn before Cropwell Bishop and ended up taking an unwanted short cut to Harby. Still fun apart from some terrible road surfaces, still a bit of an adventure, but not quite what I wanted. On top of that I took a wrong turn after Long Clawson and ended up pedalling back up to the "usual" eastbound route.

I added distance by taking in Paudy Lane, then coming back the Long Whatton / Diseworth / Coleorton way. I'd come east through Loughborough but going back that way always feels like a slog. I will use the new bridge at Zouch coming back west, and I did that today.

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I stopped at Long Clawson for a rest on the bench there in the shade with a Magnum ice cream from the village shop. Nice.

Photo taken at a little wharf north of Hickling.

A bit uncomfortably warm later on.

As for the seat post - I should be able to repair it easily enough with a new bolt but what if that had happened 100km from home? I've ordered 20 high-tensile steel replacement bolts anyway. I have a suspicion that the ones that came with the seat posts are generic steel.

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Another 120.73km in the bag anyway.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19339530081

[Slim]

The first Boardman has developed an annoying rumbling vibration at the rear that's evident when you apply pressure to the pedals.

In the past I've fixed this by replacing the cassette along with the chain, so I've just bought a new one.

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I could probably extend the life of my cassettes by replacing the chain a bit more frequently and diligently, but 8-speed cassettes are not that expensive.

The Boardman has done 28864 km and it's been through three cassettes now. They cost about £16 so actually, I spend about 17p on cassette wear and tear every 100km.

By contrast to be fair the original cassette on the X has lasted about 18,700km. Or did I replace it when I bought the new wheels? Can't remember!

[Slim]

Yesterday, I swapped in a new cassette and chain on Boardman 1. After I sized and connected the chain on the stand, I gave it a spin round by hand. It seemed a little bit noisy, rough.

I checked it carefully. The chain was the right length, it was routed properly. Certainly I'd fitted the cassette correctly. So I lubed it (usually I just leave the grease a new chain is packed in as a lube for 200km or so) and left it.

This morning it seemed a bit better. So I decided I'd take the Boardman with me today. Usually I wouldn't do more than a shortish ride on a bike with a new component, let alone two. But I was anxious to see that it was OK.

I intended to do an eastbound ride, taking in a few miles of Long Lane at the far end. Set off at about 0950. Cooler weather today, still warm enough for bare legs.

Got as far as the other end of the new bridge - the road had been dressed with dusty gravel. I turned back over the bridge and pedalled up the A6 to Kegworth, then I went round Sutty Bonner in the hope of evading the gravel, but when I reached Rempstone Roard it was there as well (not surprising really - only about 2km further along the main road).

So: back and down through Sutty, to go through Normanton and Stanford on Soar. Then east past Walton, along Paudy Lane.

Along Paudy Lane I noticed a small group of sheep next to a farmer's fence. Nothing odd about that, except one of them was on the wrong side of the fence. I stopped. It looked like it had come over a stile. I hoped I'd be able to shoo it back over, but although the other sheep all legged it, it didn't move. I approached it cautiously. It was caught up in a thorny bush. So I decided I'd rescue it.

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I managed to snap one of the long, thorny stalks it was attached to. Using a cycling mitten to protect my fingers, I managed to remove another from its fleece.

The sheep really wasn't happy about this, despite my best intentions. I wasn't completely sure I wasn't going to get bitten (do sheep do that?). It definitely wasn't enjoying the attention. But at this stage, it was able to struggle away from the bush. And the human.

I hoped that, at this point, it would climb over the stile again and back into the field to join its mates. But it scooted off along the fence, still on the wrong side. I thought of trying to outflank it then shoo it back toward the stile. But at this point it was the other side of a ditch and some trees.

I gave up. I'll just have to hope it did find its way back along the fence to the stile. I think it probably did, they have a strong herd instinct.

I continued on, down the hill to Long Clawson, but only went east as far as Stathern. I'd already added about 20 unintended kilometres so I gave Long Lane a miss. Came back up the hill to Eastwell. Back through Loughborough, then something I haven't done for years - I ascended Snell's Nook Lane and Copt Oak Road, before coming through Coalville. Horrendous climbing, but made a change. I definitely irritated some motorists behind me coming up the hill past some roadworks, though.

The new chain and cassette did feel a bit rough to start off, but they seemed to bed in and were fine after about 40km. I suspect the initial roughness might be due to the shelf-life of the factory grease having expired - it had been in the garage for a couple of years.

Listened to the last of the Dredd short stories, LBC, Times Radio, a bit of 5 Live.

Back on 126.87km. 846km this month, 6030 this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19366511969

[Nickslikk2112]

Managed to get an hour and a half in after watching the TdF. Nice temperature today, proper Goldilocks weather as it wasn't too windy either.

One thing I don't like is bloody eScooters, they're a total menace. Had one pass me today, kid on it must have been doing 25mph. Balaclava wearing kid too, obviously a wrong 'un. We need the filth to catch them and crush them - and the scooters.

Got 25 miles in for 145 in the week.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19366423483/

[dom]

3rd Fondo of the Summer yesterday. A cool start gradually warmed up until by the end was very warm.

A slowish start as we were with an old member of Trim Wheelers who was not quite up to speed. We left her in Trim after 33 Kms and at that point decided to go for the Fondo. Bit of an unstructured route solely designed with jetting the Kms in.

After a fondo in each of May, June and now July, I'm hopeful of keeping that run going in August, September and October

[Slim]

I only wanted to do a shortish ride today. Also wanted to test the new seat post bolts that I applied to the Roubaix yesterday.

I would have done a Twycrosser but unusually, a warm wind was coming from the north. I set off at 1245 intending to go up Top Brand, then make it up as I went along.

What I did was to take a left at Isley Walton, go up over Swarkestone Bridge then flirt with the outskirts of Derby at Chellaston. I was going to go up Infinity Park Way, a fairly recent road that skirts Derby to the south-west through a new(ish) industrial estate. But somehow I took a wrong exit at the roundabout over the A50, and took the old road right up into Chellaston. I managed to weave my way through a new housing estate toward Infinity Park Way. From there I went up to the old Rolls-Royce test site.

Then I came back down - through Ticknall and Hartshorne. I decided I'd grit my teeth and face Bastard Hill.

And yet - I found myself approaching Hartshorne without having faced the aforementioned challenging hill. Whisky Tango Foxtrot?

Looking at the map it looks like I missed a left turn. But I'm a bit confused to be honest. It was never so easy to avoid Bastard Hill in the past. Some people argue that the Large Hadron Collider has changed reality. Perhaps that's what happened.

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Back through Woodville and Ashby. Hadn't been that way for a while. Nice run out.

Listened mostly to 5 Live. Sad news about Kevin Keegan and lots of speculation about the Burnham cabinet on the day that he's become PM.

The photo was taken from Stanton Hill, near Ticknall. The building on the skyline is a WW2 pill box. Built in 1940 or 1941 to prepare for an invasion that never happened and farmers have had to work around it ever since. Difficult to imagine German infantry advancing along the A514 from the south, but that's exactly the scenario it was built for.

Fun run out, another 60.20km in the bag.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19390067044

[Nickslikk2112]

There's been a bit of illness kicking around at the Tour de France, sore throats and fever. Think I must have caught a bit of it as I have a sore throat and a bit of a thick head - nothing new there though - but it was another Golidlocks day, bit of cloud, bit of sun, warm but not hot and next to to breeze, so you have to get out there.

On the advice of Dr. Mrs S, I didn't head for the hills and stayed on the low roads so as to not over exert myself. Wasn't too sure where to go to get up to 40 miles but I just ambled around a bit round Shirland before heading back. Sore throat now appears to have gone, but my heads throbbing a bit.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19402210748

[Nickslikk2112]

Feeling a bit more like it I decided to head back to the hills today, doing a similar ride to last Tuesday, but taking a different, hillier, ride out to Stubley Hollow in Dronfield. After that it was more or less the same. Ended up with a slightly lower average speed than last week, but that's down to having to do more climbing per mile.

Plenty of other cyclists out today, misanthropic sociopath that I am, I got thoroughly pissed off with having to wave back at them and answer their greetings. Bastards. Quite a few women among them today, but most certainly not my type.

Another 40 miles means I'm over 500 miles for July, nearly 600 miles up on this time last year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19416886285

[Slim]

I thought I'd probably do a fondo today. But I woke up quite early and, in a rare spontaneous moment, decided to do a longer one - at least 161km, or if you like an 'imperial fondo' (100 miles y'see).

So I got up, got a few things together and was off and away at about 0720.

There are a few variations of the eastbound route now, but this time I went out via Loughborough and along Paudy Lane.

I went as far as the bridge under the A1 near South Witham having done 73km. Then I turned back, intending to add distance either by coming through Kegworth, or doing some other detour, or combination of them. The road along there was still a bit rough from a recent gravel resurfacing effort so I didn't want to go much further eastbound.

Well - I came back through Burton on the Wolds, Long Whatton and Diseworth but it was apparent that I still wasn't going to return on the requisite distance. So I looped up to Kegworth and came down the A6, to go through the junction at Zouch a second time. I still had to faff around the village for a km or so.

Pleased to see that the gravel they chucked down near the new bridge has actually been covered in tar now. I hate it when they just dump the stuff and leave it.

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I was really fortunate with the weather, I think. Cool and cloudy. Actually I regretted having stashed a couple of layers in a hedge in the camo bag after about 38km. My arms were a bit too cool for about an hour. The absence of bright sunshine or excessive heat made it a breeze, until about 1500 when I was back in Leicestershire. Conditions were a couple of degrees cooler 50km to the east.

Thinking about it - it would have been an ideal day to do a proper long run out to east Lincolnshire. Would have been a little bit cooler when I returned to Leicestershire. But - I didn't really feel like it. Happy enough with 161.71km.

Listened to Times Radio, LBC, 5 Live.

That's a rather healthy 1068km this month now. Still a week left before August kicks in and if I can do another 270km in that time - feels doable - I'll have a new monthly distance record.

Pic taken at Waltham on the Wolds, once the home of Bob Grant, Jack from On the Buses.

https://www.strava.com/activities/19421368390

[Thenop]

^^ great spot for a pic, watched over by the all seeing eye.
Only thing missing (after reading it's former inhabitant) is a bus stop.