Cycling 2025

[Nickslikk2112]

First time in ages I've done my three midweek rides in a row. I think the last for weeks have seen wet Wednesdays. I like to be a creature of habit, out at weekends and Tues/Wed/Thurs.

No waiting around for parcels today either, so was able to go for the full two and a half hour ride. Did a different variation of my Tibshelf ride, didn't need to put in any Heath loops to get 40 miles in either. Makes a change.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15931499133

[Slim]

Cold this morning, a threat of rain in the afternoon so I thought a Bypasser would do. And I did a pretty standard one except that I'd intended to come back up via Upton, and yet I took a wrong turn after the village and ended up on the main road again! So I turned off Bosworth Road instead, 2 km further up. Back on 60.80.

I did get rained on, but only for the last 2 km. 823 done this month now, 8748 this year. Should be able to hit the 10,000 mark by the end of November.

Listened to more of the Beatles bio.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15954354753

[Nickslikk2112]

I know I'm a complete saddo and will watch more or less any cycling I can find on the telly, but I'm getting a bit fed up of seeing the same old lap round Kigali, ah well, only another 16 laps of 15km in the men's race - plus an extra 40km lap out in the countryside.

Managed to get a couple of hours out this afternoon, don't like sunset before 19:00 so good job the women's race finished in good time. Somehow for the second time this week I set my third best one minute power output, which means that I have set my fourth and third best outputs this week. It did mean that I did Slag Lane 20 seconds quicker than of late.

I then did my first ascent of Green Lane in Dronfield for the first time in ages, surprised to see it was pre-COVID that I last did it. It's 0.75 miles @ 6.6% but it felt like 2 miles @ 15%, maybe that's why I stopped doing it, it was even a favourable wind today. Still I got 32 miles in.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15955999279/

[Nickslikk2112]

Inspired by Pogi, I got another couple of hours out again. Made a real effort to do a low level effort ride and still failed miserably. Still, it was nice for late September and I got over 180 miles for the week in.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15968011314/

[David L]

Me and the wife got our second 40-miler of the week in today, on the road bikes. We decided it was time for her to ascend White Horse Hill, Uffington.
The White Horse is a pre-historic chalk symbol carved into the hill on the site of an iron-age hill fort that sits alongside The Ridgeway. The climb is around a kilometre averaging 9.2% with the steepest section being a 12.3% gradient. It's a 22 mile ride out from Witney taking in the villages of Southmoor, Charney Bassett, Goosey and Baulking before reaching Uffington village where the climb 'before the climb' actually begins.
I worried that Clare was not going to go up, such was her slow pace as the rise started and then she asked to stop to rest before we got going again. I've not been up the White Horse Hill in years but having done some pretty fierce stuff on the MTBs over the last few years, it was fairly easy and possible to do without getting out of the saddle. Fair play to the missus, she made it without getting off and is well-chuffed to tick it off. She's more thrilled to tell her dad that she did it as he was a keen club cyclist and won third place in a hill-climb competition there when he was competing. He's very proud of her.
The views from the top are stunning and stretch for miles as most of the surrounding countryside is quite flat. I'd guess around half a dozen counties are visible.
After descending we took refreshment at The Fox and Hounds in Uffington before returning via Stanford in the Vale, Gainfield, Buckland and Bampton where we stopped for a second pint at The Market Tavern. Back home on 44 miles.
Both bikes rode well after I cleaned and re-lubed the chains on both a couple of days ago. Weather remained fine with some warmth still to be had when the sun came out although we didn't set off until around 11:30am as the roads were only just drying out from the overnight rain. Managed to get enough fuel from the three sausage rolls and a couple of welsh cakes that we took in the pockets of our cycle tops - all homemade by the wife, I might add. Made the perfect clothing choice with  light leggings over cycle shorts, a long-sleeved cycle top over a short-sleeved one and lycra overshoes. An extremely comfortable and pleasurable ride and the hours in the saddle are really paying off now for Clare. We are starting to cover over 100 miles some weeks as we make the most of the remnants of the good weather and daylight. It will soon be time to set the mag-trainer up indoors - bah!

[Slim]

A dry day, and very light winds were forecast. But cold in the morning. Set off at about 1100, by which time conditions were a bit warmer.

I did an Eastbound, with the unusual twist that I went up Top Brand to Isley Walton first, joining the usual route after Long Whatton. I also went to Six Hills via Walton and Paudy Lane again, and (unusually) came back that way as well. Because I'd performed a long detour over the first 20 km, I didn't go so far east as usual.

Nice to have a few alternatives in the repertoire. Keeps these oft-repeated rides interesting.

Much warmer in the sun after the first couple of hours and I part disrobed near Walton. But when the clouds rolled over in the afternoon the temperature dived again and I ended up putting my tights back on at the bench at Stanford on Soar.

I finally finished Mark Lewisohn's brilliant Beatles biography All These Years, or Part 1 of it. I actually started it six years ago. There are 43 hours and 40 minutes of it. I do hope he completes Part 2 soon.

Highslide Image Viewer

After that I had the idea of listening to A Farewell To Kings, the disappointing Rush album from 1977. I've long given up the idea of trying to get myself to like it; to turn a ham-fisted musical pig's ear into a mental silk purse. But I just wanted to have a listen again out of nostalgia really. It certainly took me back, but I gave up on it after 20 minutes. Irritating. If anything, the passage of time has made it worse.

I needed to get some music in my ears after that so I put on Past Masters Vol 1, the celebrated collection of Beatles singles that was compiled by Lewisohn in 1988. Brilliant. I will say though that some of those early stereo mixes sound ridiculous.

Back on 104.36, 928 this month, happy enough with that.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15978185990

[Nickslikk2112]

Last chance to get out in September, so I took it. Nice sunny and day and reasonably warm with it, not much wind either - except above about 800 ft. And with it having been dry a lately I gave the Giant TCR another spin out, especially as after cleaning and lubing the chain on the Bianchi it stopped dropping down to the small sprocket on the rear cassette and no amount of fettling would get it right. Ho-hum.

Did a ride very similar to last monday's with a few diversions as I didn't want to get back with a lower average speed on the Giant compared to the Bianchi. I did do, but that was down to the diversions - and a lack of strong tailwind on the ride home.

First diversion was up Green Lane in Dronfield again, I'm getting worse on the steeper stuff, a few seconds quicker than Saturday but still a hard slog. Then I took a right turn to get to a different approach to Owler Bar Roundabout. All this gave me an extra 4'6" pf elevation gain a mile. I can feel it.

Today's 41.5 miles gets me to 619 for September with 39,000' of elevation gain.

https://www.strava.com/activities/15986061504

[Nickslikk2112]

Yesterday's rain was at completely the wrong time, a wet afternoon would have suited me as my signed for parcel delivery was an afternoon one. Still, it is what it is.

One of my regular way's out is now unavailable due to a road closure, but it's an easy enough diversion for me to get and go the way I want to. But then there were sets of roadworks out and about which led me to a very roundabout way of getting to Tibshelf. So roundabout that I'd done over twice the distance which is really necessary to get there, but hey, I'm just out for a little ride.

Not that little for me this year, as it was only my second ride over 45 miles and I still haven't even got a 50 miler in, let alone a Fondo. But hey, quality over quantity, right?

https://www.strava.com/activities/16009111076

[Slim]

Dry again, not particularly warm, cloudy. I was going to do a Twycrosser. Didn't really feel like doing a fondo. But shortly after setting off, I changed my mind so I set off down the Southbound route.

Ran into a spot of bother at Earl Shilton when I encountered a ROAD CLOSED sign defending a set of roadworks. No way round it so I backtracked to the main road and busked it. Managed to find my way to Elmesthorpe, and from there to Stoney Stanton and the usual route.

Didn't go all the way to Sibbertoft or Welford. I turned back at Welford Road to come back the old-fashioned way, up through Husbands Bosworth. I thought I'd probably cut across to the usual route at Countesthorpe but in the end I decided to suck up the busy roads near Enderby and Desford. I guessed I'd be back on about 100km and I passed my old "ten miles to go" landmark at 86km so I came back the quicker way through Hugglescote.

Highslide Image Viewer

I stopped for a wee and a cheese & onion roll (yes, in that order) somewhere near Knaptoft and a conker fell right next to my foot from the tree pictured on the right. The spiky green casing split open on impact and it rolled out. I brought it home with me as a souvenir, maybe I'll plant it.

Lovely stretch of new tarmac between Ellistown and Bagworth.

Listened to 5 Live the whole time, reaction and news updates from the shocking incident in Manchester.

100.61.

https://www.strava.com/activities/16011962483

[Nickslikk2112]

After a couple of washout/wind out days, I managed to get in a couple of hours before sunset. Still just warm enough for shorts and short sleeves - if you pedalled hard. Not that I wanted to pedal hard, I wanted an easy ride, yet even though I kept the power down today, the Garmin still says I was at VO2 max. Strava says I was at 82% intensity which is nowhere near VO2 max as I understand things.

I'll blame the latest Garmin Edge 1040 update as the battery dropped 14% on a ride where I'd expect a 6% decrease. These things are sent to try us.

https://www.strava.com/activities/16044612902

[Slim]

Colder weather eats the charge a bit.

[Slim]

Another dry day, cool in the morning but due to warm up nicely in the afternoon. The wind was coming from the south-west, so I decided I'd do the Lower Westbound route. Seemed like a nice idea for a Monday. I set off at 1000.

I had to navigate a road closure along Measham road on the outbound leg. No problem getting the bike past the barriers, but I didn't fancy doing it on the way back - mostly because the road was very gritty at the roadworks. So I detoured via Appleby Magna and Swepstone.

Highslide Image Viewer

Lovely out there in the warm sunshine. Proper legs out weather later on.

On the way back near Lullington a bird of prey swooped out in front of me, carrying a pigeon roughly the same size as itself. It took it into a row of trees on the left after flying down the road at an altitude of about two metres. A female sparrowhawk probably.

Highslide Image Viewer

I stopped at the bench at Lullington for five minutes and noticed that it bears a small steel plaque inscribed: "This seat is a copy of one seen in FUNCHAL MADEIRA MADE BY R Cooper 1991"

Listened to 5 Live and LBC, including coverage of the party conference in Manchester.

Back on 104.31 and that's 47 fondos this year, a new personal record. It's a lot easier to find the time for one when you don't work for a living.

https://www.strava.com/activities/16052849907

[Thenop]

Shilling, that's pounds nowadays right? So that'd be steep penalty.

[Slim]

Shilling, that's pounds nowadays right? So that'd be steep penalty.

40 shillings would be £2. The sign probably dates to the early 20th century or late 19th, although it's been put on the gate quite recently as a sort of curiosity I'm sure. So that would be a few hundred £££ after inflation, so you definitely didn't want to leave a gate open!

[Thenop]

Ooh, that is steep indeed. Best close it then!