Cycling 2024

[Nickslikk2112]

Went out still dressed for Summer today. Even though it was warmer than yesterday it felt colder as it was four o'clock before I went out - hey, Cyclocross season is back - and the sun was losing its power.

I was aiming for 32 miles in two hours and came in at nearly 34 in just over, so that'll do. Can't believe today was my first ascent of Tom Lane this year, could have sworn it was a regular ride earlier on this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12694609991

[dom]

Was planning on heading out tomorrow with my cycling buddy but Ashling suggested  that this would be a bad idea.

And today was so beautiful - was thinking who knows when we'd get a day as warm and sunny again?

Had a busy morning taking the cat to the vet's and various shopping trips. Spent most of it thinking how much nicer it would be on a bike. As soon as I was home I was getting ready for the spin. Pretty unremarkable really out to Kells via the Gibbstown Gaeltacht and back via Bohermeen.

Felt good to be out though, so much so that not even the Arsenal defeat could spoil it

https://strava.app.link/kqXY1RKCPNb

[Slim]

I woke at about 0500 this morning. Certainly, I wasn't intending to get up that early. I asked Alexa the outside temperate. 11 degrees. Doable, however on reflection I thought it was probably better to go back to sleep for a few hours. So I did. I ended getting up at about 0930, later than I intended, but I was pedalling away from the garage by about 1020.

I took the Tricross. Wanted to check that my tactic of spraying GT85, then dribbling chain lube down the steerer tube had freed up the steering, and happily, it has. Nice and slippery smooth now.

Decently mild and dry day. The wind was coming from the south. The intention was to do a southbound fondo.

After about 2km, I realised that I hadn't brought my phone - which meant that I wouldn't be able to refuel at a village shop or petrol station. But I took stock - I had a Peperami "pizza bun" (awful but convenient), a cheese & onion pasty and two flapjacks with me. Probably enough. So I pressed on.

I decided after Stoney Stanton to go down the Fosse Way route instead of down toward Northamptonshire. Got to Brinklow after about 47km. Then, because I only wanted to do another three klicks or so, I took a right toward Coventry rather than continuing down Fosse Way. Turned after 50.3km and came back much the same way (I took the detour along Wood Road on the way back to bypass Bagworth).

Listened to 5 Live, and the first 90 minutes or so of Boris Johnson's superb Unleashed. Really a wonderful and engaging book, and he reads it beautifully.

Back on 102.28km, that's 852 this month.

The only annoying thing really about switching to km rather than miles has been that I have some landmarks with distances to home recorded in my head. They can be handy, but I'll just have to figure out and memorise some new ones.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12709866188

[Nickslikk2112]

Thought I might have been coming down with Slim's Manflu over the last couple of days, but dragged myself out for 20 miles yesterday and felt better for it.

Today, I dragged myself out for 41 miles with 3,195ft of elevation gain at an average speed of 15.3mph and came back feeling worse. Should be averaging 16mph on that bike for that route, but the supposed gentle breeze most certainly wasn't, MyWindsock says I had a 15mph headwind for 40 minutes. Probably a tailwaind for about ten. Still, any mileage is good mileage.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12716497269

[Slim]

Today's plan, again, was to do a fondo. I must have a think about whether I want to spend every available dry day cycling. But anyway today, that's what I did.

The wind was coming from the south so I set off at about 1010 on a remix of the southbound route. Last time I went down that way, on Monday, I had to contend with extended roadworks and traffic lights near Bagworth. I don't mind waiting at the lights so much, but the road was covered in dust and mud. So this time I went down through Heather and the various villages to Bosworth, before joining the usual route at Kirkby Mallory, via Cadeby.

I went down as far as the end of Station Road, a couple of km north of Welford and the Northamptonshire border. I decided to come back up via the old route through Husbands Bosworth and Shearsby, with the twist that I would cut across west to the new route from Foston - to avoid the nasty traffic at the bottom of Leicester. I've tried this once before and made a mess of it. This time I managed to take the route I intended and yep, it works pretty well. After rejoining the main route at Broughton, I mostly came back the same way.



Back on 110.45km and that was October's 7th fondo, a new monthly record. It's quite likely that I'll get another one in before November, as well.

Pretty gloomy when I set off, and cold. But the sun emerged in the afternoon and in the end, it was a very nice day. I did get a couple of minutes of drizzle near Foston, though. Seemed very incongruous, so much so that I thought I was being sprayed by a badly aligned windscreen washer at first.

I listened to Bowie's Hunky Dory and 5 Live (mostly politics coverage).

https://www.strava.com/activities/12727600045

[Slim]

Today's mission was to perform a fondo, by any means possible. Nice day - very sunny, though not very warm. A mild southerly breeze. I did the southbound route again. Given that the clocks went back an hour last night I hoped I'd have set off by 0930 but nope, 1024. That's 1124, body clock time. Unaccountable really.

Since a defiantly dry day was promised, I took the Cannondale. Only its fourth run out this year. Didn't get round to changing the chain and giving it the setup it needed until July.

Once again I went down via Odstone, Barton and Bosworth to avoid the roadworks near Bagworth. Went down as far as Station Road then turned back. I was going to come back the same way this time, but I decided to give myself an orienteering test, and I took a left towards Lutterworth rather than the right toward Broughton Astley. Found a sign to Ashby Parva, and from there I found my way back to Broughton via Frolesworth. My impromptu detour looked familiar, actually. I think I must have done that before.



After Kirkby Mallory I came home directly up the A477. Not really that pleasant, but I reasoned that the traffic would be lighter on a Sunday. By this time I was looking forward to a coffee and a warm bath. The temperature had dropped a little. And I'd added a few km on my detour.

Back about a minute after sunset, which today occurred at 1644.

I listened to Johnnie Walker's last ever radio programme. I well remember listening to his chart show at school on my little blue transistor radio over 50 years ago. The new chart was announced on a Tuesday in those days. And I listened to football coverage on 5 Live, and another hour or two of Boris Johnson's brilliant memoir, Unleashed.

Back on 105.39 km, and that's my eighth fondo this month - a new personal record. Octuple Fondo October, if you will. It was also my 39th fondo this year which is also a personal best (I managed 38 last year).

https://www.strava.com/activities/12760936124

[Nickslikk2112]

I've not managed one Fondo all year. Only done one fifty miler. My distance mojo has gone missing. I think the COVID era started the decline, I started doing shorter rides more often and now I start to worry about things going wrong if I'm too far from home.

Got a couple of 33 milers in this weekend, getting back today tow minutes after the 16:42 sunset. Early sunsets now mean I can only watch the women's Cyclocross race before going out. Thank heavens for catch-up.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12759620002

[Slim]

Unusually, the wind came from the north-east today. While casually perusing maps over a slice of toast this morning, I had the idea of going up into Nottinghamshire, to visit some old haunts. So I went up through Coleorton to Castle Donington, but rather than hanging a left to Shardlow as I normally would, I kept on keepin' on to Long Eaton, then to Beeston.

In the noughties, by an odd coincidence I had two consecutive jobs within a kilometre of each other there; the first at a web hosting firm, the second at Nottingham University. I went right through Beeston and into the Uni. Took a pic of the bike against the Psychology Building, where I worked as a technology staffer. Good times. Really hadn't changed much, though it was odd to think that some of the bright young things I saw walking around the campus would only just have been born when I started work there. Meanwhile the kids who were there back then are in their mid or late thirties now. Odd thought. It doesn't seem long ago.

Anyway I didn't stay there long. Once or twice when I worked at the Uni I cycled all the way home to Derby, so I decided to repeat that experience. I only ever did this four or five times. Mainly I'd wrestle the bike onto a train at Beeston station, then get off again at Spondon station. I only ever rode a bike all the way home when there was some sort of problem with the trains.



It really seems bizarre to me now that I would endure the hassle of taking (and paying for) a train between Nottingham Uni and Derby, with a bike, to avoid a 21km ride home. Years later I would regularly do a 50 or 60km ride after work just for the fun of it. But 21km, or 13 miles as I knew it at the time, seemed like a lot back then.

I'm sorry to say that I couldn't remember the way out of Beeston toward Long Eaton, and I did a lot of faffing around in heavy traffic trying to find my way. I was glad to go there again but it's very urban, not a lot of fun.

Anyway with the help of Google Maps I did find my way back to Long Eaton and from there through Draycott, Borrowash and into Derby, just like old times. I went up through Spondon, up to Oakwood where I used to live, then back down Acorn Way to the main road and back to Borrowash. Thankfully the "ASDA roundabout" was quiet. From Borrowash, down to Swarkestone Bridge through Aston and Weston - I was thankful to be on nice quiet country roads again - and back home the usual way through Melbourne and Coleorton.

Listened to 5 Live mainly, and the Ned Doheny album Hard Candy - a bit of a blue-eyed soul classic from 1976.

As I sat on a bench near Draycott, an old bloke in pink trousers and a woolly hat, out for a walk with his other half, wanted to talk about my bike. "That's a name I haven't heard for a long time", he said, pointing to the Boardman brand on the frame. So we had a brief chat about Chris Boardman. I'm not sure how much of it he took in, or whether he was particularly interested. Sweet old man.



Dark by the time I got back, on 105.38km, which makes October a nonuple (yes) fondo month. My previous record is 6, in September 2023. I've also done 1172km this month, which is the highest distance score in any month since 2016. But I was a manic cyclist back then. I actually did 37 rides in July that year, which seems excessive to me now. To be fair though they were typically much shorter than I'd bother with now.

Looking at the weather forecast I probably will ride a bike on Thursday, which will be the last day of the month. Maybe even a fondo! But maybe not.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12775321184