I wanted to do about 40 after work. If I can get the yearly tally up to 4300 that would give me a strong chance of reaching 5000 before the end of the year. As of this morning, it stood at 4191. I wanted to do a Twycrosser really, so to ensure a reasonable ride distance i took an excursion up north first – through Coalville and up to Belton then back down Top Brand. Similar to what I might do if I were on call, although I’m not.
I must admit, as I came back within a few miles of home back through Coleorton, I was sorely tempted to call it a day on about 15 miles and just come back to a warm bath, a Tesco ready meal and a beer. I sometimes call this phenomenon the Cycling Inverse Square Law; the principle that the force of attraction exerted on the cyclist by their home is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from it. However I think there may be something Pavlovian about it as well. I’m accustomed to feeling a bit weary and looking forward to finishing a ride when coming south through Coleorton, therefore doing so always puts me in that frame of mind.
Needless to say I manfully fought off my urge to throw in the towel and took the main road west to Ashby. I wouldn’t normally but it’s better surfaced and not as hilly as the old Ashby road that runs south of it. I regretted my decision though as it was rather busy. But I did seem to get a second wind, and my spirits lifted a bit.
Down through Packington, down to Sheepy, back through Bilstone, Shackerstone, Heather. A fairly run-of-the-mill Twycrosser after Packington.
Back on 37.17 miles, that’ll have to do.
I trialled a new head torch. AAA-powered head torches aren’t usually as powerful as rechargeables – however, this one takes three AAAs rather than the usual two. It was fine for most of the ride but left something to be desired on the dark, fast downhill stretches behind Heather. It’s a no from me.