Cycling 2025

[Slim]

I waited for the advertised rain to pass over in the early afternoon before setting off at about 1445. I did a Twycrosser, in the hope that it wasn't going to rain again. Unfortunately I did get rained on quite a bit, but it was light. Extended the ride a bit by pedalling across to Ellistown on the way back up. Mostly dry and warm over the last half of the ride apart from a shower near Ibstock.

Quite a pleasant 54.83 km, 943 this month now. I want to do at least another 90 km this month because if I do, then if I hit the monthly targets I set for the remaining months, I'll do 10,000 km this year.

Listened to Matt Chorley on 5 Live.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15189171663

[Nickslikk2112]

There was rain forecast for this morning, but if it fell I avoided it. Didn't avoid closed roads. Went out one way to avoid roadworks only to find my way barred by a genuinely closed road - tree felling - so I did what I avoid doing in "shopping" hours and went up through Chesterfield. Was actually less busy than evenings.

Didn't really know where to go after that, too many of the climbs to the tops have been surface dressed recently and I didn't want to come back down on looses gravel, so I just rode up and down the Cordwell valley a few times - where the recent rains had washed out gravel fans into the road...

One of the roads out of the Cordwell valley has also been surface dressed recently and the others, well the others are just a bit too steep for my legs at the minute. I'll go up to 8% but not over 10% for any great length of time.

31 miles got me over 500 for July.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15196777886/

[Nickslikk2112]

And out again today for another 30 miler. Again staying close to home - not that you can get that far doing 32 miles - in case of rain. It wasn't forecast, but it always looked like it. I really don't like getting wet and a wet chain means a chain which needs relubing, once a week is enough.

Just did various laps of various bits of road just because they're there. Went up one road three times and every time at a gate at the top there were more and more horses, hope they didn't miss me when I headed home. Quite quiet on the roads today and most drivers were behaving themselves. Get's a bit worrying when you're not in fear for your life all ride.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15208808463

[Slim]

Today's plan was to do a fondo. When I got up though, I noticed that the temperature seemed rather lower than it was supposed to be. No matter - plenty to do anyway. A shorter ride in the afternoon would suffice.

So I set off at 1pm to do part of the eastbound route. Went as far as Narrow Lane, where I turned to come back the upper way, via Wymeswold and Rempstone. I did a diversion round the back of Sutton Bonington via West Leake, which was really nice. Must do that more often. And once back over the Leicestershire border, I did the diversion via Diseworth and down Top Brand.

Cloudy and a bit windy, but conditions were dry and warm otherwise.

Nice view of a couple of planes overhead descending into East Midlands, about 4km in front of me as I pedalled between West Leake and Sutty.

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Listened to Matt Chorley, more of Kevin Armstrong's memoir, and a bit more of the Dredd novella which has a brilliant plot twist - I almost got off the bike to applaud the author.

Lots of stinky dead badgers around at the moment. Back on 75.73.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15212281710

[Nickslikk2112]

Normally in a week I try for three forty mile rides. This week it's been four thirty mile rides. Gets the same result. Today was a reasonably quick ride too as I wanted to get back before the TdF started the Col du Glandon. Nearly managed it.

Helped by a tailwind on the way out I was at Morton quicker than I've ever been, of course tailwind out = headwind home. I'd normally I'd expect my average speed would increase on the home run, but today it was the opposite. Still a reasonable speed for the day though. I'll accept it.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15219730921/

[Slim]

Another warm, sunny day and no excuse not to do a fondo. The wind was coming from the west and I decided on the Lower Westbound route. Hadn't done it for a while. All the way to Abbots Bromley. I did that. Went as far as Bagot's Wood, then came back the same way, or almost.

On the way out I detoured slightly through Netherseal so I could get some stuff from the village shop there. The proprietor kindly offered to bring out a chair so I could have a rest stop, but I declined since I'd only been going for 15km. Exemplary customer service though. I think he's new.

I stopped at the bus shelter north of Hill Ridware on the way back, to have a five minute rest and fiddle my phone. A friendly golden labrador appeared out of nowhere. He jumped up, wanting to be petted - so I gave him a few pats and ruffled his fur a bit. Then when I stood up - he bit my cock.

Now admittedly I'm more well endowed than most men but I don't think my bulge was particularly prominent. I can assure readers that I didn't have an erection at the time. Why I might attract canine attention of that sort, I have no idea. Fortunately, it was only a playful nip, more of a shock than painful and I appear to have escaped injury. He sauntered off into a front garden opposite a few moments later.

At the traffic lights for the bridge near Croxall another cyclist pulled up alongside me and commented that my bike (the Cannondale) was in good nick for its age. Is it? I've had it for eight years but I don't know how old it was when I bought it. But I explained to him that I had too many bikes.

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I trialled some new bluetooth earplugs - traditionally I've preferred conventional wired earplugs, but these ones have a 20+ hr battery life, and I have more bandwidth on my phone contract now. So much better than dangling a wire into a pocket though I wouldn't use them on a very long ride as using the phone for audio all the time does run the battery down.

Beautiful out there. Lovely run out, nice to do that route again. Listened to 5 Live and more of Kevin Armstrong's brilliant memoir.

Took the pic near the bus shelter. The establishment on the left used to be a pub, now it's a bridalwear shop.

Back on 101.74 km.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15234287361

[Thenop]

A friendly golden labrador appeared out of nowhere. He jumped up, wanting to be petted - so I gave him a few pats and ruffled his fur a bit. Then when I stood up - he bit my cock.

Bit of a poetic, almost niche brand of canine isn't it. Might have set the mutt off calling it that 

[Nickslikk2112]

After watching the Tour de France and then Tour de Wallonie - I'm saving the Tour de France Femmes avez Zwift for later (even though I've been spoiled) - I thought I'd better get out and do something.

Didn't go out the way I wanted as roadworks which normally move at the weekend were still in place and as Chesterfield had played a friendly against Sheff Utd it could have got snarly about the time I'd have got there. So a ride out to Owler Bar through Dronfield then.

As ever it was a headwind up to the tops, but that's the way of the world. I've given up hoping that it'll be calmer in summer, it seems to be blowing half a gale most of the time. Maybe I'll get a fresh tailwind in Winter.

I really thought I'd set a couple of PRs on the way back on a couple of Strava segments, but I was a couple of seconds off on both, must be old age. I did manage one though which included one of the segments I'd targeted.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15244837404/

Took a picture of the bike today, seeing as I'd dropped my cereal bar near a convenient gate. It's bow got its Summer wheels on.

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[Thenop]

Sorry for spoiling Le Tour de Femmes.

Love the Bianchi there though, only came on one colour I believe, fantastic. Brings back memories.

[Nickslikk2112]

Sorry for spoiling Le Tour de Femmes.

That's OK, I'd have been spoiled well before anyway, I'm not very good at avoiding spoilers.

Love the Bianchi there though, only came on one colour I believe, fantastic. Brings back memories.

Yes well, Celeste is THE colour for Bianchi, but they offer others, mainly Black ones with Celeste writing, but at one time they did a nice one called "Mermaid Scale"

But Celeste is the reason I bought it. I was thinking like a woman "Ooohh, that's a nice colour" doesn't matter that the bikes a pig to ride (it isn't really)

[Nickslikk2112]

And 32 miles today done between the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and the start of the Paris circuits of the men's Tour de France gives me my Cyclingest week of the year with 191 miles done.

Made more of an effort to take it steadily today and felt better for it, not that I go at it full send normally, but today was more relaxed about things. Even managed to average over 17mph, despite having been over to Nottinghamshire and having to come back over the brute of a hill out of Teversal (It's quite shallow really, but it is Notts)

https://www.strava.com/activities/15255001493/

[Slim]

A warm, sunny day again, but one that carried a threat of showers in the early afternoon. This was withdrawn before noon though, and I set off at about 1250.

I was going to do a Bypasser, but by the time I'd got down to Warton I'd decided to go down the Dad's Army route for a bit. So I did. Took the turn for Coventry Road after Piccadilly Way, then on a whim took a left after that, to go exploring. Didn't think I'd been that way before, but after a few minutes, to my surprise I arrived at a place called Knowle Hill. I'd definitely been there a couple of times.

Sat on the bench there, ate a cheese pasty then came back - but when I got back to Coventry Road I decided to go south for a bit. Again, I turned back after about 15 minutes, though I missed a turn. But no matter it was easy enough to find my way back up to Piccadilly and back up across and over the A5.

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I took a wrong turn at Orton which took me back over toward Sheepy and from there up to Twycross, adding a few km. Don't normally go along there in the "reverse" direction.

Realised I was going to be on about 92km as I neared home - so - since it was a warm, sunny, quiet evening, I dcided I had no excuse not to make a fondo of it. Went over into Coalville and back to make up the distance. Quite pleasant actually.

I listened to more of Kevin Armstrong's memoir Absolute Beginner which has overtaken Pete Townshend's book as my favourite musician autobiography. Just a joy. And I concluded the last of the three Dredd novellas, which concluded nicely. Dark.

My bike computer was oddly wayward during this ride. Usually it's spot on but it didn't track the route very accurately this time for some reason, as you can see in the following image.

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I did get rained on but only for a few minutes. Nice and warm later in the afternoon.

Back on 100.71 km.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15266588520

[Nickslikk2112]

After seeing last night's weather forecast I thought it might be an unwanted day in today, but I got up to find that rain had been pushed back to the afternoon - and it's still dry. Bloody forecasters.

Mind the way I was feeling yesterday I wouldn't have minded a rest, but a good night's sleep and a good shit helps an awful lot

Still too many awkward sets of roadworks with traffic lights knocking about, so today it was an augmented ride out through Tibshelf, with a longer foray into Nottinghamshire than I did on Sunday. I even managed to set PR times on a couple of uphill segments, short ones, well it was Nottinghamshire not going to get big climbs when the County top is 669' above sea level - and that's an old pit tip.

Fell better for doing that, got 40 miles in which gets me to 694 for July.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15273954504

[Nickslikk2112]

Today's forecast had the forecasted wind down as being a light breeze of 12 mph. Funny, but other days 12mph is a moderate breeze, how come? I don't know how strong the wind actually was - Strava says 9mph, Garmin connect 13mph - but I thought it was a half gale when you got up near the tops. Set one of my slowest ever times on Owler Bar to Fox House.

It was nice on the way back though! Normally on the top of the Cutthorpe descent I have to pedal to make sure I get over 40mph, today I got to nearly 47mph without turning a pedal over! I did try, but couldn't spin my old legs fast enough.

Plenty of other cyclists out today, which is always nice to see. Today's 40 miles gets me to 735 for July, maybe an easy spin tomorrow to get to 750, weather permitting.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15285789403

[dom]

The Dutch Reach should become part of the Highway Code

https://www.thetimes.com/article/8fa7e27f-c541-4268-8a80-07a5e28d0abd?shareToken=b0a0ad5382dc45f4c6b511700b6336f8