Cycling 2024

[Slim]

Hadn't been out on a bike for a few days so I was glad to get an opportunity after work today. Nice and dry, but windy and rather cold. I did a Bypasser, with a bit of exploring at the south-eastern end near Dordon. I'd been over that way once before, there's a nice view looking back into Leicestershire from the high ground there. But I took a different route last time, along a horrible narrow gravelly road (Dordon Hall Lane I think).

Comfortable enough before sunset but very cold after that. Listened to another couple of hours of the Reacher novel.

Back on 40.15, 183 this month. Really looking forward to longer days and warmer weather. But quite enjoying a bit of night riding for now.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10749507606

[Nickslikk2112]

Purely daylight riding for me. Wouldn't risk anything less than good light with all the local ne'er do wells in these here parts. Made two hours today, but not quite 32 miles.

Trying my best to do base level rides, taking it steadily, thought I'd get close today, but still came out as VO2 max, not even Tempo. All because my Heart rate strap thingy was playing up, registering 150+ bpm on a stretch of road where it's normally about 110. Then the last couple of miles it was showing 170, I'm sure I'd know if it were at that level, I only get to 160 when putting in effort on a long steep climb. Perhaps it's time to switch to my spare.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10746516697

[Nickslikk2112]

Looking at the forecast for the week ahead on Sunday, I thought that Monday would be the best bet for getting out this week. It was quite nice this morning though, even a bit of sunshine at times. So out I went, didn't stay that bright for long and on the drag up to Tibshelf the rain started, so I came back. Just fizzled out to a gentle drizzle, then dry by the time I got home, but by then I couldn't be arsed to do more so stopped at 27 miles. Puts me on 750 miles for the year though, 8 days quicker than I've got that far before.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10752928328

[Nickslikk2112]

The weather's been quite a bit better this week than the forecast said on Sunday. Although yesterday was rainier than was forecast on Tuesday evening. That was fine by me as I didn't feel like going out, felt a bit off it.

Felt better today though and did without a base layer. Could have done with bib shorts and a short sleeved jersey, it was properly warm today. Felt very spring like and in Cutthorpe the Daffodils were out. The Snowdrops have only just come out in out garden, so it must be a favoured spot. The spring had gone out of my steps though then. Haven't been doing enough long climbs this year and it shows. The wind didn't help either. Only got the benefit on the uphill section to Owler Bar. Which then meant it was a complete slog when I retraced my steps. Don't like having to put out 250+ Watts to do 15 mph on the flat.

It's another 32 miles done, but 2021 is catching up with me, 2023 is still far behind me.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10766415997

[Slim]

Sunny, dry and mild by the time I downed tools this afternoon. A bit windy though. I set off to do 20-odd of the Lower Westbound route, then come back. Got as far as Handsacre then came back.

Quite a bit of standing water from heavy rain overnight, and some of the fields had been transformed into shallow lakes.

Listened mostly to more of the Reacher novel, just a few hours from the (no doubt righteously brutal) climax now. Back on 49.54 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10775648899

[Fishy]

First time out for a while.. was hoping to do 10-12 miles as a starter but ended up doing  just over 16.. big of slog tbh... quite a cold wind but stayed dry luckily.. will need to make a concerted effort to get out more often now that we have more daylight..and better weather hopefully...

[dom]

Weather forecast was awful this morning but it was dry when I set off. That soon changed and it rained pretty much non stop for the next 3 hours. Gradually I could feel my hands then my feet go numb.  Decided against a coffee stop as there's nothing worse than stopping and realising just how sodden you are. The wet soon turns to cold and becomes pretty unbearable. Hands were so numb when I got home that I couldn't turn the door key or even release the helmet clasp.

All good again after a shower and lycra wash. Bike will need to be cleaned tomorrow.

[Nickslikk2112]

Groundhog day today. Whatever I wrote for last Saturday applies again. Must stop the curry and bottle of red wine on a Friday night. But then again it doesn't afflict me that much.

Slightly longer today as I put in an extra short loop round Heath. Thought I might get to 35 miles, but I missed out a bit in Calow to avoid roadworks. Gets me over 800 miles for the year anyway. Binned the Heart strap when I got back on the assumption its that that's giving stupidly high random heart rates. Now where did I put the spare?

https://www.strava.com/activities/10779938594

[Slim]

The weather forecast for today had improved substantially by this morning, to the point where I thought I might be able to get a fondo in without getting rained on. I set off at about 1045 to do the Upper Westbound route. That's an option that's fallen out of favour recently for apres-work rides due to the irritation of having to share the Beloved A Road with rush hour traffic, but no such reservations apply on a Sunday.

I stocked up on food at the petrol station near Hatton. Crisps, a sandwich and a Fry's Peppermint Cream. Then, rather than turning south into Hatton I decided to keep on - I suspected that my way would be blocked by a flooded road near Scropton (again) so I wanted to do a bit of exploring. I continued on to Foston, then took a road north called Hay Lane. I've been up there before. It's a bit narrow, twisty, bumpy and gravelly but I perservered until I came to impassable water. Then I came back south onto the main road again. Then I tried a road north called Woodyard Lane until, once again, I came to a watery impasse. I turned back south again.



By the time I was back on the main road I'd decided not to bother going down through Hatton and Scropton at all. I decided just to head for home, but add a few miles some other way. I took a detour through Etwall from Hiilton, and after Swarkestone, I came back the long way via Weston, Aston, Shardlow and Castle Donington.

A nice mild day. Sunny when I set off, then gloomy for a bit with a faint hint of drizzle. Then nice sunshine again. I didn't get rained on but I went through water on the roads so many times that the bike was filthy when I got back. I actually gave it a cursory hose down and clean with some car shampoo before putting it away, which is a very rare turn of events for me. Only took ten minutes, not a proper clean by any means. But I should do that more often.

I took the first pic at the left turn onto the main road, after Etwall. Water was gurgling into the drain at about a litre a second (at a guess). Both wheels were up to the spoke nipples in it.



Arrived at the road next to the runway at East Midlands just in time to see a plane take off, going west. A 737 I think.

Listened to footy on 5 Live and the rest of the Reacher novel, 61 Hours. Definitely better than the last two.

Back on 65.24 miles, about 45 minutes before sunset. 298 done this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10788995520

[Nickslikk2112]

And today I repeated last Sunday, but with an extra loop on the tops to make sure I did a bit extra. Onwards and Upwards and all that. 34 miles means my first 150 mile week of the year, won't be beaten this week.

Put my spare Heart monitor strap in today and was thankfully free of spurious spikes, Max rate today was 151 bpm on an uphill section. Last week it got to 170 - downhill. Maybe my Garmin will recommend better training routines now - not that I'll take any notice.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10788724493/

[Nickslikk2112]

Got a couple of rides in this week. Had to, the weather forecast for tomorrow isn't good, then I'm off on holiday to Birmingham - seriously - for a couple of days.

Yesterday was just a Tempo spin on my attempted base level route. Today was a bit stiffer, cycling out into a stiff breeze and my first ascent of the Col du Wigley since last September. Can't believe that, but there were a lot of roadworks being done on it so I've been avoiding it. First trip to Beeley Moor since October, that's the weather.

All in all 68 miles which gets me to 925 for the year, which is more than I've ever done by this stage of the year. Will the weather let me get to 1,000 by the end of February? Will my legs?

https://www.strava.com/activities/10800118929

[Slim]

The plan for today, to take advantage of a rare dry day with the wind coming from the east, was to do Lincolnshire and back. I worked out a route last night that would take me to a new entry point to the county of Isaac Newton. Essentially my usual route over to Waltham, Stonesby, Buckminster et al, except that I took a left turn before Waltham along five miles of road I hadn't done before - toward Grantham, through a village called Croxton Kerrial, then to the Lincolnshire border a bit further on.

So I did that. I can't say I greatly enjoyed the new stretch of road - the first couple of miles of it were a mostly gritty narrow lane with passing places. The rest of it had a long, steep descent followed by a slog of a climb (which of course meant the same again coming back).

On the way out I took the high road via Rempstone and Wymeswold to avoid standing water. On the way back though I needed to refuel at Burton on the Wolds petrol station because the village shop wasn't open at Croxton. So I took the more usual route, and I did have to propel the bike through a couple of floods. Nothing dramatic. Just a couple of inches of water.



I detoured via Waltham to avoid the narrow lane on the way back as well. After Belton I came back down through Griffydam and Coleorton, just to do something a bit different.

Cool at first but after a couple of hours I was warm enough to remove my overtrousers and outer nylon top layer. Really nice in the sun. On the way back the temperature dropped quite quickly so I put them back on at the petrol station. Made a very welcome difference.

I had to contend with quite a stiff headwind going east, but the wind speed actually increased gradually over the afternoon which meant that - for a change - the tailwind on the way back was stronger than the headwind had been.



Really glad to be out on a bike for a few hours after a week of rubbish weather. I listened mostly to footy on 5 Live (most notably the EFL cup final).

Back on 76.69. That's 375 this month which is nicely over target. Also, my average distance for 2023 is up to 45.07.

That's another neighbouring county ticked for this year, just Rutland to do now.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10836561730

[Nickslikk2112]

Done a couple of rides after my "holiday" in Brum. A 25 miler at Temp yesterday and a 33 miler at VO2 max today.

It was hard going at times today with an 18mph Northerly. A 2.8 mile segment into the wind took me 3 and a half minutes more than a couple of weeks ago. Wasn't able to make it back up on the way back. There's no Strava segment for the way back, but I think I only got 2 minutes back.

It all gets me to within 19 miles of 1,000 miles for the year, hopefully do that in the next three days.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10840265809

[Nickslikk2112]

And a nice gentle couple of hours gets me 31 miles and up to over 1,000 miles for the year and over 500 miles for February. Do I try and get more in or relax?

https://www.strava.com/activities/10847061857

[dom]

Last week outside work I noticed a van advertising a mobile bike repair service. I'd noticed that the chain had begun to jump if went into too high a gear too soon, also steering had gone a little stiff. I called the number and he agreed to collect the bike yesterday morning.  He gave it a look over and said the chain was a disaster, rear cassette was done for too. He took it away and brought it back as I was finishing up for the day.

New chain, new cassette, ball bearings in head tube and bottom bracke, new handlebar tape and a general service. Bike now riding like new. He said the brake pads were fine but he must have tightened the cables or something as when I braked for the first time I nearly went over the handlebars!

I really myst get better at looking after the bike myself. Any recommendations for where I can get to learn more