Cycling 2023

[Nickslikk2112]

Watched stage 3 of the Route D'Occitanie today before going out. On rider crashed on a descent, but got up OK, had to hit his brifters back into place though.

Thought I was on my way out today. Trying not to let the heart rate get too high today, but on the first climb I looked and it was over 170 and then 180. I wasn't putting that much effort in surely? I doubt if it can even get to about 165 these days anyway. So I stopped and it dropped straight back to what I would expect and I confirmed it with the pulse checker on my phone.

It was downhill and flat from then on for a bit so things were back to normal. Then at the next uphill it shot straight up again, yet dipped if I put a bit more effort in. By this time my Garmin told me I was functionally dead with respect to cycling. I didn't feel it so carried on.

Next hill heart rate went up to nearly 190. I don't think so. At Foolow I stopped and took the sensor off the strap and put it back in again. Success, things went back to how they should be. So even though I did another 30 miles when the Garmin said I could do less than one I felt fine.

Got to my longest ride of the year at 57 miles. Shame I couldn't get 6.2 more in.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9284272465/

[Slim]

Every time I ride to Norfolk and back, I tell myself, on my return, that I've had enough of that route. And yet each year, by the time the clocks go forward in March, I find that I've developed a nagging compulsion to do it again.

So I did it again yesterday. Sort of. I planned a route that would take me to Sutton Bridge at the edge of Lincolnshire without actually going over the border. Having done it four times already, the novelty of riding to Norfolk and back from North-West Leicestershire has worn off now. Interestingly I did actually visit Cambridgeshire for half a mile. I only realised I'd done that while poring over a map after I got back.

I set an alarm for 0245, but I didn't really sleep. I think I may have dozed for half an hour. I got up at 0155, which is earlier than I go to bed at the weekend sometimes. Exactly an hour later, I set off.

Last June when I did this ride, or a variation of it, I was shivering for the first couple of hours. This time the outdoor temperature wasn't quite so low. Nonetheless I did ride through a few patches of uncomfortably cold air over the first hour so I decided to detour via Wymeswold and Rempstone, to reach higher ground (and warmer conditions) more quickly.

As you'd expect, the roads were very quiet. Beautifully tranquil out there at that time of the morning. I saw a few bats darting through the air in the dark along Gracedieu Lane, a few miles from home. An owl flew over the road ahead of me near Rempstone. And just after sunrise, I saw two fox cubs playing in the road near Six Hills. There were quite a few juvenile rabbits out and about yesterday, as well.

I stopped after 50 miles to stash my outer layer of clothing into my camo pattern nylon bag and hide it in a hedge next to a farm gate. I also stashed my spare front light and batteries. I checked my tyres. The rear was just slightly less firm than I expected. Had I picked up a puncture? I decided to ignore it, keep on going but check it again ten miles later. I did, and it was exactly the same. I did have a CO2 inflator with me and I could have got a little bit more pressure into it. But I decided to leave well alone. Thou Shalt Not Fix That Which Is Not Broken is the holiest law of my profession. It works well for cycling, too.



I had two spare inner tubes, two CO2 canisters for the inflator and a mini-pump with me. I really hate taking additional weight when doing a significant distance - I've even been known to weigh AA batteries, to determine the most lightweight brand - but the risk of a puncture is always in the back of your mind on a long ride.

I stopped to refuel with a sandwich and a bottle of Lucozade at a shop at Sutton St James. I arrived at Sutton Bridge forty minutes later, at about 1115. I planned to take a different route back westward from this point over the next twenty miles before joining the outbound route south of Spalding.

I'd set myself a target of doing 180 miles. That was five more than my planned route, so I needed to improvise a little. I took a detour down toward a village called Deeping St Nicholas. After that I took an unintentional detour into the outskirts of Spalding when I missed a turn.

The weather forecast had promised dry, sunny weather with a few cloudy intervals in the afternoon. In fact it was cloudy the whole time until about 4pm. I had to put up with light rain, on and off, for a couple of hours in the early afternoon. But at least the easterly wind was light, as promised. And from the late afternoon on conditions were glorious - sunny, not too warm. I'd taken a small tub of sunscreen with me but ended up not using it. Annoying, as it weighs 36 grams.

I listened mostly to BBC 6 Music. In the afternoon I tuned into 5 Live just in time to hear Scotland score two very late goals against Norway, to overturn a 1-0 defeat. Irritating.

Forty miles from home I stopped to refuel at my favourite rest stop of all, the village shop at Buckminster. I bought a coffee, an egg mayonnaise roll and (of course) a chocolate-covered mint ice-cream on a stick. As I sat consuming them on one of the benches outside, the proprietor very kindly brought out a homemade samosa for me, free of charge.

I'd realised by this time that I still wasn't quite on course to do my intended 180 miles, so I took a brief detour through Long Whatton and came back the slightly longer way through Peggs Green and Coleorton. I'd done 181.40 miles when I arrived back at the garage door at about 2025. I'd made pretty good time - on a long ride like that I like to allow an hour for every 10 miles overall - it definitely pays to take it easy. So on that basis I was back more than half an hour earlier than I'd have expected.

That was definitely the most sensible route I've taken to get to Norfolk, or nearly-Norfolk and back. I chose less obscure, better-surfaced roads than the last couple of times. And I must say it was nice to ride through Long Sutton and Holbeach again - I went that way on my first Norfolk trip in 2017. But I'd avoided the quieter, narrow lanes that run in perfectly straight lines next to drainage channels in the Fenland part of Lincolnshire. They do have a distinctive desolate charm, and I missed that.

Still - that was definitely an enjoyable long day out on a bike. Very happy to have done a long run out east again this year.

441 done this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9284714668

[Nickslikk2112]

I'm going to give up on road cycling. Starting to think it's not worth the hassle. I just wish I'd listened to my Garmin advising 87 hours rest when I got back yesterday, but then I know that figure was based on garbage information and should be more like 57 hours...

Today I decided to take it very steady, not go far and do a few laps round Hasland - birthplace of Philthy Animal Taylor Phact Phans - which I did, at no point did my HR go over 130. Then it started raining so I decided to head home.

This is where things went downhill. I set off down Calow Lane to be faced with stopped traffic as parked cars on the other side of the road were making it hard for cars to get through. So I pulled up behind a Blue Van to let things get sorted. Next minute the van's reversing lights came on and it started to shoot towards me "SSSSSSSHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!" I managed to step on the pavement and tried dragging the bike up to me, but it got clipped. I asked the van driver if he checked his mirrors, he said he hadn't seen me, asked if I was OK, I said I was but wasn't too sure about the bike and he drove off.

The drivers of a van and a car coming the other way both stopped to see how I was. The van driver said he'd flashed the van in front of me to let him through and couldn't believe it when he backed up and could hear me scream. Of course flashing lights is meaningless, but that's by the by. I'd had more chance to check the bike out by now and the only damage I can see is that the derailleur adjustment barrel has been sheared off, but who knows if say the derailleur hanger is bent. The chaps who stopped both said to make sure I submitted a report to the Polis and the van driver - who gave his name and number - apologised for not having his dashcam on. Should Polis be interested there are CCTV cameras at the top of the road.

So that's the Bianchi needing checking over now. It needs to go in anyway as a couple of minutes before the front derailleur cable had snapped. The only good point is I could say my bike is Celeste coloured on the submission. Mrs S says I should have put light green, but DAMMIT WOMAN, IT'S A BIANCHI, IT'S CELESTE

https://www.strava.com/activities/9290059071

[Slim]

Oh man sorry to hear that. Sounds like it's probably not an expensive fix and at least you didn't get hurt.

[Nickslikk2112]

Oh man sorry to hear that. Sounds like it's probably not an expensive fix and at least you didn't get hurt.

Thanks James. Hopefully a cheap fix and as Mrs S said, I wasn't hurt.

[David L]

Oh man sorry to hear that. Sounds like it's probably not an expensive fix and at least you didn't get hurt.

Thanks James. Hopefully a cheap fix and as Mrs S said, I wasn't hurt.

Glad to hear it was not more serious

[dom]

Van drivers!! I'm sure they're not all bad, but there's a good proportion that are!

[Slim]

Another warm, sunny day except for a threat of rain showers at around 4pm. The wind has reverted to a more usual habit of blowing from the south-west; ideal for a Twycrosser or Bypasser. I hadn't done one for a while so I was very happy to be setting off on my time-honoured after-work route, or a variation of it, in the sunshine. I'd actually been feeling a sort of homesickness to return to those familiar roads.

Would have gone as far as Upper Packington Road at the top but that bit of Ashby Road has been covered in sharp, dusty gravel - so I took a left turn to Packington along Coleorton Lane. Really gross, literally dumped in bloody great heaps. I assume there's some sort of second phase where they come and sweep away the excess, but who knows?



I avoided the rain, although I could see it troubling the horizon to the north from Norton Lane near Orton.

Detoured through Barton in the Beans after Gibbet Lane.

Nice run out, 34.25 miles and that takes me to 476 this month, 3028 this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9309700341

[Nickslikk2112]

So, I'm giving up on road cycling, why am I trying to get my road bikes done up then?

The Bianchi needs it with a snapped front derailleur cable, but my bicycle repair man isn't doing public work now, he's got better things on. He's got a mate who we've used before, but he's a dour Scot with a passionate hatred of internal cabling. Better find someone new.

The Giant TCR has needed a new rear tyre for nearly a year now. Thought I'd stick one on on Monday. Tried, but would the bugger get seated in the rim of the wheel? Would it buggery, no amount of air would shift it. It's bloody tubeless, well it was, it's tubed now. Put new sealant in the front tyre, that won't bloody stay up. Seemed seated well, but it keeps deflating, the rim tape has gone in it. Spent most of the afternoon removing the glue from the tape on the rim and all the dried sealant. On the plus side, I did fit some nice yellow bar tape yesterday.

I did get out on the Gravel bike though, a 40 miler although only about 3% was off the roads. I bloody hated that bit too. Tried a bit of Bridleway called Moss road on Totley Moor. It started OK, albeit covered in cow pats the size of dustbin lids, but then degenerated into a series of deep ruts which kept trying to throw me off my bike. Stuff this, so I turned to another bridleway to get back to the road and that was even worse, although some hikers coming towards me said "Well Done" for cycling up it. I tried not to offend with my reply...



https://www.strava.com/activities/9307124652/

[David L]

Me and the wife took the road bikes out for a 20-miler this evening. A lesson was learned.
I had an unnerving experience with a driver who obviously has a beef with cyclists. I was a couple of hundred yards in front of the missus and this car passes me and immediately slowed down and cut off the space next to the verge so that I could not pass. At first I just thought it was strange and thought he may have a mechanical issue. Whilst forcing me to ride behind at walking pace he started putting his thumb up whilst smirking in the mirror. At that point the thought crossed my mind that it might be someone who knew me, although it would be very rare behaviour. I managed to pull alongside level with his open window, "enjoying yourself?", he asked.
"Yes", I replied, "and how are you?" (at that point I was unsure whether it was someone I'd encountered at some point in the past and couldn't place).
I dropped behind as he increased speed slightly, then as I was directly behind he put his brakes on. Luckily I reacted quick enough to avoid hitting his bumper. Satisfied he'd 'toyed' with me long enough, he drove off, making some form of hand gesture out if the window (which didn't really mean much to me but seemed to imply that he'd got the better of me, somehow.
Looking back, I wish I'd have taken my phone from my cycling top pocket and videoed the encounter but that may have enraged him to the point of violence. You never know how deep the hatred goes and what these sort of people are prepared to risk. I'm sure there were people in vehicles behind that could see what was happening.
I'm guessing we held him up for a few seconds on his drive home from work so he thought he'd repay the favour.
Lesson? Stay off the roads during evening rush (two)hour(s)
I've been riding for many years and I think that's the most aggressive motorist I've encountered. You can guess the make of car he was driving. What's German for arsehole?

[Nickslikk2112]

I've been riding for many years and I think that's the most aggressive motorist I've encountered. You can guess the make of car he was driving.

There's a choice of three German makes.
Range Rovers can be I mean are driven by pillocks.
Skodas can be dodgy.
But being as it was a bloke it won't be a young woman in a FIAT500.

I really do not know what goes on in the head of some drivers. I try to not even shake my head at their poor driving these days as that's an invitation to assault.

Anyway, I've given up on tubeless tyres. Retaped the rim, but now cannot get the tyre bac on even with  my air blaster. Mrs S thinks it's not as forceful as it used to be, but I think the tyre Gods have stopped smiling on us.

At least I got in a 36 mile "Gravel" ride today, mainly country lanes with a bit of old railway line, bridleways and Stately Home drives thrown in. Same ride as last week and I was hoping to average over 15 mph. I did, but only just, where I'd normally pick up speed down the hill from Hardwick hall I got stuck behind a lorry taking away a workman's cabin.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9313218102

[Slim]

Cloudy, but warm. I was able to leave work early (albeit I knew I'd have to apply my nose to the grindstone for a bit when I got back, for a while) and I wanted to do at least 40. I could even have done a fondo; perhaps I should have, given the scarcity of this sort of weather over the cycling year as a whole. But I didn't.

I decided on another Twycross Bypasser. The wind was coming from the west again but I just didn't fancy doing either of the longer westbound routes. I'd decided that, to avoid the badly-resurfaced bit of Ashby Road, I'd go west to Packington via the road through Normanton le Heath, a route I very rarely take. However I ignored that turn on auto-pilot, so went west through Swepstone instead.

As I pedalled along Shelford Lane, I noticed a helicopter approaching. It seemed to be losing height. Furthermore it seemed to have seen me. It hovered for a moment about a hundred metres away, then turned toward me, still descending. I actually felt threatened! Then I noticed the words AIR AMBULANCE on the side. It came down to land in the grounds of Twycross Zoo. Then a minute later, I saw a second air ambulance coming down. Seconds later as I approached the entrance to the zoo I noticed an ambulance barrelling towards me, sirens going, lights flashing.

What the? Had an exotic animal escaped from its enclosure and mauled half a dozen paying customers? I put my foot down so I'd pass the entrance to the zoo before the ambulance turned in, but I mistimed it slightly. I think I did slow the ambulance down for half a second. Oops.

I've only ever been past the entrance to the zoo twice, on both occasions this week, due to a brief diversion to avoid road works.

Anyway .. I continued down to Warton then east to Ratcliffe Culey, down Burton Road into a headwind then a sharp left along Fenn Lanes. Very nice to get out of that headwind. I extended the ride by going east as far as Kirkby Mallory, then back the usual way from there.

Still haven't found out what happened at the zoo, but there doesn't seem to have been an atrocity.

42.76 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9320751039

[Nickslikk2112]

It was a rare Friday outing today. I like to give the legs a bit of recovery time in a normal week and I had missed Tueday and Mrs S is making me go to some do on Sunday, so out it was.

The Garmin recommended an hour and twenty seven of Base level riding. Yeah right, not managed that yet, but today I did! And two hours of it too. Did the sort of ride I did at the start of Lockdown in 2020 and took it steadily. Things are on the up - yeah right!

Another plus, tried seating the tubeless tyre again today and success! It need the nozzle clamping more firmly over the valve stem. On the downside, air was pissing out of the drainholes in the wheel. Can't be taped properly, although putting sealant in might solve it. I'll cross that bridge another day.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9318950809

[Nickslikk2112]

For some reason known only to myself, I decided to put my Carbon Fibre road wheels onto my gravel bike (OK, it was to see if it would go faster). Thought it would be a couple of minute's job. More like 40. Rear disc rotor on the gravel bike is 140mm on the road wheels it's 160mm, so I had to switch them. Could I undo the locking ring? Could I buggery, well not for a long while. Then the road wheel's disc rotor was loathe to come off, but eventually it did.

Was it quicker? How the hell do I know! Never done that ride on the gravel bike. Looking at some uphill segments, yes it probably was quicker. Overall my ride came in at a 16.7mph average, a very similar ride on my Bianchi a couple of years ago was an 18.3mph average. But the wind was different and even with road wheels the Gravel bike weighs more than the Bianchi.

Anyhoo, I got in my first Fondo of 2023, nearly half the bloody year gone, I need to get our more. Good job it was just the French women's road race championship on GCN+ or I might not have got out in time. Got in a hill I've never done before as well. Don't think I'll bother again, 0.73 miles @ 7.9% it felt a lot steeper. Think my climbing legs such as they were have gone.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9327189637

[Slim]

A little bit cooler than of late. Still very pleasant though - warm enough for bare legs and sunny. But with a fairly stiff wind coming from the south-west.



I did much the same ride as on Friday, except that I remembered to take the right turn through Normanton le Heath from Heather this time. I went right down to Mythe Lane. And I came back the more conventional way up from Market Bosworth.

Lovely out there. The headwind made the first half of the ride a bit of a slog in places. But what a joy to be gliding along Fenn Lanes with a tailwind in the sunshine.

Quite enjoyed listening to people's Glasto anecdotes on 5 Live.

Back on 40.96 miles. 559 this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9339654402