Although I’d intended to do a long run out in Lincs today, I decided I couldn’t really bothered to do 100 miles of driving for the sake of 60+ miles of flat cycling, let alone the faff of mounting the bike carrier, then the bike, on and off the back of the car twice. Maybe later in the year when summer has kicked in. But no Fondo for me this month.
I did give it serious consideration this morning, but in the end opted for Plan B, a run out to Nottinghamshire and back of about 30 miles’ distance in total. I took the Cannondale. I’d been looking forward to taking the S-Works out again but it doesn’t have an odometer and none of my GPS watches were charged up. I used my phone to track the ride.
The greater part of this route is the first part of a typical run out to Lincolnshire or Rutland, or just to Melton Mowbray. But after Zouch, just after crossing the River Soar into Nottinghamshire, I took a left turn up through Sutton Bonington and on through the University campus there. Although I worked for Notts Uni ten years ago I’d never visited this particular site. It looked idyllic in the sunshine, with grand buildings set in a nicely maintained green space and some of the students doing archery practice on the lawns.
I stopped at a bench opposite a pub in the village there to check Google Maps and briefly considered a pub lunch in the sunshine, but decided I hadn’t really come far enough to justify it.
I’d intended to continue on to Ratcliffe on Soar but took a wrong turn, and after tracking back just decided to come back home. Which is a shame really because I’d have ended up doing a couple more miles and as it stands, after today’s 27.9, my monthly total is 299. Interestingly my March 2018 total, before i buggered my knees, was 297. But I spent a week in the Caribbean that month.
I came back the same way. Was overtaken by more than 15 (I was counting) Harley Davidsons at Zouch. I caught them up at the crossroads over the A6; the roar of their engines as we waited for the green light was bloody deafening. Quite a spectacle as they rode off into the distance, though.
Anyway. There were a couple of level stretches on today’s ride and my assessment, not very scientific; just based on gut feel – is that I could probably do 50 miles on flat roads without much difficulty, if I take it easy. But I think my knees are still improving so it can’t hurt to put it off a bit.