Cycling 2025

[Nickslikk2112]

After getting another 30 miles in yesterday, I dialled it back a bit today. But, for the first time in eight weeks I went out on the Bianchi. Been putting it off as it was the bike I took my tumble in.

First time in eight weeks then that I've been able to see the power I'm putting out. I though at first that inly one pedal was working as the output was so low, but it was right, it wouldn't have passed the calibration if only one was working. Still, it gives me a baseline to work from. Onwards and hopefully upwards!

https://www.strava.com/activities/14001760086

[Slim]

Not a particularly warm day and I had a commitment in the afternoon. But I had a plan to investigate the fertile territory south of the A5, aka the "Dad's Army" route, without having to go on the A5 to get there. This would take me through Polesworth, through a place called Stoneydelph, then down through Hockley.

So I did that and unfortunately it was not a success. The new part of the route was hilly, depressingly urban, often poorly surfaced and busy with traffic. It was a relief to get down to Kingsbury. Actually I failed to take an intended turn at Hockley, but the worst of it was behind me by then anyway.

So I came back the usual way and put up with the A5 between Dordon and Old Grendon. It's not so bad going that way anyway, since it's downhill.

Quite enjoyed the ride on the way back. Another 67.23 km in the bag anyway.

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Saw a couple of hares frolicking like dogs in a field near Norton Juxta Twycross.

Listened to the BBC News channel, then Fulham vs Crystal Palace in an FA Cup game.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14022559369

[Nickslikk2112]

I thought I'd only go out and do an hour today, just to keep the legs ticking over, but I ended up doing an hour and forty. It was a bit blowy, blowy enough for echelons if I was in a race, but there was just me and I was in no hurry.

I did however manage to average over 16mph today, thanks to being on the Bianchi and thanks to just feeling I could press on a bit more. I'll probably find I can't walk tomorrow, but that's fine as there's plenty of cycling to watch.

First week in two months that I've done over 100 miles and I'm only six miles shy of 300 for March, over 200 down on what I would have liked, but better than the one ride I managed in February.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14022869437

[Slim]

Lovely day. Coolish in the morning but sunny with very low winds. I planned to do a fairly long one, partly a repeat of a ride I did a few years ago in which I entered Rutland from the eastern side, then pedalled through England's smallest county east to west, for about 20km. I did that one on a sunny day in 2021 (four years ago yesterday actually) and have always remembered it as being delightful - scenic and very quiet.

I'd hoped to set off at about 0930 but I slept in longer than I expected, no doubt due to the clocks going forward at the weekend. I set off at 1040. I did the usual eastbound route as far as Buckminster, where I stopped at the village shop to stock up on food and a Maltesers drink. Then I dipped south and east to South Witham, then decended into the rightmost bit of Rutland.

Rutland was just as I remembered it from last time - almost spookily quiet and very pleasant. Idyllic villages with very little traffic passing through them. Normally when I tick off Rutland I penetrate it only superficially - just over the border for a bit and back. But it's a lovely part of the country. I missed a turn after Thistleton and looped back up tthe way I'd come, but I recovered.

I re-entered Leicestershire just after Whissendine and came back what I might call the "usual way" from there, except that I've only been over that way four or five times. Through Little Dalby and Great Dalby. Then up to Six Hills and the usual eastbound route via Asfordby and Shoby. Home through Wymeswold, Rempstone, Zouch, Belton as usual.

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Setting off a bit later was probably for the best as conditions were a bit warmer by then and I was able to wear lighter clothing. I stuffed a pair of tights and a fleece into my backpack after the first couple of hours. I was home long before sunset anyway, in fact I did ponder extending the ride to make it an "imperial fondo", or 100 miles. I didn't but in any case it was a glorious day out on a bike, probably one of my top ten favourite rides ever.

Listened to LBC, 5 Live, Jeremy Vine on R2 for a bit.

Back on 146.12 km and that's a pleasing 1141 km this month, which is my highest ever monthly total for one of the first six months of the year, and my fourth highest monthly total overall. I did seven fondos in March and interestingly I'm 300 km ahead of 31st March 2024.

That was my first visit to Rutland this year and the final neighbouring counties box ticked for 2025.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14042242019

[Fishy]

Glorious day today and first day of real unemployment so celebrated with a nice 30 miler.. off to Arran again next week for a week and taking the bikes so hoping to do some more miles over there

[Nickslikk2112]

Aye a nice day today, after going out and doing the few miles to get to 300 in March yesterday, I thought it would be bib shorts and short sleeved jersey time today, but it had cooled off a few degrees and an Easterly Breeze had set in so I spared Mrs S the job of washing my other kit for another day.

Starting to feel a bit more like now and actually ended up doing my longest ride of the year at 35 miles, still feeling it more than usual uphill, but not having to go so deep on the flat now. Back up to doing what I should have been doing in February, so about six weeks behind on where I'd thought I'd be, but hey-ho. Just keep on taking it steadily before heading back to the hills. They're not going anywhere - apart from the Snake Pass landslips.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14047687851/

[Slim]

Another sunny day, warm enough but fairly windy. Had a lunchtime appointment and not that much time, but I didn't want to go far anyway. I did about 17km of the Twycrosser route, then came back up the same way. The wind was pretty annoying and since it was coming from the north-east, I didn't choose an ideal route for it. Strong headwind on the way back.

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But I only did 35.75km. Had a quick excursion to Ashby on the way back, and a bit of a detour round the village over the last klick, where I took the pic.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14059370129

[Fishy]

34 miler today.. decided to head out north then pick up some well trodden circuits..hit a closed road on the a77 heading home so had to retrace my steps a bit..

Another cracking day weather wise

[Nickslikk2112]

Been out four days in a row this week now, albeit two of them were quick jaunts, but the weather has been so nice - apart from an annoying Easterly Breeze.

In fact the weather was so nice today I exposed the old arms and legs to try and get the old tanlines going. Might end up with an odd pale rectangular patch on my right arm as nine weeks on I still have a dressing over a large scab on my right arm from when I fell off. It would be OK uncovered, but I'm squeamish and don't want to see it, plus I'm also - if a bit paradoxically - an inveterate scab picker. I'm surprised the bumps from the potholed roads haven't made it drop off anyway.

Thought the Garmin might have died on me today. Looked down to see how fast I was going only to see the screen fade as it shut itself down. Luckily it came back up again and Strava's correct distance feature gave me my mileage back.

Also made my biggest comeback climb of my comeback, all 317 feet of elevation again of it. My Garmin Climbfinder normally classes it as one climb, but today it did it in two sections. Go figure.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14067673737

[Nickslikk2112]

And five days in a row, why not. Well, the sun was still shining and I've got a wedding to go to tomorrow, a wedding to recover from on Sunday, a funeral down in Upminster on Tuesday then a birthday party next Saturday, so I thought I'd better make like Tony Selby and get some in.

Not that much, just enough to get me over last week's total mileage which I achieved by a quarter of a mile. For the first time in nine years I thought I'd ride the local canal towpath to take it easy. The cycling is easy, but the stress levels are huge! People walking dogs - mainly bull terrier types round here - which aren't on leads. Leisure cyclists riding two abreast who just weave from side to side and fat families who always jump out of their skins if you politely ask them to move aside.

Then on the Trans Pennine Trail bit I did a bloody JCB, mini digger and a works van were driving down the trail. It was like riding the Strade Bianche with all the dust being kicked up!

https://www.strava.com/activities/14077013044/

[Slim]

Sunny again, and touted to be warm in the afternoon. I didn't set off until 1050, by which time I judged it was warm enough for bare legs.

I wanted to go out east again, preferably into my Cycling Happy Place to the east of Waltham and beyond. But the headwind was really aggravating. Not merely because of the additional force I had to apply against it, but because of the roar of wind noise going past my head while I was trying to listen to the bloody radio with earbuds in. So I decided a fondo would do. I went to Eastwell, sat on the bench and had lunch consisting of cheese rolls and a flapjack, then turned for home.

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I went eastward through Normanton and Stanford rather than Rempstone and Wymeswold, which has been the norm of late. I came back westward through Wymeswold and Rempstone, but used a different road to detour that way than usual. Hadn't tried it before. Quiet, but nothing special.

Enjoyable ride on the way back with a headwind. Back on 102.86 km.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14078885678

[Slim]

I thought I'd better make like Tony Selby and get some in.

 

That's a niche reference.

[dom]

What a day for a spin. Bright blue skies and although there was a bit of wind, nothing like as strong as yesterday.

Woke up this morning with sore legs after doing the Navan park run yesterday. That was hard going but I feel the need to jog occasionally as cycling doesn't seem to get my heart rate into the higher zones.

Luckily the soreness is only felt while walking and going up and down stairs etc. Didn't feel it on the bike at all except for mounting and dismounting.

The spin breached the Meath borders into West Meath which is where we stopped in Clonmellon where an artisanal market was taking place. Had a fantastic burger there topped with black pudding and bacon and gave me plenty of energy for the homeward stretch via Kells.

Norman, my cycling buddy did a full fondo but I had had enough after 75km, perhaps yesterday's run was getting to me

[Slim]

Another sunny day, a little bit cooler than Friday. Still too windy for a particularly long ride, but I thought conditions were just about decent enough for a fondo. The wind was coming from the east. I thought I'd do the southbound route. I'd have a sidewind both ways, but not too much of an annoying headwind.

I did that, down to Sibbertoft Gliding Club the usual way, penetrated Northamptonshire for a few metres then came back up the "old" way via Blaby and Enderby. My original idea was to cut across to the "new" route on the way back up after Blaby to avoid the busy traffic near Desford. But I didn't bother and in the event it wasn't too bad.

On the way up I took the Wood Road detour which added a bit of distance. But after Ellistown I came the short way through Donington Le Heath. I wished I'd set off back up a few seconds later than I did, because I saw a huge aircraft-shaped shadow cross the road in front of me. Stopped the back and twisted my head round just in time to see a glider landing. It must have passed over the road behind me, just a few metres over my head. Would have been a spectacular sight if it had been in front of me instead.

I decided to use my Casio GPS watch to track the ride, which I haven't done for a couple of years because the Android app that syncs to Strava had always been unreliable. I thought I'd see if matters had improved, and thankfully they have. It does seem to work decently now. On the other hand the watch itself didn't start tracking the ride until I'd done about 1.5k. I fixed the track with a GPS editor. Annoying but I think I can put it down to not having used it for a long time. GPS devices use a dataset known as an "almanac" which is updated when they're used. My watch would have had to download a big chunk of new data from the satellites before it could start tracking.

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As I emerged from a petrol station carrying an all-day-breakfast sandwich and a cheese pasty, a kind bald gentleman passed a nice compliment on his way in. "Lovely bike!" he said. I thanked him warmly of course. That's nice, isn't it?

Oh and I performed a good deed. I stopped for an impromptu picnic near Amesby, at a farm gate. There was a single item of litter, a flattened coke can. So I brought it home with me to recycle.

I listened to LBC and footy on 5 Live. Fulham vs Liverpool (very entertaining) and the first half of the Manchester derby. Dull.

Beautifully sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky and I had a nice view of the Moon in the afternoon, in fact I see I've caught it in the pic. But I did get a headwind intermittently both ways, depending on the particular direction of travel of course.

Back on 101.95km, pleased with 241km so far this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14101265110

[Nickslikk2112]

And the incremental gains keep coming. Got up to a forty miler today. Admittedly on about as flat a road ride I could do without going over the same little circuit, but getting longer all the same.

Nice and sunny if a little cool, but that was only when going downhill on shaded sections of road. With the sun not being on full summer strength it was also a good start in topping up the old tanlines.

On a single track road today I even had a Merc coming the other way stop and wait for me to come by, most unexpected. Unlike the Berk in a Merc who came by me when I was riding along the white lines in the middle of the road to stay out of the dooring zone of the cars parked on the side. There barely even enough room for him to come by and pull in between me and the car in front of me. Muggins here had to slow down to let him in. Half a mile later I was still right behind him. Some people are pillocks.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14106164318