Cycling 2022

[Slim]

Noticed that one of the tyres on the Cannondale is delaminating. The outer surface is coming off like a Tesco 'Easy Peeler' satsuma.

Unfortunate because there's a distinctive white line pattern that matches the other tyre, and I'm not taking that off because it's fine at the moment.

I can't be bothered trying to stick it down with rubber glue so I've bought a pair of Conti Ultra Sport IIIs. Well reviewed and less than £10 each from Wiggle at the moment. Will keep one as a spare.

[Nickslikk2112]

Got three 42 mile rides in this week to get me over 800 miles for July. Hopefully get to 900 at the weekend.

Hopefully, as yesterday I got stung on the ankle by a Bumblebee. I learned something new, that Bumblebees can sting repeatedly. I thought I'd be OK riding today, but my ankle swelled up quite considerably on the ride Been quite painful too, but appears to be subsiding now. I'd always thought Bumblebee stings weren't as bad as Honey Bee or Wasps, but this has been the worst I've had, perhaps due to the multiple sting aspect.

[Slim]

I didn't realise honey bees and bumblebees were two different things!

[Nickslikk2112]

I didn't realise honey bees and bumblebees were two different things!

We have one native species of Honey Bee and 24 Bumblebee species. Bumblebees only live in small colonies and don't produce much honey.

The one that got me was a Tree Bumblebee - the only one I can recognise with certainty, due to its ginger thorax - I've just read that it's the most aggressive European species and it's only been in the UK since 2001. I can only assume that it got hit by my leg as it was flying along and didn't take kindly to it.

[Slim]

Quite a nice afternoon - cloudy but quite warm, and only light winds. There was a mild threat of rain in the forecast, though. I thought to do about 40 miles.

Since the wind was coming from the east I decided on the eastbound route. But when I got to Prestwold Park I decided to go left through Hoton, along the "Lost Road" then back home the old way through Wymeswold and Rempstone.



After Zouch though I detoured through Shepshed to avoid the crappy road surface on Ashby Road. I'd forgotten about that for the outbound trip, might take the detour both ways next time. Pleasant change, anyway.

Back on 38.15 miles. The weather looks iffy on Sunday and I have a lunch appointment that day anyway, so that may well be it for July.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7549635968

[Nickslikk2112]

I'm still suffering from a swollen stiffy - anklewise - following Wednesday's Bumblebee sting. Can't believe it's had such a long lasting effect. Would probably have been better if I'd been stung on a fleshier part of the body.

So, I just went out for a couple of hours today, I think actually the swelling went down a bit on the ride, but I couldn't quite put the effort in I normally do and bumpy roads didn't help one bit. The road up from Cutthorpe had been shut this week for all the road markings to be repainted. Why I don't know as all the car drivers ignore them anyway. What the road really needs is resurfacing, but there's nobody within the council highways department who's that smart.

Today's 33 miles gets me to 871 for July, hoepfully I can get out tomorrow to do the 29 to get me to 900.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7555075799/overview

[Slim]

Didn't think the weather would be suitable for a run out today but the rain had dried up by midday, and by the time I got home from a restaurant at about 4:45pm, conditions were set to be warm and dry for the rest of the day. Not a hint of a puddle when I set off at about 5:10pm.

I wanted to do 36 miles, to bring my yearly tally to 3300 - because that would mean that I only have to fulfil the remaining monthly targets to end up on 5,000 miles in 2022.

The wind was coming from the west, and a bit stronger (I thought) than advertised on the forecast. I did a Twycross Bypasser, going through Upton and Shenton to Bosworth.

Really nice out there and visibility across into Warwickshire from Orton Lane was superb - I had a really clear view of the tops of the tall buildings in Birmingham 19 miles away and wished I'd brought binoculars.



Saw a hare running towards me on the road between Shenton and Bosworth. It stopped when it saw me, then when I got within 40 metres or so it turned and ran the other way before darting into the hedge.

A few powered hang gliders were pootling around in the skies near Norton - one of them appeared to be coming in to land in the field on my right but it swooped up and took to the air again. Looks like a lot of fun.

It's Scarecrow Festival weekend in Heather. I was pleased to see a lot of people out and about and enjoying the various creations people had put out in their front gardens when I passed through in the car earlier - nice that these quaint rural traditions are still popular - and I stopped to have a closer look at one of them when I came back through later on the bike. It featured the Queen on a makeshift balcony, the Red Arrows represented by inflatable toy red aircraft strung up above and Prince Louis with his hands over his ears. I did take a pic but sadly the phone didn't focus it properly.

Was pleased to see when I got to Bosworth that I was going to end up on 36 miles pretty much exactly if I came the quickest way home from there, so I did.

36.02 miles, 574 for July.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7561507879

[Slim]

Unexpected rain this morning but by the time I was able to leave work - unusually early - conditions were warm, dry and sunny. A pretty stiff wind coming from the west, though. I felt like going up and west along the Beloved A Road. The August Fondo, perhaps.

The trouble with the Upper West route, as I now know it, is that you start to run out of options after 25 miles. On this occasion I took a right after Sudbury, then a left along a minor road - just making it up as I went along, really. The road started to degenerate into one of those single track roads with lots of dips and bumps with a build-up of gravel down the middle, but it wasn't too bad.

I stopped at a farm after about 28 miles and was about to turn back, but I thought I'd press on over the next little hill to see if the road improved. It did! A bit twisty with some sharp climbs and scary downhill descents, but the surface improved a lot. Really lovely cycling territory with some brilliant views to the west, and very quiet. I will definitely do that stretch again, but probably on the Tricross.



I continued until I'd done half a fondo and was going to turn back but I saw a sign to Sudbury along a right turn, so in a spirit of adventure I took that. I thought it might be a slighter shorter way and rob me of the full fondo mileage, but in fact it turned out to be exactly the same distance. A slightly busier stretch of road but better for a road bike. I think I'll base a fondo route on the way back, ie the last 31 miles of this ride.

Same way back from Sudbury.

Lots of ladies out in shorts. Not to be sexist or objectifying or anything, but I saw a phenomenal specimen in Melbourne on the way back. Tall, athletically slim and fit but curvy, long brown hair, about 30 and wearing tight black shorts that only covered half her bum. I nearly fell off the bike.

The headwind over the first half was a pain, but of course I enjoyed the tailwind on the way back. Conditions stayed more than warm enough for the whole ride and I was back on the dot of sunset.

Really a terrific run out, possibly my most enjoyable normal-distance fondo of the year so far. It was a breeze as well, despite the up and down twisty bits. Felt more like 40 miles than 62.29.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7578014995

[Slim]

I booked this afternoon as annual leave with the idea of doing a ride to Stafford Bingley Hall and back. I have two routes there, one an extension of the Upper Westbound route and the other extended from the Lower Westbound route, itself derived from the ride to Wales a while back.

I entertained the idea of doing one route there and the other one back but in the end I decided to take the Lower Westbound option both ways.

Nice warm weather and mostly sunny, though I did get a couple of spells of light rain (neither lasted more than 5 minutes).

Bingley Hall is now known as Staffordshire County Showground but I know it best as the venue where I saw a number of bands, most notably Rush of course, in my late teens. Back then it was it was a few hours from home on a train but now I live in the East Midlands, it's a thoroughly serviceable distance for a bicycle pilgrimage.

I hung round the main gate for a minute or two and took a pic, then turned back. I thought of listening to Hemispheres on the way back since that was the current album when I saw Rush there, but remembered that I heard two new tunes from the next, unfinished album Permanent Waves for the first time those two nights. So I listened to those (The Spirit Of Radio and Free Will).



The last couple of miles to Bingley has what must be the worst climb of any bike ride I've ever done but the nice thing about it is that you don't have to use the brakes on the way back down - it tapers off nicely at the bottom and eventually leads to a shallow climb that soaks up the remaining momentum. I hate to waste kinetic energy (and brake pad material).

The new surface on the A51 has bedded in nicely now, since my Wales trip.

The headwind was pretty aggravating on the way out but I think the wind had died down a bit or changed direction after I turned for home. I even had to cope with a headwind again for a time. I felt cheated.

The Scarecrow Festival at Heather is still happening so I took this pic two miles from home:



Nice afternoon out on the bike. 74.06 miles, 136 this month. That was my 18th Fondo this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7588047745

[David L]

Bingley Hall is now known as Staffordshire County Showground but I know it best as the venue where I saw a number of bands, most notably Rush of course, in my late teens. Back then it was it was a few hours from home on a train but now I live in the East Midlands, it's a thoroughly serviceable distance for a bicycle pilgrimage.

I hung round the main gate for a minute or two and took a pic, then turned back. I thought of listening to Hemispheres on the way back since that was the current album when I saw Rush there, but remembered that I heard two new tunes from the next, unfinished album Permanent Waves for the first time those two nights. So I listened to those (The Spirit Of Radio and Free Will).

Looking at those first appearances at Bingley Hall, I find it interesting that the band would travel over from North America for just two gigs. Was the production scaled back at all? They must have felt the UK market important enough to spend what must have been an awful lot of money on these two dates. Ray must have calculated that  it was worth it to maintain momentum until the following summer.

[Slim]

Looking at those first appearances at Bingley Hall, I find it interesting that the band would travel over from North America for just two gigs. Was the production scaled back at all? They must have felt the UK market important enough to spend what must have been an awful lot of money on these two dates. Ray must have calculated that  it was worth it to maintain momentum until the following summer.

I don't think it was scaled back. Actually those two gigs were the first at which I'd seen the bands fabled rear projection, which the likes of Newcastle City Hall had been too small to accommodate.

The tickets were only £4.50 so yep, an expensive couple of nights for the band I'm sure. Maybe some of the stuff was hired in England.

[Nick]

Went out, snapped chain, collected by wife.

[dom]

Annoying! Did you get many miles out of it?

Increased the intensity a little today with a slightly longer and slightly hillier spin than I've managed since the op.

I was a little nervous setting out after the nausea of a couple of weeks ago and I did make a couple of stops for a couple of minutes each time when i felt tired. Seemed to get stronger as I went on. Happy with the 42kms with over 300m of climbing in a shade under 21km/h

[Nick]

Well done on the 40k. A few weeks ago I put a new chain on but it always made a noise, I noticed this morning I had previously misthreaded it and the noise was from rubbing against a metal guide on the derallieur. At the same time I had an appointment at Halfords for a free bike check this morning and they confirmed the same plus I need a new bottom bracket and new rear hub bearings.They told me I shouldn't really ride it until it was fixed. So naturally I did!

[Nickslikk2112]

told me I shouldn't really ride it until it was fixed. So naturally I did!

Have bike will ride!

I'd been riding one of my bikes for weeks with what was a failing freehub, when I took it in for a service I said it had only started making a noise recently  Worse than that the rear rim braking track was worn away to the carbon wheels, that could have been wheel explosion time...

Got only my third Fondo of the year in today. Longest ride of the year too at 65 miles didn't quite reach 5,000ft of elevation gain though, but I can live with that. Even set a best uphill segment time today, not done that on any climb this year, I suspect that the few times I've done the climb before have been into the teeth of a Northerly gale...

Climbing up from Hathersage to Surprise View (Not much of a surprise as I know it's there and it was behind me) I overtook a bloke in rather obvious Le Col cycling clobber. As I was in Rapha I greeted him with "LE COL SUCKS, RAPHA RULES!!!" Hopefully in the week when I'm in Le Col I can overtake a Rapha Rider and repeat things in reverse...

https://www.strava.com/activities/7593647022