Cycling 2025

[Nickslikk2112]

And out again today for a forty miler. Was hoping to be back just before the big climb in today's Giro stage, but them buggers were racing along at over 32mph when I was hoping they'd do about 26.5mph. Insane. I'd have timed it right if they'd stuck to just dawdling along on the flat.

Did a variation on my Tour de Tibshelf ride, roadworks in Brimington meant I went out through Spital instead. Doesn't make much difference, but puts me up 12% slopes which tax me. Don't know why I ride through Tibshelf though, it's full of people driving out of side roads without looking and pulling out from parked cars when they're on the wrong side of the road. Tibby's the sort of place where schools have to take on kids who identify as Cats. Surely it just means a saucer of milk for Breakfast Club?

Nice sunny weather again and managed to up my average speed to 16.8mph from 16.5mph last week.

No interesting birdlife today either.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14549871349

[Fishy]

Another 30 miler today.. thought I'd better get a ride in before the weather breaks here on Saturday.

[Nickslikk2112]

Another 40 miler today, that's three 40 milers back to back for the first time since last September. I want to get back to having Friday as a rest day and rain starts appearing in the forecast from Saturday.

I think for the first time this year I put in two Strava categorised climbs. I may have done it already, but it was really two parts of the same hill. Today was my first ascent of Harewood Road of the year and thankfully, unlike every other road today it was quiet going up it, apart from the van which came up behind me right at the steepest, narrowest, gnarliest bit of road. Luckily he held back.

Heard a Cuckoo up on Beeley Moor, think I heard one up there this time last year. Saw a bloke out on his Time Trial bike too. That's a bit Cuckoo you don't get good vision on a TT bike.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14560108140

[Slim]

Heard a Cuckoo up on Beeley Moor, think I heard one up there this time last year.

Heard one somewhere when I was out on Tuesday, I'd forgotten about that.

[Slim]

Really wanted to do a fondo at least today, but when I woke up I felt tired and listless. Just didn't feel like it. But I'd summoned enough motivation to do a short ride by lunchtime.

I was going to do a Twycrosser via Packington, but 2km after I set off I found that the bloody council had been spreading around the gravel again, at Alton Hill. Turned back and diverted via the main road instead.

Down as far as Little Twycross, then took a left there to Bilstone. I like that road, a nice and quiet country lane. Don't do it much. Then at Bilstone I turned back upwards. Went up to Ashby for a bit. Back down to Packington and from there I avoided Alton Hill by diverting to Heather, via Normanton. Then back home through Ibstock.

Quite a nice run out, I'll just have to avoid Alton Hill until the vehicular traffic has bedded the gravel in a bit. Warm out there.

Listened to more Reacher, nearing the conclusion now. Back on 56.49km.

I'm still hoping to break my monthly distance record. Two fondos and a Twycrosser would do it. There's a week left, but the weather looks iffy.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14571015934

[Nickslikk2112]

Went out and did the exact same ride as last Saturday. Took me three minutes longer, yet I had to put out more power to go slowly. That's what happens when the wind does an about face and goes up a notch or three. Lost five minutes going out into the wind and only gained two coming back. I suppose going downhill is still quite quick no matter what.

After hearing a Cuckoo on Thursday, I heard another one today on Clodhall Lane. First time I've heard Cuckoos in two different locations in the same year. After telling Mrs S  I hadn't seen any Curlew or Lapwing this year, I've managed to see - and hear - a Peewit today.

Today's 33 miles gets me to 530 for May, how much more will the weather allow me?

https://www.strava.com/activities/14582867247/

[Slim]

Decent enough weather except for a threat of showers and a strong wind from the west. Hoping to take a decent bite out of the 257km I needed to do in the remainder of the month, I embarked upon an Upper Westbound fondo at about 1110.

I went up through Swannington to avoid the gravel nonsense on Alton Hill, and up to Isley Walton - where I took the sharp left toward Swarkestone Bridge and the Beloved A Road. When I came to the A515 about 45km later I turned downwards, then at the roundabout north of Draycott in the Clay, I turned eastward along a road called Fauld Lane. Hadn't been along there before, but last night a route planner told me it would be reasonably flat. I quite liked it.

Unfortunately when you get to the A515 and find yourself needing to do another few km to complete the first half of a fondo, there are no good options really. Not much more than the A50 to the north. Too hilly if you go south. Certainly in terms of doing the distance today's choice, to go along Fauld Lane, was fine. But it seems a bit of a cop out to be cycling eastward toward home, only to turn and go westward, then eastward again a couple of km further to the north. I suppose it doesn't really matter. Just feels a bit contrived, when the furthest endpoint of a ride isn't actually the most distant point from home.

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Anyway - after Swarkestone, I came down through Ticknall, where I took the pic. Happy to see that The Wheel Inn, one of my favourite pubs, is due to reopen in the summer.

From Ashby I detoured through Heather and Ibstock, again to avoid Alton Hill.

I did get rained on briefly, near Willington. But the headwind going west was far more troublesome. Relief to come back the other way.

Listened to more Reacher, then coverage of the final Premier League games on 5 Live. Back on 108.76. Can I get another 149 in before June? Depends on the weather but at the moment it's not exactly encouraging:

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https://www.strava.com/activities/14593882972

[Fishy]

Got out late morning before the forecasted rain which never materialised.. managed 40 miles.. pretty windy in places but a nice finish coming off the Carrick Hills and finishing along the sea front

[Fishy]

I don't usually know exactly where I'm going but today I did.. decided  on a trip to Turnberry via Culzean castle.. to get a photo of me giving the finger to Trump Turnberry hotel.. 31 miles a good day out

[Nickslikk2112]

Had a 41 mile ride out today. Rode out to the Longshaw Estate hoping to get a picture of me giving the finger to Chwis Packham because Springwatch is coming from there this year. Alas the self proclaimed Autist wasn't out and about. There was a dead Badger though, maybe someone will get him.

Was marginally slower than on the same ride last week, marginally longer too as I forgot to do my starting lap, but put an extra one in before descending back. Also got delayed by a lorry in Holmesfield, which was determined to back out of a drive despite traffic coming both ways. I ended up with a car to the right of me which was overtaking me, he had actually given plenty of room and was over on the other side of the carriageway so I had to get on the pavement to let the lorry come down on the wrong side of the road. Why are people so impatient these days?

Anyway, nearly at 600 miles for May.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14620192906

[Slim]

The weather forecast has improved quite a bit for the end of the month. There was a bit of rain this morning, but the afternoon looked dry. So: I set off at 10:45 to take another bite out of the (roughly) 150km I wanted to do in the remaining (or "last" if you're a Blue Oyster Cult fan) days of May.

I really wanted to do the Dad's Army route. But careful scrutiny of the rainfall radar suggested that a band of rain was going to pass close to the south. I'd get rained on if I went that way. So I decided to do go up and west; the Upper Westbound route.

So I did that. I went up through Swannington rather than Coleorton, to avoid the "resurfacing" near Alton Hill. Up through Melbourne and Swarkestone, right along Uttoxeter Road to Scropton, looped back through Hatton.

I came a longer way back, through Weston and Aston, then Shardlow and over Cavendish Bridge. Much warmer by now, and sunny. Took off a couple of layers at a bench at Weston. Or Aston. Can never remember which is which.

As I descended through Donington, it occurred to me that I'd probably be back on about 93km. Rude not to extend the ride to a fondo. So at Belton I performed an anti-clockwise loop - along Ashby Road, up to Long Whatton, west to Diseworth and back down to Belton. Then back the usual way.

Would have been better to have gone exploring a bit further at the remote end, but 106.22km is 106.22km.

Took the Tricross for the first time since February and I must say I really enjoyed it. It rolls nicely despite being heavy and feels reassuringly solid and stable.

Listened to 5 Live and finished the Reacher novel. The conclusion does make sense and actually it's quite clever. Very different from the film. But a bit anti-climactic.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14622540658

[Nickslikk2112]

And today I got over 600 miles for May. If I went for it over the next couple of days then 700 would be on, but tomorrow's Giro stage is just too much of a climbing treat. Plus even though I've only done two days in a row I'm feeling a bit jaded. I think it's because there was a real strong headwind half the time today, it was a slog at times.

Did another variation of the run out through Tibshelf and back through Pilsley, must start going back to lesser used and doing never used roads. The only problem with never used roads is they are never used because of seriously steep pitches!

https://www.strava.com/activities/14630543147

[Slim]

Today's primary objective was clear: to do at least 42km, which would set a new monthly distance record. But I also wanted to go south of the A5, to revisit the "Dad's Army" territory.

I chose the quickest route down there through Heather, Swepstone, Snarestone, Twycross. But I had to reroute between Twycross and Sheepy Magna, when I found that a section of the road along there had been "resurfaced" with Leicestershire County Council's favourite grey gravel. I went back to the main road and approached Sheepy from Wellsborough Road instead.

So I went down to Old Grendon, onto the A5 then down to Wood End. Usually from here I'd take a right but I wanted to repeat a stretch that I discovered a few months ago. So I turned left instead and went down through a place called Hurley Common, then Knowle Hill - before coming back up to the usual "Dad's Army" route through Kingsbury and Piccadilly.

In order to avoid the gravel near Sheepy, I came east via Ratcliffe and Sibson - where I dumped some old paperbacks I didn't want any more into the lending library phonebox. I should have thought to go that way on the way down, I'd been carting them around for nearly 60km at that point.

Came back up Gibbet Lane, then deviated to Barton in the Beans, so I could come home up Newton Lane. Felt like a long time since I'd been up that way. At the Gate Inn at Ratcliffe Culey, they were flying the Knights Templar from their flagpole in the beer garden. Why?

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Back on 78.57km. Very happy to have clocked up 1338km this month. Didn't think I'd ever beat my previous record from August 2016 (1302). But never particularly wanted to either, at least until the last couple of weeks.

Also very satisfied to have been down the other side of the A5, as well. Perhaps I can fashion a fondo route that goes down that way, between Birmingham and Coventry.

Listened to 5 Live but also a new audiobook, a memoir by Luke James, who was the frontman / guitar player in the first version of Fashi0n. He doesn't write well. He doesn't read it out brilliantly well either. But it's a compelling and vivid story.

[Fishy]

Got a 41 miler in today with pretty much a fixed idea of where I was going.. had a slight deviation as I came across a single track road with a give way sign which is always good..a quick check on google maps and off I went. no fingers up to anyone today apart from the boy racer in his supped up ford escort or whatever the fuck it was who thought it was really funny to get really close behind me.. cunt..

[Nickslikk2112]

Was fully intending to get a 50 miler in today as the Giro stage was scheduled to have an earlier than usual finish. It did, but what with Seemon Yatez winning I watched all the post stage analysis. Ah well.

I got 40 miles in by adding a trip out to Owler Bar roundabout and back onto last Saturday's ride. Don't know if I'd have been able to do 50 miles as the wind on the tops was Brutal. Nice dropping back down though.

Finally got to see - and hear - my first Curlew of the year up over Spitewinter Lane. It was flying slowly into the wind and giving out it's Curlew call. Lovely bird, but with them being the size of a Hen Pheasant I always wonder what they taste like.

Also saw a bloke with a huge microphone up near Shillito Woods, wonder if it was one of the Springwatch crew being as they're based close by. A couple of vans were parked up nearby too.

Got me to 678 miles for May, which will do.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14654764519