Month: August 2024

Conditions were forecast to be near-perfect yesterday – sunny, warm, a light wind coming from the east, increasing in intensity later in the day. And intermittent cloud cover in the early afternoon. The plan was to set off early and cycle over to the flat bit of Lincolnshire. Not as far as Sutton Bridge, my usual destination over there, but into the Fens for a couple of miles.

I woke up at about 0620. I contemplated getting up there and then, but I asked Alexa what the current temperature was first. Eight degrees. So I went back to sleep. Unfortunately I didn’t wake up again until 0830.

I set off at about 0925. Still not quite warm enough for minimal clothing, so I had a long sleeve second layer on. But the temperature was forecast to rise quite rapidly, and it did. I stashed my long sleeved top in my camo bag, along with a torch and spare batteries, in a hedge near Waltham after 32 miles. Actually I regretted doing that twenty minutes later when the sun disappeared into clouds. But not for long, fortunately.

Stopped at the village store at Buckminster for more fuel after 39 miles. About 9 miles later, I failed to take a left turn after Castle Bytham, which is exactly what I did last time. Rather than backtracking to the usual route, I consulted the map on my phone and decided to keep going. I was effectively on a detour that would only add about two miles. However when I did meet up with the intended route at a crossroads I failed to realise I’d done so, and kept going for about a mile until I reached a village called Toft. It was nearly 1500 now. I’d done 57 miles. It would take me another half hour at least to get to the part of the Fens that I was aiming for. So I decided to turn for home.

I came back via the originally intended route, mostly. Once back in Leicestershire I came back through Wymeswold and Rempstone rather than Stanford and Burton. Back half an hour after sunset on 111.41 miles.

That was probably my last chance this year to pedal around the Fens for a bit so that’s a bit of a shame, but I did enjoy the new stretch of road in Lincolnshire. And I especially enjoyed gliding along the long flat stretch from Eastwell to Six Hills in the afternoon sunshine with a bit of a tailwind. The traffic was a lot quieter than I expected for a Friday. Lovely.

I listened to 5 Live. And I was going to continue with my Alastair Reynolds audiobook but I had such a faff finding the point where I left it in the excessively long chapter that I was about 2/3 of the way through, that I decided to give up on it there and then and I started a new book, a brilliant Vietnam war memoir that I read in 1984 called Chickenhawk.

So that’s a wrap for August, 651 miles. I want to do 400 in each of the remaining four months, and if I do I’ll have done 5979 miles. So I’ll aim for 6000 in 2024.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12283871823

Not much time for cycling today, wasn’t able to leave the house until after 1330 and I had to be back by 1615 to give ‘er indoors a lift to pick up her car from an MOT.

Usually I might well just not have bothered, but Friday’s weather looks perfect for a long ride so I don’t want to be cycling tomorrow.

I decided, therefore, to try to squeeze 25 or 30 in. I did a Twycrosser. The idea was to keep an eye on the watch and adjust the route on the fly. Always an option for a quicker or longer way home from more or less anywhere on the ride.

Went a bit quicker than I’d normally bother to, and managed to get 30.49 miles in. Nice weather, warm enough for bare legs and sunny.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12264766377

Another decent day, if a bit windy. The wind was coming from the south-west, but I decided to do the southbound route. Only wanted to do the fondo distance.

I realised, as I was readying the bike, that I’d forgotten to bring a bike computer out of the house. So I used the Strava app on my phone. Slightly irritating not knowing how many miles I’d done at any given time, but I have a few mental distance markers remembered.

Stopped at the Co-op at Stoney Stanton for a plain croissant. They didn’t have any, so I had an onion bhaji sandwich instead. Got to Husbands Bosworth after about 32 miles. And I decided to come back the “old way”, up Welford Road then through Foston and Enderby.

I ignored a few ROAD CLOSED signs with big red barriers positioned half way across the road. A few miles later I came to a pair of barriers right across the road, bearing the notice DANGER: DEEP EXCAVATION, but in fact the only noticeable excavation was about three inches deep. No-one was in attendance. I got the bike round the barriers without any difficulty and carried on.

Very nice to come up Welford Road again for a change, but the “old way” is not so much fun after Blaby. Busy roads. I must work out a route that comes back part of the old way, then cuts west to the newer route.

After Newbold Verdon I came back a shorter way than usual, and ended up having to take a circuitous route over the last couple of miles.

I decided to risk minimal clothing and unfortunately the oncoming breeze was a bit cold for the first couple of hours. I warmed up nicely in the afternoon, but I wish I’d put on a long-sleeved tunic over the short-sleeved top I had on.

I listened to another couple of hours of the Alastair Reynolds novel, Revelation Space. Not sure whether to persist with it. And 5 Live, notable today for the many tributes to Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Back on 62.31 miles, 509 for August now.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12247979277

Windy again. Otherwise a nice day though. Warm enough and sunny. I decided to keep it short after encountering a headwind full-on on the way down to Twycross. After I got there I did a detour to Orton, mainly because the main road through the village had had a load of dusty gravel dumped on it by Leicestershire County Council.

Straight across to Sibson after Sheepy. And I started to go up the main road toward home from there, but reasoning that I’d only have to put up with the headwind for another few miles, changed my mind and headed down to the bottom of Fenn Lanes. Huge relief to turn north-east there, out of an oncoming wind. Back through Shenton, Bosworth, Odstone, Burgoland.

One day I must try to work out how many possible variations of the Twycrosser there are.

A bit perfunctory really, I just wanted to get the monthly distance figure up a bit. But I quite enjoyed the second half.

Listened to 5 Live. 37.27 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12223637200

Bit tired after driving back from Milton Keynes late last night but it will rain tomorrow, if the forecast is to believed. I did another short one, a pretty perfunctory Twycrosser.

Cloudy, not warm. Quite a strong wind from the south-west and the headwind was brutal on the way down to Twycross. But I didn’t seem to get a tailwind on the way back.

Listened to 5 Live and the Pink Floyd album Meddle. Back on 30.25 miles and that takes me to 410 miles this month. I’ve now done over 400 miles in every month this year up to and including August. If I can do the same for the remaining four months, it’ll be the first time I’ve exceeded 400 in every month of the year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12206955565

I was all set do do another fondo today but the forecast changed to threaten rain at 1600 and the wind was a bit strong. Conditions were overcast and a bit cool, as well. So I decided an old-fashioned Twycross Bypasser would do.

I did the version that goes through Ratcliffe Culey, Shenton and Bosworth, with a deviation through Nailstone again.

Listened to 5 Live, Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother then the first couple of hours of an Alastair Reynolds novel called Revelation Space. It only just managed to maintain my attention unfortunately. But I’ll persist with it.

Back on 35.07 miles, the shortest distance I’ve done for a couple of months but good enough for an overcast Monday. The Sun did almost come out for a few minutes to be fair.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12188210435

I intended to take advantage of nice weather to do a fondo, today. But I woke up early. I briefly contemplated getting up at 0730 and doing a 100-miler. Perhaps I should have. Not that much of the summer left. In any case, I went back to sleep and got up at about 0930.

A light wind was coming from the west. I decided to go south, since I hadn’t done that for a week or two. Rather than going down to Welford I took a left to the gliding club near Sibbertoft. Then I turned back.

Annoyingly, Station Road, the last stretch before the gliding club has been resurfaced recently using the loose gravel method so it was a bit rough and dusty. But it’s essentially a short cut so I went the long way back through Husbands Bosworth, adding a bit less than a mile to my ride.

Stopped at the village shop at Gilmorton. Alas, the table outside was already occupied by four elderly cyclists. Two couples (presumably) in their late 60s or possibly early 70s. So I wished them safe travels, and took my newly-acquired cornish pasty and Magnum ice cream to the bench further on in the village. Unfortunately someone had parked their motor next to it and left it idling, so I had to consume my impromptu lunch a few feet away from a noxious and noisy Mercedes engine. I reckoned the next bench was at Stoney Stanton, about seven miles further on. Didn’t want the Magnum to melt in my backpack.

I dressed in minimal clothing. The breeze was a little cool for comfort for the first hour but conditions were perfect after that.

In the end the expected sidewind turned out to be a headwind on the way out and a tailwind on the way back, an assessment I corroborated by reference to the many wind turbines dotted around the route. Handy.

I listened to 5 Live and the Pink Floyd album Ummagumma.

Back on 65.26 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12163697940

Rain this morning and I had a commitment at lunchtime. But the roads had dried up nicely by 1410, when I set off. I took Boardman II because I decided to decommission the chain just after lubing it yesterday, and I want to get some distance out of the lube first. Hadn’t used it for over two months, surprisingly. Too many bikes!

There was a light wind coming from the west but I decided to go east anyway, since I hadn’t been over that way for a while. I assumed the headwind wouldn’t be too annoying on the way back at less than 5mph (according to the forecast). And it wasn’t.

I did think I might do a fondo – but to give myself a bit more time for other activities this evening, I decided not to. Shouldn’t be hard to find a decent weather day when I can set off in the morning.

So I turned north then west for Wymeswold, then Rempstone from Narrow Lane. After that I thought I’d try a detour through East Leake to Sutton Bonington, but I took the wrong turn and ended up in Costock. From there, Google Maps told me my best bet was to go south to Rempstone so I ended up having done a sort of seven mile loop.

The weather seemed unseasonally cool when I set off so I wore two long-sleeved tops and tights, but (of course) I ended up too warm and removed the tights after 17 miles.

Home on 47.78 miles – 279 this month and 4007 this year. Earliest I’ve ever got to 4000 miles in any year.

I listened to LBC and Pink Floyd’s soundtrack album for the 1969 film More.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12147723902

Hadn’t been out on a bike for eight days, mostly because I’ve been away for a few days. So, although it was the hottest day of the year so far, I decided to do 40 or so in the afternoon.

The wind was coming from the west so I decided to do a Bypasser. I set off at about 1535. I did a long version, up to Ashby at the top and along Fenn Lanes at the bottom. I also did the detour through Nailstone that I’ve done a few times recently. I don’t think it adds much distance but it’s a nice change if nothing else.

Unavoidably, I was too warm for the first hour or so but later in the day with the air temperature a smidge lower, conditions were just lovely in the late afternoon sun. Bliss.

Listened to a bit of 5 Live, Floyd’s Saucerful of Secrets and Thin Lizzy at the BBC which is a wonderful collection of alternative versions and rarities.

Back on 40.35 miles. 231 this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12130310735

The plan for yesterday was to do Wales and back, if I got up early enough. But I got up at about 0630, a bit later than intended, so I decided to do the same route – but only as far as Cheshire. I set off at about 0720.

Cool in the morning, but I was comfortable enough in a long-sleeved top and tights.

I took a wrong turn after 47 miles. I’d uploaded the route to my eTrex but hadn’t bothered to switch it on at that point; I was pretty confident I was on the right track. Until I wasn’t. Rather than backtracking, I decided to keep going and join the usual route a few miles further along via a detour. This took me along some quiet little lanes through pretty, secluded villages called St James Green, Standon and Maer. Nice little diversion.

I entered Shropshire at about 1215 and arrived at the Cheshire border about 15 minutes later. I decided to keep going for a bit. Then 20 minutes later I decided I’d keep going right to the Welsh border. So I did. I arrived there at about 1350.

I went into Wales along Wrexham Road for a minute, then I turned for home. On the way back I decided to go through Whitchurch rather than using the bypass, and this was a much better solution. The bypass is a pretty horrible stretch of busy A road, although it was reasonably quiet yesterday (this being a Sunday). But the route through the town was quiet and quick enough.

Had a bit of a headwind on the way back and made good time. Called in at a petrol station on the outskirts of Stone to get supplies. Despite this, a few minutes later I went into Stone town centre for a coffee and a bakewell tart at Costa Coffee. Good times.

I noticed that my left cleat was loose, somewhere near Alrewas. For some reason my Shimano shoes have started to lose the ability to hold onto their cleats, or perhaps I’ve overgreased the bolts. Or something. But I had the requisite Allen key with me, so the cleat’s feeble attempt at rebellion was swiftly quashed. All good.

Made it back just before 2030, about 25 minutes before sunset. 142.65 miles. Interestingly, I registered the same moving time, to within a couple of minutes, that I did when I did (mostly) the same route in 2017.

That really was a breeze. I checked my watch at 1525 and couldn’t understand where all the time had gone. The quieter Sunday traffic and cooler, cloudy weather made all the difference. To be fair I was a little too warm in the afternoon even after I’d removed the tights, but I didn’t want to have to stuff too many extra layers into a backpack or faff around with hiding clothing in a hedge. The sun did come out after 1800 but by that time it was weak enough not to bother me.

I reverted to my original Wales route from 2017 for this ride (apart from minor modifications in Leicestershire). Last time I did Wales and back, I went westward through Eccleshall and Market Drayton after Stone. The route further to the north that I did yesterday (and originally) is much nicer.

Listened mostly to Olympics coverage. A bit of an Alan Partridge audiobook. And the Joe Henderson album Inner Urge.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12064003409