Cycling 2022

[Nick]

Managed to get £10 off a Shimano chain, if you join the Halfords car club (no fee) they give you a £10 in store voucher.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring-club.html

[Slim]

I set off at about 04:35 yesterday morning, headed for the Norfolk border near Sutton Bridge. Attentive readers may remember that I attempted this last June, but fell short of my intended destination due to my Garmin eTrex failing, and some unanticipated roadworks.

I hadn't had more than about 90 minutes' sleep. I actually got out of bed at about 03:00, restless with anticipation. But I didn't want to set off too early, because I knew it would be cold out there for a couple of hours at least.

I'd wrapped up fairly warm, with the intention of taking off the excess layers and relocating them to my backpack later in the day. Conditions were tolerable over the first twenty minutes or so but by the time I was pedalling along Gracedieu Lane, five miles in, I was very uncomfortable. My fingers were icy cold even in gloves and I was shivering. I'd descended about 250 ft closer to sea level at this point; cold air tends to cling to lower ground and clearly, it made a big difference.

So I decided to change course and head east through Rempstone and Wymeswold rather than Normanton, Stanford and Burton on the Wolds. I'd be on higher ground much more quickly. Sure enough as soon as I'd ascended the West Face of Rempstone Road, the ride was much more tolerable. Half an hour later the sun had burned away the early morning mist and I'd warmed up nicely.

I must say the scenery had been spectacular in the bright morning sunshine with the landscape shrouded in swathes of radiant white mist.

I maintained a steady pace against a light headwind and was in Bourne by 10:00. After that it was flat Fenland all the way to my destination.

There's something faintly post-apocalyptic about the Fenland, east of Bourne. It's like no other place in the country; reclaimed marshland criss-crossed by straight, narrow roads and drainage channels. It has a curiously desolate aspect, especially in bright sunlight.

I reached Sutton Bridge by about 13:20. I crossed the bridge and continued on to my destination, the border between Lincolnshire and Norfolk, by a circuitous route intended to avoid the A17. But this was so poorly surfaced that I decided to take my life in my hands and returned to the bridge via the busy A road. Not much more than a mile of it, thankfully.

I've done this ride four times now, never by quite the same route and this last one was definitely the best compromise between efficiency and scenery. I'd spent many hours preparing it with a route planner. The route I did yesterday is well served by petrol stations and village shops, making it easy to find somewhere to pick up more food and hydration. The key to doing a long ride like this is to keep eating.

Warm and sunny most of the afternoon, really nice weather. I took a sunblock stick with me to apply to my nose, as it often suffers a bit of sunburn on a day out on the bike when the sun is shining. About 50 miles into the ride I stopped by a farm gate to dig my MP3 player out of my frame pack. I noticed the sunblock stick fall out of the pack and into the grass. I made a mental note to pick it up before I set off, but I didn't. However it was still there when I stopped at the same place on the way back, 77 miles later. Fortunately my peaked cap (I eschew a helmet on comfort grounds for long rides) appears to have protected my face quite nicely.



I replaced my misbehaving eTrex with a newer touchscreen model, this was the first time I'd used it and it worked very well. Much more ergonomic and a bit lighter. The map display looks a lot better on a phone to be fair but the AA batteries in an eTrex last a very long time.

I listened mostly to coverage of the various Platinum Jubilee events on 5 Live. Despite being a republican myself I did find it quite interesting. Also listened to more of the Reacher novel, although when it turned out that the whole first chapter is an elaborate deception intended to set you up for a plot twist, I got a bit annoyed with it.

The sun set at about 21:15 and twenty minutes later, it was time to power up some bike lights. I'd intended to bring a powerful little LED front light as well as my head torch (another reason not to wear a helmet) but after searching my backpack, frame pack and clothing it became apparent that I hadn't. I had two rear lights but I only had the head torch to use as a front light. Although it's very adequate, I don't like to have a single point of failure and I'm never sure how long they last between recharges. Fortunately it was still going strong when I arrived back at the garage door.

Saw a dead calf by the side of the road near Six Hills. I've seen a lot of roadkill in my time, but I think that was a a first. Looked to have been moved there deliberately, it was lying exactly parallel to the road and only just visible in the long grass. Grim.



First time I'd used the Roubaix since October. It feels pleasantly comfortable and reliable but actually the S Works or the Cannondale would have made slightly lighter work of the distance I put in front of it.

Back on 175.91 miles, my third-longest distance. I was glad to have completed that successfully after last year's failure, but I think I've squeezed all the juice I can out of the Norfolk trip now. I've done it four times and the novelty's worn off. I'll do something else next time.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7245486642

[Nickslikk2112]

Finally got my first Fondo of 2022 in today! Only a couple of months or so later than usual, hopefully the first of many, however now I'm retired I don't seem to have quite the same urge to get out. Most be because I don't have to get out to reset my brain and escape the toxicity of work.

Did a very similar ride to a couple of Saturday's back, but I extended it by dropping down through Dethick - no sign of Simon Groom - to Lea. Of course as soon as I got to Lea, my furthest point from home it started raining. Thankfully it didn't last long, I wouldn't have fancied riding 30 miles back in the rain, especially as there was a stiff breeze coming in from the East on the way back.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7254959509/overview

And I'm over 2,000 miles for the year at last!

[Nick]

Changed my chain last week but it's making a really clicky chainlike noise rather than an almost silent whirr... I haven't lubricated it as I assumed it was prelubed out of the bag it was packed in.

Dead baby fox and one dead squirrel on the road today, a vole took its chance to cross ahead of me and made it safely across.

[Slim]

Changed my chain last week but it's making a really clicky chainlike noise rather than an almost silent whirr... I haven't lubricated it as I assumed it was prelubed out of the bag it was packed in.

It will have been prelubed and the factory lube is generally better than the stuff you apply from a little plastic bottle. Is there a sticky link? worth leaning the bike up against something (or using a stand if you have one) and watching what happens when you rotate the pedals by hand. Possible it's rubbing against the front derailleur.

[Nickslikk2112]

Changed my chain last week but it's making a really clicky chainlike noise rather than an almost silent whirr... I haven't lubricated it as I assumed it was prelubed out of the bag it was packed in.

Might need a bit of adjustment on the indexing, give the rear barrel adjuster a quarter turn and see what happens.

[Nickslikk2112]

Tried booking my Bianchi in for a service - at last - today, my man doesn't have a spare day until 21st June. It really needs a rear derailleur cable - and I'm not attempting Ultegra with internal routing - he hopes he can do that for me on Friday afternoon.

He got round to it this morning. Cable was frayed near the shifter so he's put a heavier duty one in. Said bike was fine and didn't need any service, so the black Giant's going in instead.

[Slim]

Nice warm afternoon but rain was due over at 6pm-ish. I left work as soon as decently possible and set off on a Twycrosser. Funny how familiarity puts me off longer routes, but it's the very thing that appeals to me on shorter rides. The Twycrosser and Twycross Bypasser in their many variants are a regular part of my routine now.

I was going to go down to Pinwall and across through Ratcliffe Culey, but the road south of Sheepy had clearly just been resurfaced. So badly, that after about 5 metres of it I had to turn back, and come back up through Sibson instead. I've seen roads round here surfaced with sharp gravel before and I usually tolerate it as long as it's not a long stretch but this was gross - massive quantities of coarse, dusty bright grey gravel a couple of inches thick in some places. It had definitely been overdone. Took another five miles for the dust stripe to wear off my tyres.

Will take a while for passing traffic to wear that down, I think. Scandalous.

Sunny at first but the clouds came over quite soon. It hadn't rained by the time I got back, on 29.26 miles. It still hasn't started, over two hours later and the sun even came out after I came back in the house. Should have stayed out longer.

I listened to 5 Live, and today in addition to the regulation Boris-bashing there was a piece on the difficulties facing bisexual people - who often suffer prejudice from gay people as well as straight folks apparently, and are sometimes denied representation for their rich history and culture. I was taken aback by the number of times the woman interviewed used the word "queer", has that been reclaimed for usage in everyday discourse now?

I learned that bi women often pretend to be gay in queer spaces. If they come out as bi, gay women tend to distrust them - sometimes suspecting that their attraction to women is mainly to please men for sexual reasons.

The world is so complicated now, especially on the BBC.

Anyway 205 this month, 2293 this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7271151878

[Nickslikk2112]

Got out on the Bianchi for the first time this year. Which was nice. As was the sunshine. Nice to average over 17 mph for a ride too. Definitely quicker than the Winter bike.

175 so far for June 2,106 for the year. Now over 1,100 miles down on last year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7269232119/

[David L]

I listened to 5 Live, and today in addition to the regulation Boris-bashing there was a piece on the difficulties facing bisexual people - who often suffer prejudice from gay people as well as straight folks apparently, and are sometimes denied representation for their rich history and culture. I was taken aback by the number of times the woman interviewed used the word "queer", has that been reclaimed for usage in everyday discourse now?

I learned that bi women often pretend to be gay in queer spaces. If they come out as bi, gay women tend to distrust them - sometimes suspecting that their attraction to women is mainly to please men for sexual reasons.

The world is so complicated now, especially on the BBC.

Bisexual? Greedy, more like

[Slim]

Warm, sunny and no chance of rain. But a powerful wind was blowing from the south-west. I thought I'd do the southbound route as far as Stoney Stanton, but turn off there to go down Fosse Way for a bit. Hadn't done that for quite some time.

But when I got to Earl Shilton, I decided to do something different and took a left turn, instead of a right. I have done this before, but I couldn't remember were I ended up. So clearly, I was in for a bit of an adventure.

I ignored the first left turn, to Desford (which is probably what I did last time). I took a left fork at the next junction though I ignored subsequent left turns to Thornton and Markfield, wanting to press on in a spirit of exploration. I saw a sign to Ratby, and I took that.

I'd passed the Poundstretcher head office a few miles earlier. I must admit it makes me envious to see people working in offices; I could see people at their desks through the windows. The signage and branding there is very much in keeping with their brand philosophy, it looks very cheap. I've definitely passed that place on my cycling travels at least one other time. I must see if I can work out when, from a segment or something.

I had only a very rough idea where I was by this time. But I'd only done 20 miles or so and definitely not in a straight line, so I couldn't be far from home.

I ignored another Markfield sign and continued on to Groby. Then I arrived at a junction with the A50. Regrettably, I had pushed my luck too far. I wasn't going to turn back the way I came and in the circumstances, the A50 seemed to be my best bet for getting back home, so I took it. It's one of the main roads west out of Leicester. I've done it many times in a car, but I never thought I'd be doing it on a bike. it was very busy and to make matters worse, it's quite an uphill slog as well. My old Talbot Sunbeam used to struggle up there every weekday morning in the late '80s and I didn't fare much better myself.

But I got to Markfield. From there I took a relatively quick way home which meant rejoining the same busy road for a stretch, but not for long.

Something a bit different, certainly. But I sort of wish I'd just done a Twycrosser. Would have suited my Friday afternoon mood better.

Still - 35.25 miles and that's 240 this month. Shame to waste so much evening light and come back relatively early but it was too windy for a long one. Quite annoying at times.

Curious that so many places on the outskirts of Leicester have names ending in 'by'. Enderby, Blaby, Groby, Ratby. It's Viking  in origin, apparently.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7286905075

[Nickslikk2112]

Every time I put the BBC News on, when they're not slagging off Boris Johnson, they're banging on about the cost of living crisis, interviewing people who are filling up their cars at petrol stations whilst moaning about how they can't afford to fill up their cars (Schrödinger's Tankstelle?) In that case you'd think they might decide to drive less to save money. Not on your Nelly, the roads out in the Peak District were chock full of people driving round aimlessly. They could or rather should do what I do and cycle out there, it's not that hard.

It's not that easy either though, especially with a headwind like today's! It was a real slog up the exposed parts of the Abney climb and even going up Padley where it should have been a tailwind the  local topography contrived to make it a cross headwind. I couldn't even be bothered to put in a final loop to get up to a Fondo today AND I finished 1 foot down on 5,000 feet of ascent for the ride I was that pooped.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7292385399

[Slim]

Lovely weather again, apart from the wind (again). Blowing directly from the west. I had two ideas for a Fondo today - the first was to do one of the old westbound routes, Abbots Bromley and back - and the other was to go up over Swarkestone Bridge, then west along the Beloved A Road. It's not easy to get 31 miles out of that so I knew I'd have to improvise a bit at the remote end.

I took the Beloved A Road option, because the fridge was a bit short of cycling supplies. There's a very serviceable petrol station with a decent shop near Hilton.

So I battled the headwind to the petrol station, got myself a nice selection of snacks including an Ice Cream Bounty - then continued on to Foston, where I found a bench and consumed them.

I'd only done 24 miles at this point and I couldn't go any further without going on the A50 which is never a good idea on a bike, so I turned to come back. Shortly afterwards I saw a left turn named Hay Lane. I wasn't sure if I'd been along there before so I thought I'd explore for a bit. The road surface was a bit scrappy here and there. At Alkmorton I saw a familiar sign for a farm "honesty shop" and a bit later on, a tractor business with an odd Christmas Tree installation on the roof. I'd definitely seen these before so I assumed I must have done this road at least once. However I'd taken a different route there previously, along a parallel road as it turns out.

My hope was that I'd be able to find some other way back home by exploring, rather than coming back the same way. And happily, that's what happened.

Just found my write-up of the last time I'd been along this way, here - complete with a pic of the odd Christmas Tree structure atop the building at Alkmonton.

On that occasion I came back the same way, but this time I plotted a course to Derby along a road called Long Lane. I definitely hadn't been along there before. This was terrific fun. It was a decent but quiet road with lovely views, I had a tailwind now and I felt like I was having a bit of an adventure.

I continued on and into the outer reaches of Derby - Mickleover and Littleover, then onto the ring road. Obviously this was pretty urban but I didn't mind weaving through the traffic. It was really nice to be back in Derby.



I turned off along Moor Lane to visit the old Rolls-Royce Leisure Association. I used go shooting there every Friday evening. I went right into the car park. I hadn't been there since 1994. There are a lot of new buildings now but it's still recognisably the same place. Really strange to think that I hadn't been there for all that time and to think of everything that's happened since, yet as I turned out of the main gate and onto Moor Lane, it felt like no time had passed at all.

I continued along the ring road until Allenton, then came down through Chellaston and back onto Swarkestone Bridge. I wouldn't have done 100km if I came home the usual way, so I went over to Isley Walton and came home from there. The fields on my left, and occasionally on my right between Melbourne and Walton had been repurposed as car parks for the Download festival, and some of the young revellers were out and about. I counted three Motorhead t-shirts and it did occur to me that none of their wearers could have been born when I bought the raucous trio's first record in 1977.

My four-miles-to-go landmark at Coleorton (a public footpath sign) told me that I was still going to be short of a Fondo, so I went half a mile or so in the direction of Ibstock before coming home. Back on 62.76 miles.

Listened to 6 Music, and the Grand Prix coverage on 5 Live, then Northern Ireland vs Cyprus. Quite an enjoyable game to listen to even though both sides were dire. I'm really surprised to have got about nine hours from the cheap rechargeable AAAs in my DAB over two rides, because I'd left them discharged for years. I only charged them up and gave them a go to confirm that they'd had it. But clearly they haven't.

Possibly the most enjoyable ride this year. 62.76 miles and that's 303 this month. That was the 13th Fondo of 2022.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7297951776

[Nickslikk2112]

Feeling a bit jaded after yesterday, I didn't bother heading out for the Peaks today. Instead I rode the more rolling lands to the South of Chesterfield. The bloody wind was a bit of a bugger again today, but not as bad as on the tops yesterday.

Looking at what I did today a lot of roads I hadn't ridden since 2018. Down to my decision in 2019 to try and become more of a climber - why? - which lasted through COVID for some strange reason. There was an awful lot of traffic about today, lots of SUVs and Range Rovers set up for offroading which were shinier than Haysi Fantayzee.

Forty miles gets me to 353 for June.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7298057907

[Slim]

A warm afternoon, bone dry, sunny and a light wind. I managed to escape work fairly early and set off to do a longish Twycross Bypasser.

It's not often I set off in minimal clothing with short sleeves, but today was one of those days. However - within half a mile I was starting to regret it because it was cooler than I thought. I seriously considered going back for a long-sleeved jacket.

Another mile further on though, I'd warmed up nicely and later on I was too warm if anything.



I went right across to Kisses Barn Lane, along Mythe Lane (where I passed a group of seven ducks taking shelter under a roadside bench) and right along Fenn Lanes. I stopped at my favourite bench at Sutton Cheney. It was replaced a few years ago and it really was a beautiful thing then, smooth red wood with sharp edges. But it's grey, cracked and weathered now, with all the edges worn down.

Back up the usual way but I extended the ride a bit by going through Burgoland, then Ibstock.

Listened to the cricket on 5 Live, I wouldn't normally but the Drive programme mostly switched to coverage there when it became apparent that England were putting in something of a historic performance.

Beautiful out there.

42.51 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7309158365