Cycling 2026

[Nickslikk2112]

It was cold out there today. Temperature may have been a couple of degrees above freezing, but Strava says the ENE Wind made it feel like -6^oC. Didn't actually feel too bad whilst out there, apart from my fingers, but I've barely warmed up an hour and a half after getting in and had awful hot aches in my fingers.

Apart from that it was a nice spin out, managed to keep the wind as more or less a cross wind, so didn't have to suffer riding into it. I did suffer a close pass from an articulated lorry, I doubt if at any point it was more than a foot away from me. Once it had passed I gave a good old flick of the V signs at it, the following lorry gave me a perfect pass.

That's another 35 miles for February, which is 35 miles more than I thought the weather would allow me from the forecast. Hope that continues.

https://www.strava.com/activities/17271834971

[Fishy]

32miles today.. blimey that was a strong cold wind..was hoping to get to Ochiltree ( was 7 mins away) but was knackered and cold so decided to turn.. headed back via Springs and Coylton and then dropped into Alloway and home ...no run out along the seafront today

Happy to get home

[Nickslikk2112]

It did stop drizzling for a while today, even looked like the sun might come out at one point, but then the drizzle started again. Only light drizzle so I pushed through it manfully. Just did 25 miles as there's too much cycling to watch today. Live, sleep, dream, watch, do cycling, that's my life.

To say I gave the bike and drive chain a good clean on Monday it's ready for doing again after 60 miles. Can't be arsed though with the roads in the state they are. Just about every road round here is festooned with tipper lorries carrying mud away from construction sites and it's all falling out into the road. failing that it's tractors coming out of fields.

https://www.strava.com/activities/17283510014

[Slim]

No rain forecast for today, though it was foggy in the morning. Waited until the mist had almost cleared, then set off at about 1040. The wind was coming from the east so once again I did the eastbound route, incorporating the Sutton Bonington detour as usual.

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The roads were wet early on but conditions became gradually dryer over the afternoon. The sun even came out for a bit late on.

As I sat on a bench in Sutton Bonington, innocently consuming a Muller Rice, a chap strolled along with two little girls, presumably his daughters. As they passed, one of them gave me two-fingered salute. Cheeky little fucker! They looked like a nice middle class family as well. I blame the parents.

Nearly got taken out by a dickhead in an estate car at the bypass roundabout in Coalville. Cut right across me. I shouted WANKER at the top of my voice, much to the amusement of another nearby motorist who had his side window down.

Listened to 5 Live on what was a very interesting news day for politics and current affairs. And another couple of hours of the Callan novel, nearing its conclusion now.

Back on 101.41km, about five minutes before sunset. My last four rides have been fondos, which really just reflects the necessity of getting the distance in while it's not raining. Glad to have got February off the ground anyway.

https://www.strava.com/activities/17287462598

[Fishy]

A dismal  23 miles this morning. Had a route in mind but the strong winds put an end to that.. tried a few alternatives to keep me out the wind but it seemed to come from all directions..
Stuck to the lower single track roads but even then still very breezy

A coffee and a hot cross bun on return lifted the mood somewhat

[Slim]

So my Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x28s arrived, to replace the Green Marathon 700x32 that were just a bit too big for the Roubaix.

Extremely thick, industrial feeling rubber. I'm doubtful that I could knock a pin through them with a hammer! There's no chance a thorn could make it through to the inner tube. But I wanted to go up a level in puncture resistance to make up for the reduction in tyre size compared to the 32s, which do give you better puncture resistance by virtue of taking lower pressure.

I've only put the front one on, it was a bastard to get on the wheel. Not very pliable. I'll have a look at the clearance at the front before I put the rear tyre on.

I don't expect them to roll brilliantly well but peace of mind is worth a lot of effort on a long ride.

[Slim]

I didn't expect to be able to go out today but the forecast improved a bit from yesterday, and careful scrutiny of the rainfall radar suggested that I might be able to avoid the threatened showers if I went south.

So I did. The usual Southbound route, not counting a detour along Beveridge Lane near Ellistown, until I got to Kimcote, when I did the same excursion through Walton toward Shearsby that I did last time. Got slightly lost on the way back after Walton, but recovered after an unintended detour of a couple of km.

Listened to a bit of the Callan novel but not much, because I'd left the house with the battery charge on my phone on about 20%. Fortunately I had enough juice to pay for a bit of a feast at the Gilmorton village shop. I mostly listened to 5 Live, Times Radio and LBC on what was a fascinating news day.

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Very relieved to have got out of the house on a bike for a few hours. I'd started to feel like the weather was not merely stealing my lifestyle, but eroding my identity.

Saw a huge pile of carrots dumped on the ground at a farm near Broughton Astley. Maybe rejects, or surplus.

Didn't get rained on. It was pretty mild and the sun even came out for a bit.

Back on 102.12. Only the second ride this month. The forecast looks awful right out to the 22nd. But that's five fondos this year now, I suppose that's something.

https://www.strava.com/activities/17341175726

[Nickslikk2112]

After not making any use of a mostly dryish day yesterday (I had done an hour on Sunday) due to feeling under the weather, I did venture out into the misty murk today as the drizzle was either absent or very fine.

I was glad that for whatever dumbass reason I stuck extra laps round Brimington and Calow because when I went to do my gentle riding round Sutton Scarsdale and Heath there was a set of traffic lights at roadworks which weren't showing up on the roadworks website. This put a kibosh on me doing 35 miles like last week, but did let me get to 32. Then again I might not have done 35 as intermittent light drizzle had become borderline persistent rain.

I had been hoping to get through Hasland for the first time in months, but a road closure under Chesterfield Station (platform rebuild) which was flagged up as finishing on the 9th of February has now been extended to the 27th.

https://www.strava.com/activities/17350578964

[Nickslikk2112]

Thought today might have been a Turbo Trainer day, but the drizzle stopped and the clouds even started to break up a bit. Of course by the time I was suited and booted the overhead beaks were filling in but they were still in the distance.

So today was a day of going out and just riding round in loops keeping an eye on the weather and if it still looked OK moving on further to do more loops. After 10 miles it started to rain, but the way I had thought to head looked clear so I rode on and did some Calow loops. I then thought I'd be able to head out and do some far Calow loops as it looked quite bright, but then it rained, it rained hard.

Discretion being the better part of valour I headed for home. It rained more intensely. I got soaked. Got to the bottom of our drive the rain stopped, the sun came out. My arse was sodden though so I just rode up the hill to get 20 miles in and went home.

https://www.strava.com/activities/17361828776

[Nickslikk2112]

After a warm day yesterday it had cooled off again today, which was fine by me as I did get a bit warm in my kit yesterday, but today was just fine. It was also substantially drier today, in fact just about totally dry, even the roads were only damp.

I cut back on the "lappage" today, just did a minimal amount round Brimington, then a bit of Hollingwood before I set out to find if Dronfield still existed, it did, in fact I pushed on through the Dronx and almost as far as Dronfield Woodhouse - I'll try extending this 'til I get back to the tops - before heading back the way I came.

Interesting to see how the potholes are developing day by day, I certainly wouldn't want to be going down some roads in the dark. Mrs S has been moaning about some near the school where she works, but I couldn't see anything untoward about them, unlike the jagged fraying beasts elsewhere.

Good to get in another 30 miles and do a bit more climbing.

https://www.strava.com/activities/17373288370
 

[Fishy]

A 34 miler this  morning.. resurrected my route to the village of Ochiltree which I binned due to the wind last week.. blue skies today.. very sunny but still cold and a bit of a stiff breeze in places .. nice to look over to  Arran and see Goat Fell covered in snow..

[Nickslikk2112]

Woke up to sunshine today  Cycling time  Only trouble was my stomach wasn't very happy. It was gurgling a lot last night and then this morning, well, you don't want to know.

But the sun was shining. So once I thought I'd cleared my system out out I went. Started off doing local loops, just in case. Then extended it further out. Discovered a promised set of roadworks weren't there and the ones which weren't marked but were there on Tuesday still aren't marked on the map and are still there.

These roadworks meant that I wasn't going to do the loop I thought as it would mean for encounters with them. So, I went a road I didn't want to take. This road doesn't see the sunshine in Winter, it doesn't see a gritter either and it tends to retain frost and ice. But it hasn't been that cold a lately how bad can it be? Very. Last nights cold temperatures and constant running water had left it very dodgy, when cars went by they weren't kicking up spray but scattering ice chunks. It was squeaky bum time, the wrong day for squeaky bum time. Thankfully I got through unscathed and managed a reasonable 32 miles. Better than I thought I'd get in.

https://www.strava.com/activities/17395078655

[Slim]

I was slightly concerned that conditions might be a bit too cold, or the roads too icy today - at least in places. But with a rare, sunny dry day forecast I had to do at least 65 km somehow. I thought I'd go along the Lower Westbound route for 30-odd km then come back.

Well - fortunately the bright sunshine made the temperature very tolerable and I didn't see any ice on the roads, although the wife's car windscreen was frosted up as I passed it on the way to the garage.

I did the route as far as Hill Ridware, then I decided to turn back. By this time I'd decided I was going to make a fondo of it. Actually quite nice out there. Once back at King's Bromley I decided to go north up the A515, to join the Upper Westbound Route. I've done that once before. Bit of a rollercoaster of hills. But it seems so long since I've done either of the westbound routes that I thought it would be nice to take them both in.

Alas, at Scropton, my progress was halted by a flood in the road. Cars were going through it, to be fair. But it looked deep. A 4x4 that went through was throwing up great plumes of water. So I doubled back to Sudbury. What now? I consulted Google Maps. I could go back south to Coton in the Clay and east from there, but there was a decent chance the road would be flooded along there as well. The River Dove passes close by. My best bet was to go east along the A50 for a few km, then come off after Foston. A horrific prospect. But that's what I did.

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The A50 is decidedly not a road intended for cyclists. In all the hundreds of km I've done along it in a car, I genuinely don't think I've ever seen a cyclist pedalling along it. But it's not actually illegal, so I put my foot down and got it over with. Not an experience I want to repeat. It was busy, and frankly scary.

The breast pocket zip on my cycling jacket failed, allowing my phone to disembark and smack face down against the unforgiving surface of the A515. It still works, and the screen was cracked already. But it looks a right state now.

Back a few minutes after sunset, on 111.28 km. I did have lights with me and I should have used them over the last few km really, but I didn't.

Very happy to have got another couple of neighbouring counties in, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. And to have been out on a bike (Boardman II) that isn't the Tricross or the first Boardman, for the first time since the beginning of November.

The lake in the photo is usually a field.

Listned to LBC, 5 Live and the last 90 minutes of the Callan novel.

[dom]

Didn't go out Saturday as there was a pretty severe frost and the below zero temperatures would have let to slippy areas, especially with all the rain and even flooding recently.

Sunday morning was much milder but I woke up to  leaden skies and very heavy rain.  The weather app insisted this would all clear by 10 so we agreed to meet in Dunderry (about half an hour cycle from Navan).  The weather was great and we even got to experience sunshine and dare I say it warmth on parts of the journey. 

The very wet weather meant there was still lots of lying water in the roads and we avoided these as much as possible.  On one occasion though an approaching car meant we had to skirt the edge of one that happened to contain 2 nasty potholes.  My cycling colleague managed to catch them both (there were probably a lot more hidden) but survived being thrown off or even puncturing.

Another 50K (well 49 actually) in the bank so happy enough with that despite the poor weather conditions. 305kms since the 17th Jan - happy enough with that after the sick start of the year, hopefully more to come.

[Fishy]

All ready for the off this afternoon.. checking the tyres I noticed something on the back wheel.. was hoping it would just brush off.. but no one of these fkn little razor sharp hedge trimming needles.. soon as I removed it down went the tyre..... took me ages to pinpoint the hole on the inner tube.. anyway repaired and back on... so better luck tomorrow I hope..