Passed one of these at Cheney. I guessed it was probably a guinea fowl, and I was right.



I was served guinea fowl in Dieppe once. Very similar to turkey.

we have a few of those at our family farm, lovely looking creatures

I'll be cycling again this afternoon. Might be a bit warm, but at least I won't have to contend with a leopard attack. Although I will be going past Twycross Zoo, to be fair.

Just a Squirrel attack for me this morning and a Skylark. Managed to fend them off, but Squirrels can be bloody dangerous.

It was a bit warm though, so I'm glad I have Fridays off.

Too hot tomorrow and it's going to rain all weekend apparently, so I booked this afternoon off work. I was going to Bingley Hall and back, but I changed my mind before I set off this morning. The wind was blowing lightly from the south, so I thought I'd do roughly the same distance along the southbound route.

Really warm out there. I had my absolute lightest cycling clothing on, including my lightweight meshy camo top.

I went right down through Welford towards Northampton. I did briefly entertain the idea of going right down there, but decided against it. I'd just about have enough light, but not much time for a couple of beers, a bath and a decent meal when I got back. It is, after all, a school night.



I stopped at the village shop at Gilmorton on the way down - nice to see that the table and chairs have been deployed outside again - and had some sort of bacon and cheese pastry object, a coffee and a Magnum ice-cream lolly in the sunshine there. Very civilised. I was joined there by another cyclist whom I took to be roughly the same age as myself - he had a very smart Trek Madone with electronic shifting, and he admired my Roubaix. Told me he had three of them himself! We had a nice old chat about bikes, and long rides. I told him I was 61, and that I never would have thought I'd be doing long rides at my present age. He told me he was 74, and still did 8,000 miles a year. Made my day.

I've caught a bit of sunburn - my legs were pre-tanned so I think they'll be fine, but my arms haven't been exposed much this year and they've gone a bit sore. Ah well.

I stopped at Spratton on 41 miles, then turned back.



Listened to Colin Murray on 5 Live, sitting in for Naga. Then a few minutes of Nihal Arthanayake's awful programme - he must be the most painfully woke, pitifully one-dimensional broadcaster on Earth. The first item in his show today was about lesbian parenting. I switched him off and listened to the Reacher audiobook for a few hours. It kept my attention but so far isn't drawing me in so much as previous Reacher novels.

A little cooler and more cloudy later on, which was a relief. Stopped at the petrol station at Welford on the way back and gorged myself on a sandwich, a mini pork pie, a flapjack, and more coffee. I never even touched the cheese & onion pasty I took with me out of the fridge.

Anyway - 83.04, 429 this month which is over target.

Nice to go a bit further down to Northampton, I'll go all the way down again one day this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7320897820

So, I'd spent all week thinking I wouldn't get out today as the forecast was for rain all day. So what happened? This mornings forecast was for a mostly dry day with light rain late afternoon.

Of course it then rained this morning and the Rainfall Radar had a continuous band of rain just below Chesterfield, but it stayed dry into the afternoon, so I went out to try for a forty miler.

I decided to just do a few loops close to home as with the strength of the sun at this time of year it can suddenly trigger heavy downpours when none look likely. Sure enough it did rain on my second loop, but not much on me, but I hit places where it had obviously pissed it down - do I not like cold spray on bare legs!

It then dried off again, it was nice to get in four climbs with 500 feet of elevation gain without even having to head for the Peak District, hills are a fact of life in this part of Derbyshire. A quick ride up to Linacre Reservoir gave me the forty miles needed. It then tipped it down when I got home.

Saw a lone partridge in the road at one point, unfortunately a Red Legged (French) Partridge, not a John Major approved English Grey Partridge.

That brings up 500 miles for June.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7329916637

Other things to do today but I had time for 30-odd miles. Much cooler today but the roads had mostly dried up after yesterday's rain.

My first idea was to go up Top Brand, up to Isley Walton then hook a left to Melbourne then perhaps the Beloved A Road for a bit, but as I was pushing up Top Brand I decided to go right up to Castle Donington, then west to Shardlow. Wasn't sure what I'd do from there - I briefly entertained the idea of going into Derby again - but in the end I came back down through Aston and Weston, to Swarkestone Bridge. Back the usual way from there.

A bit different, don't think I've ever done that stretch between Shardlow and Swarkestone that way round before. Made a nice change.



Took the pic near Weston. Lots of poppies out today, and a few fields of lavender. Very pretty.

My nostrils were assaulted by a powerfully pungent smell on Top Brand. I noticed some sort of tanker spreading a noxious liquid on a field about half a mile upwind. I was very glad to get past it. I wonder if our farmers have been buying processed sewage from the Dutch again?

The dead deer I noticed at the side of the road south of Melbourne was a bit whiffy as well.

It was cool at first, and rather cloudy. Regretted coming out in bare legs for the first half hour. But conditions warmed nicely later, and the sun came out.

32.37 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7335050712

Took my life in my hands and spent too much time in South Yorkshire today. Still before Sheffield became too rapacious in its land grabs most will have been Derbyshire, but I suspect the locals are now well brainwashed into thinking they are the lower for of life that is a Yorkshireman...

Dropping down to Beauchief does give me the opportunity to do a climb of over 900ft of elevation gain. Most of it's a slog apart from the early bit and you can do big chunks on the big chain ring if you so desire. Unlike Fidler's Elbow, that's just a 562ft climb, but most is a constant 7-8% gradient and if you don't have a tailwind it's plod and slog city.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7335648057/

Did a Bosworth route on Saturday, christ it was warm! 
Struggling at the moment, and always seems to be breezy when I go out

Paid homage to Barton in the Beans as always, and another of my fave little hamlets called Upton. There is a cheese shop there, and a house with two retro petrol pumps in their front garden which always makes me smile

Quote from: Jonners on June 20, 2022, 09:55:45 AMDid a Bosworth route on Saturday, christ it was warm!
Struggling at the moment, and always seems to be breezy when I go out

Paid homage to Barton in the Beans as always, and another of my fave little hamlets called Upton. There is a cheese shop there, and a house with two retro petrol pumps in their front garden which always makes me smile

I haven't seen that, must take a detour through Upton some time.

Quote from: Slim on June 20, 2022, 11:44:56 AM

Quote from: Jonners on June 20, 2022, 09:55:45 AMDid a Bosworth route on Saturday, christ it was warm!
Struggling at the moment, and always seems to be breezy when I go out

Paid homage to Barton in the Beans as always, and another of my fave little hamlets called Upton. There is a cheese shop there, and a house with two retro petrol pumps in their front garden which always makes me smile

I haven't seen that, must take a detour through Upton some time.

Not a huge amount to see there, its literally a hamlet along a B road, but you cant miss the Petrol pumps, and teh Cheese shop has a little Cafe attached I believe as well 

Worth a detour though. Think I may have a picture outside the pumps, will dig it out

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10160693004730444&set=pb.621745443.-2207520000..&type=3

In Heather, about two miles from here there's a disused petrol station with two ancient, rusting petrol pumps that's now part of someone's garden.

I believe the petrol station closed about 40 years ago.

Quote from: Jonners on June 21, 2022, 08:55:27 AMNot a huge amount to see there, its literally a hamlet along a B road, but you cant miss the Petrol pumps, and the Cheese shop has a little Cafe attached I believe as well

Worth a detour though. Think I may have a picture outside the pumps, will dig it out

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10160693004730444&set=pb.621745443.-2207520000..&type=3

Checked it out on Street View and that is on one of the Twycross Bypasser versions (albeit a rarely used one) so I did actually miss the petrol pumps a few times. Will pay more attention next time.

And there is a big sign for the cheese shop, albeit in the entrance to a farm saying "This is not the entrance to the cheese shop" which always makes me smile

Today's plan was to pedal up through Coleorton, take the Beloved A Road west until I'd done about 20 miles - then come back the same way. A very common choice for a ride after work, when the wind's blowing from the west.

Warm and sunny out there, very bright. I did worry a little about my slightly-sunburned arms, but I smeared them liberally with an SPF30 product that I bought at Tesco yesterday. I did think of wearing a long-sleeved top, but bare limbs cycling days are so infrequent that I didn't want to waste one.

It was after 3pm when I left so hopefully the UV levels had dissipated. The arms seem to have done OK. The outer layer of skin has started to flake off this evening, but I think it was due to do that anyway. Unfortunately I'll be taking an occasional break to vacuum armdruff from my desk over the next couple of days.

This was actually the only time in my adult life I've ever used a sunscreen product. I've always relied on my natural dark-skinnedness, a product of my Iberian part-ancestry.

A lot of traffic out there, the busiest I've ever known it along the A road. A consequence of the rail strike, maybe?

I got to Hilton on 20 miles, then turned back.  However when I got to Swarkestone, instead of turning right to come back the same way, I turned left to come back through Weston, Aston, Shardlow and Donington. Exactly the same as Sunday, except the other way round. I probably wouldn't have done this except I was sick of waiting for a gap in the passing traffic to turn right.

I used my Casio GPS watch to track the ride. Did seem a bit easier to get the track off this time, maybe they've improved the app a bit.

It did occur to me in the heat and bright sunshine on the way back that I'd be doing most of that ride in the cold and dark, if I set off at the same time during the winter months.

Very pleasing run out. 48.11 miles. 509 this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7346820333