Bike Diary

I had half a mind to do another fondo today but I seem to have come down with a virus, which is not unusual straight after a cruise. The symptoms are mild so far though, so I thought 55km or so wouldn’t hurt.

Wind coming from the south-west today, ideal for a Twycrosser. I did the relatively short version that goes to Carlton via Bosworth Road from Sheepy, but I went up through Packington and Ashby (where I took the pic) at the top end.

Listened to LBC. Aasmah Mir, who used to present on 5 Live, was sitting in for Shelagh Fogerty – who also used to present on 5 Live come to think of it, but is an idiot. Then 5 Live.

Very warm out there. Had my most diaphanous gear on. 57.31km and that’s 730 this month, decent considering I was out of the country for a big chunk of it.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14912270049

The Meriden Gap is a ribbon of rural England that runs down between Birmingham and Coventry. I’ve been down that way a couple of times – it’s a sort of extension of the Dad’s Army route – but never as far as Meriden itself. I did intend to visit the place last time I went down that way but made a couple of substantial navigation errors and turned back early.

This time, I uploaded the route to my eTrex and dutifully attached it to the handlebars before setting off.

A nice day, cool when I set off, too warm later.

Meriden is the site of the Cyclists War Memorial, constructed in 1920. One one side it features an engraving reading “TO THE LASTING MEMORY OF THOSE CYCLISTS WHO DIED IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919”. It was rededicated in 1963, with the plaque shown in the photo. The memorial is 50.6 km from home, making it an ideal destination for a fondo, and that’s where I turned back.

Very nice run out although the hills on the other side of the A5 are a bit tiring. I listened to LBC, then more of Simon Hart’s memoir / diaries from his time as a chief whip. Getting to the juicy stuff in 2023, with Suella resigning and Nadine insisting she was short-changed in the honours. Oh yes and Matt Hancock swanning off to Australia without receiving permission (albeit he did ask for it, a few hours before his flight).

The Meriden Gap is a really nice, quiet bit of rural cycling territory. In Meriden itself, you’re about 4km from the extreme outskirts of Birmingham and about the same distance from the very edge of Coventry. I suppose it will be subsumed by one or both of the great urban conurbations that flank it eventually.

Back on 101.34.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14891655636

I got up early, because the hottest day of the year was forecast. Easy enough, because my body clock is still on Greek time. I set off on the southbound route at 0805.

At some point between home and Stoney Stanton I decided to go down Fosse Way instead of down to Sibbertoft. So I went straight over the roundabout at Stoney, through Sapcote, High Cross, Brinklow.

After Bretford I’d already done 49km and didn’t want to do much more before turning back, so I took a right to explore. A couple of klicks later I was in a village called Brandon, where I took the pic then turned back.

Stopped at the village shop for a posh sausage roll and a Magnum at Brinklow. I like to have a break at the bench there. Nice little ritual. Conditions were pretty hot by this time, but before long a thin layer of cloud came over, enough to prevent the bike from casting a shadow on the road. Still very warm and humid but a nice break from the sun.

I’d expected a straggly strip of rain to come over from the rainfall radar forecast. Felt a few spots from midday, then light rain half an hour later. Then it stopped. Then over the last few km, persistent rain. Not quite heavy, but not light either.

Listened to LBC and a bit of tennis on 5 Live, then more of Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip by Simon Hart.

Very pleased to see that a long stretch of road between Ellistown and Bagworth has been resurfaced – properly – with luxuriant, smooth tarmac. Bravo, Leicestershire County Council. But what makes one part of the road network merit a proper resurface when other parts just have loose, dusty gravel tipped on them, I have no idea.

Unfortunately they haven’t quite finished yet so I had to put up with a temporary road surface for 100 metres or so. A bit rattly. But no big deal.

Back on 102.26km. Glad to be out on a bike again after a ten day break, mostly due to holiday commitments. More on Monday when the weather is set to be a bit more moderate, with a stiff wind coming from the west.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14870451516

It was a perfect day for a long ride out east onto the Fens. Up at 0400, back at 2000. That sort of thing. Alas, because I have to travel tomorrow, it wasn’t a good idea. So I thought I’d settle for about 135km of the Eastbound Route.

I set off at about 0915. Coolish at that time of day; very slightly uncomfortable. But I was in legs-out minimal clothing mode, because the temperature was due to climb quite quickly, which it did.

I stopped when I got to the Captain Tom bench at Colsterworth, just short of the A1 crossing. Ate something there and took the pic. Then turned back. Came home the same way except that, as usual, I approached Wymeswold via Narrow Lane coming west.

Finished the Luke James Fashi0n memoir, Stairway to Nowhere, including some audiobook-only “deleted scenes”. In one of them, we learn that the band played a fundraiser with The Damned in 1978, ostensibly to help Sid Vicious with his legal fees. Sensible, Vanian, James and Scabies pocketed the cash for themselves and Sid didn’t see a penny of it. Not that it would have done him a lot of good, I wouldn’t have thought.

Lovely warm afternoon, about 24C out there later on. Mostly sunny. I took the precaution of applying a bit of sun lotion on my arms and it seems to have worked. But there was a bit of respite when a large dark cloud rolled over for half an hour on the way back.

Just for fun I attempted to beat my Strava PR for a segment over the last few km. Something I would normally not consider. But it looks like I failed anyway.

Very satisfying run out, 137.86km. I’ve done a pleasing 469km this month so far.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14767879944

Today’s idea was to go up to Kilburn, a few km north of my old place in Derby. Only been there once on a bike before, in July last year. Up through Coleorton, Castle Donington, Shardlow, Elvaston, Borrowash.

After Spondon I took a different route up to Kilburn this time, a more sensible one I think, to match the one I used to take when I went there in a car, in the early ’90s. And instead of coming back down the A38, I continued on toward Belper, then came back down to Derby through Makeney and Little Eaton.

To extend the ride to a fondo I took a detour over to Swarkestone, then swung back to Isley Walton, on the way back down.

Interesting run out. Nice to see old haunts from the ’90s again. But I was home about an hour later than I’d normally expect from a fondo. A lot of climbing in the Derbyshire part of the ride. Generally quiet and scenic, though.

Mostly cloudy. Decently warm, mostly. Spotty light rain for about an hour later on but nothing troubling.

Saw a woman wiping her child’s publicly exposed nether regions in Spondon. Looked like said child had just had a wee by the side of the road. I’ve seen that in France a couple of times, but never in dear old Blighty.

Listened to more of the Luke James Fashi0n memoir, Stairway to Nowhere. But I also started Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip by Simon Hart. Very good. Eye-opening.

Back on 100.31km, and that’s 25 fondos done this year now.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14747794658

Didn’t feel particularly well this morning. Bit of a headache and a sore throat. But I thought that 50km or so wouldn’t hurt. I did a Twycrosser. An unusual one in that I took a diversion along Watery Lane on the way down, and detoured via Swepstone on the way up, which isn’t something I do normally if I come back up via Gibbet Lane.

I also took a diversion to Ibstock over the last few km, which is not uncommon. But on this occasion I went there via Mill Lane rather than Pisca Lane. Mill Lane fell out of favour because the road was rather bumpy on the fast downhill part. But they seem to have fixed that now, so I’m glad to have given it a go.

Quite nice out there, though cool-ish early on. A few spots of rain but otherwise bright, occasionally sunny.

Took Boardman II for the first time since March. Listened to more of Luke James’ memoir.

Back on 53.81, 231 so far this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14715144502

Pushed for time again, but determined to do at least 65km. The idea was to go down the Twycrosser route, but extend it to the south it at the end to try out a different method to cross the A5. So: I did that. Started off going up to Ashby then south through Packington, Snarestone Twycross, Sheepy Magna as usual. Then down past Atherstone.

The new approach I’d devised down into Warwickshire is not really viable. Involves a steep hill and although it was quiet, is not a paricularly scenic stretch of road either. I continued past the A5 for about 2km, then turned back. Back the same way except for diversions to Sibson, where I rid myself of a few more old books and CDs in the phonebox there, then Swepstone. Just to make the best use of the available time and weather.

Saw a buzzard eating a rabbit. Grim. Wondered if the buzzard had killed it, or if it was roadkill.

A few spots of rain, but nothing I could call a shower.

Quite an enjoyable run out. Back on 73.62.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14694576890

Warmish but cloudy, with a stiff breeze coming from the west and a threat of showers. Today’s idea was to do a fondo down the rural channel between the urban sprawl of Birmingham and Coventry, to a place called Meriden – more or less an extension of the Dad’s Army route.

The first 35km of the route is familiar enough to me by now but the remainder isn’t. I took a wrong turn after Piccadilly Way and later missed the turn for Shustoke. The first error was no biggie, I found my way back to the intended route easily enough. But the second took me right through Coleshill and cost me a few km which was unfortunate as I was very tight on time – had to be back by 1755 and I’d got up later than I intended.

So I didn’t get to Meriden. I turned back at a place called Forest of Arden Country Club. Then I took another wrong turn, after Maxstoke and had to re-orient myself back onto the correct route with the assistance of the RideWithGPS app. I’d stored the route to my account from the browser app on my desktop PC.

Nonetheless, I did get back on time, on 103.41 km. Will definitely do that one again, but I’ll put the route on the eTrex. Should have done that this time, but I thought I’d get by on pulling out the phone app every now and then.

One good thing about that route is the variety. Lots of quiet villages, lots of scenery. Plenty of shops. I stopped at a Co-op at Wood End for an onion bhaji sandwich and a Bounty.

On the downside it’s quite climby, and of course it means tangling with the A5.

Listened to more of Luke James’ captivating memoir of the early days of Fashi0n, Stairway to Nowhere.

I’ve just read that the ribbon of countryside between Birmingham and Coventry has a name: the “Meriden Gap”.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14666020573

Today’s primary objective was clear: to do at least 42km, which would set a new monthly distance record. But I also wanted to go south of the A5, to revisit the “Dad’s Army” territory.

I chose the quickest route down there through Heather, Swepstone, Snarestone, Twycross. But I had to reroute between Twycross and Sheepy Magna, when I found that a section of the road along there had been “resurfaced” with Leicestershire County Council’s favourite grey gravel. I went back to the main road and approached Sheepy from Wellsborough Road instead.

So I went down to Old Grendon, onto the A5 then down to Wood End. Usually from here I’d take a right but I wanted to repeat a stretch that I discovered a few months ago. So I turned left instead and went down through a place called Hurley Common, then Knowle Hill – before coming back up to the usual “Dad’s Army” route through Kingsbury and Piccadilly.

In order to avoid the gravel near Sheepy, I came east via Ratcliffe and Sibson – where I dumped some old paperbacks I didn’t want any more into the lending library phonebox. I should have thought to go that way on the way down, I’d been carting them around for nearly 60km at that point.

Came back up Gibbet Lane, then deviated to Barton in the Beans, so I could come home up Newton Lane. Felt like a long time since I’d been up that way. At the Gate Inn at Ratcliffe Culey, they were flying the Knights Templar from their flagpole in the beer garden. Why?

Back on 78.57km. Very happy to have clocked up 1338km this month. Didn’t think I’d ever beat my previous record from August 2016 (1302). But never particularly wanted to either, at least until the last couple of weeks.

Also very satisfied to have been down the other side of the A5, as well. Perhaps I can fashion a fondo route that goes down that way, between Birmingham and Coventry.

Listened to 5 Live but also a new audiobook, a memoir by Luke James, who was the frontman / guitar player in the first version of Fashi0n. He doesn’t write well. He doesn’t read it out brilliantly well either. But it’s a compelling and vivid story.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14642891283

The weather forecast has improved quite a bit for the end of the month. There was a bit of rain this morning, but the afternoon looked dry. So: I set off at 10:45 to take another bite out of the (roughly) 150km I wanted to do in the remaining (or “last” if you’re a Blue Oyster Cult fan) days of May.

I really wanted to do the Dad’s Army route. But careful scrutiny of the rainfall radar suggested that a band of rain was going to pass close to the south. I’d get rained on if I went that way. So I decided to do go up and west; the Upper Westbound route.

So I did that. I went up through Swannington rather than Coleorton, to avoid the “resurfacing” near Alton Hill. Up through Melbourne and Swarkestone, right along Uttoxeter Road to Scropton, looped back through Hatton.

I came a longer way back, through Weston and Aston, then Shardlow and over Cavendish Bridge. Much warmer by now, and sunny. Took off a couple of layers at a bench at Weston. Or Aston. Can never remember which is which.

As I descended through Donington, it occurred to me that I’d probably be back on about 93km. Rude not to extend the ride to a fondo. So at Belton I performed an anti-clockwise loop – along Ashby Road, up to Long Whatton, west to Diseworth and back down to Belton. Then back the usual way.

Would have been better to have gone exploring a bit further at the remote end, but 106.22km is 106.22km.

Took the Tricross for the first time since February and I must say I really enjoyed it. It rolls nicely despite being heavy and feels reassuringly solid and stable.

Listened to 5 Live and finished the Reacher novel. The conclusion does make sense and actually it’s quite clever. Very different from the film. But a bit anti-climactic.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14622540658