Month: May 2025

Looked at the weather forecast for today and thought – Wales and Back! Then I remembered that I had to be home by 1830. So – I thought I’d do the same route, but only as far as the Cheshire border. The one modification I made was to avoid the turn off to Audlem over the last km – because you get to the border a bit quicker if you keep going.

Intended to start at 0700 but I got up earlier than I expected and set off at about 0620. A bit too cool for comfort for the first couple of hours but I didn’t want to take too much clothing with me. Was going to be warm later on.

The outbound leg was a bit stressful, with rush hour traffic around Rugeley. For some reason I found myself on a temporary one way system on the Rugeley bypass. Busy traffic as well. But further on, the nearside lane of the A51 was coned off for about 5km. They hadn’t started the road works so I used it as a sort of private cycle lane. Handy.

Got to the Cheshire border, only a few km after hitting Shropshire. Went over it for a bit, turned round, came back. Conditions were much warmer by this time and I’d backpacked my fleece and tights.

Came through the centre of Stone rather than using the bypass, as I had going westward. Stopped at a bench and ate while listening to Starmer and Badenoch going at it in the Commons. Fight! For the record, she had him on toast.

I wanted to avoid the Rugeley bypass on the way back as I had no idea what sort of diversion might be in place to circumvent the temporary one way system. So I confected a detour along much quieter (if rougher) roads to the north. Stopped at the petrol station at Colwich and bought a black pudding roll, to honour my northern roots. The guy behind the counter used to work for Specialized (he’d noticed the Roubaix parked outside) and we had a chat about bikes for a bit. He was banging about Mark Cavendish and competitive cycling so I nodded amiably and pretended to know what he was on about.

The wind was very light. If the forecast had been right I’d have had a tailwind on the way out, and a tailwind for the second half of the return trip as well, but that didn’t happen. I enjoyed the second half a lot more than the first though. Quieter, and (much) warmer.

Apart from 5 Live I listened to a few hours of the Reacher novel. Back on 182.40km. That was a breeze really, even the brutal hill after Stone wasn’t too much of an ordeal. I think I’m at a relatively high level of fitness at the moment, presumably because I’ve cycled more than usual this last few weeks. 988km done this month now – wonder if I could get that up to 1302, to beat my monthly record? The weather’s not that promising nearer the end of the month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14541165071

Didn’t want to go far today. Partly because I wanted to test the new saddle I fitted to the X yesterday, partly because I want to preserve my energy for a potential long ride on Tuesday. The weather’s still coming from the east, and I thought about 50k along the eastbound route and back would do. I thought I’d loop round through Sutton Bonington before turning for home.

Still very nice weather, a bit cooler and cloudier than Friday so I applied a bit more clothing.

So I set off at about 1210, and after I got to Trowell Lane, I took the left toward Sutty. But I reached the crossroads north of the village and thought I’d pedal a few km toward Gotham. Very nice along there in the warm sunshine. I turned back after about 3km when I came to a public footpath sign. Always like to make a u-turn near a recognisable landmark, in case I have to synthesise the track due to an equipment failure.

Unfortunately I took a wrong turn on my way back down and ended up in Kegworth, so I had to come down the A6. But it wasn’t too busy on a Sunday afternoon. Back on 54.28 which takes me to 806 done this month.

After the right turn onto Ashby Road I had the good fortune to find myself following a young woman cyclist in DHB shorts that hugged her curves perfectly. Hypnotic. I kept up with her for about 4km, discreetly enjoying the view until she turned off for Shepshed.

The new saddle is spot on – incredibly comfortable, and it looks like I got the adjustment right first time as well. Tempted to buy one for the Roubaix if I can get another one, or maybe I’ll just swap them round.

Listened mostly to the Reacher novel. There’s a scene in the film set on a plane that’s a bit implausible, but in the book it’s a lot more implausible. Fascinating to see how much of the plot and detail in the book was just discarded for the film, but I suppose it would have lasted about 10 hours otherwise.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14520222784

Yet another warm, sunny day. We’ve already had a fantastic summer, and we’re only halfway through May. My ambition for today was to do a bit more than a fondo. Didn’t want to get up early or endure early morning cold conditions. And I set off at about 1040.

The idea was to do the eastbound route, maybe as far as Waltham or a bit further. In the event though – I pressed on past Eastwell without taking the Waltham turn. Then I came to a left turn to a place called Barkestone. I took that. I knew it would involve a brutal descent – any left turn from the main drag between Six Hills is like a ski slope. And so it proved. Bit hairy.

From Barkestone, which was a nice little village, I oriented myself toward Long Lane via Plungar. I love Long Lane. Nice and flat, quiet, nicely surfaced and a nice view. One of my cycling happy places.

I took a detour to Stathern to visit the village shop. Hadn’t been in there before. Very friendly place with a nice seating area outside like a little pub beer garden. Alas – they’d run out of sausage rolls, sandwiches and similar. So I had to improvise. A packet of crisps, a pain-au-chocolat and a tub of ice-cream with a flake.

So from there the plan was to come back what I could tentatively call the “usual way” from Long Lane since I’ve done it quite a few times, though only twice in the last few years. But I took a wrong turn after Long Clawson and found myself climbing the hill back up to the regular eastbound route. And I came back by what I could definitely call the usual way from there.

Did a a bit of exploring on the way out by taking a left along Paddy’s Lane. Didn’t really seem very interesting. But I think I will explore around there (south of Nottingham) a bit some time. Probably nice and flat.

Also on the way out, near Six Hills – noticed a troubled-looking cyclist attending to his bike by the side of the road. Stopped to ask if he was OK, his pump wasn’t working so I lent him mine. Told him to take his time and had an impromptu picnic while he inflated his spare inner tube. But it looked like the valve core wasn’t seated properly. He managed to tighten it, then get enough pressure into the tyre to get himself home, 15 miles away. Or so he hoped. But I insisted he took my spare spare inner tube with him.

Since I had two punctures (or inner tube failures) on a ride in the winter I usually take two inner tubes with me. But I felt sure one spare would do for the rest of the ride. Besides, how could I get a puncture with that sort of karma?

The headwind was annoying going east, but it was just glorious out there and I especially loved gliding along Long Lane in the warm sunshine. Must figure out the best way to get over there that doesn’t involve rattling down a steep hill over a dodgy road surface.

Listened to a bit of 5 Live, but mostly the Reacher novel. Much better than the last one unless the plot unravels spectacularly.

Back on 120.65 km. And that’s 20 fondos done this year now.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14501666528

I bought a new saddle for the X (again). The last one is just too well-padded and uncomfortable over anything more than 40km or so.

This one is a Fizik Aliante. As you can see it’s a test saddle – Saddle manufacturers send these out to equipment retailers so that serious riders can try them out before they buy one. They aren’t supposed to be sold. And yet they do end up on eBay, which is where I got this one.

It’s very lightweight, made of carbon fibre. Only lightly padded. Looks like it’s been fitted to a bike (there are very faint marks on the rails) but never ridden. Can’t see so much as a speck of dust on the underside and there’s no wear to the surface.

The cheapest Fizik saddle I can see online is more than £85, but I got this one for £19 + P&P.

Not tried it yet but so far the only thing I don’t like is that it’s not vented – which would have made it a lot easier to fit. Much easier access to the forward seat clamp bolt.

Another warm, sunny day? Really? I had plenty of time in the afternoon but I didn’t really feel like doing a fondo. I thought maybe 65km would do. Ideally I’d have done a Twycross Bypasser but the weather’s been coming at us from the east persistently of late, and today was no exception.

I had the idea to go up through Donington, west over Cavendish Bridge, through Shardlow then maybe up to Elvaston. So I did that until I got to Isley Walton, where – alas – Leicestershire County Council have been up to their loose gravel resurfacing tricks again.

So I turned left toward Melbourne and made it up from there. Up over Swarkestone Bridge, up over the A50 and up into the nether regions of Derby along Infinity Park Way. I randomed around up there for a bit, then came back down. Extended the ride a bit by going over to Ticknall which meant facing Bastard Hill on the way to Ashby, but it wasn’t horrific.

There’s something a bit poignant about passing a Rolls-Royce site, and seeing people coming and going. I wonder how my career would have gone if I’d stayed there. Certainly, I do miss some aspects of that job.

Back on 58.83, less than I wanted. But hopefully there’s a long cycling day coming up soon before the warm weather fades away. Listened to 5 Live and more Reacher.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14480068250

Another warm, sunny day. 25C, no less. But rain was forecast for about 3pm, and since I’m going to a gig tomorrow, I didn’t want to work my knees too hard. Also, I’ve just fitted a new tyre to the rear wheel of the Roubaix and wanted to test it.

So I planned a modest 48km route that would take the eastbound route as far as Long Whatton, then hook left through Diseworth to Kings Newton, down through Ticknall, then loop back via Ashby.

Well I did that as far as Long Whatton, where – to my disgust – the main road west to Diseworth has very recently been “resurfaced” by the loose, dusty sharp gravel method of which Leicestershire County Council is so fond. I took a pic.

I turned back and more or less made it up after that. Back to Belton then acoss to Breedon, down to Lount, then home via Coleorton and Top Brand. Ended up on 39.28km and looking at the map, I could have done better. I haven’t actually seen any rain yet, either.

Still – 572 km done this month, 4043 this year now and that’s a record for a 12th May.

Listened to more of the Reacher novel. So far, so good.

As you can see the Roubaix now has aesthetically mismatched tyres.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14456271075

Another lovely day was forecast, with the wind coming from the east again. But I didn’t really want to do the eastbound route again so soon. I thought I’d do the southbound, but a bit further than usual – maybe not all the way down to Northampton, but at least 10km south of Welford.

While poring over a route planner last night I had the idea of going down to Sibbertoft as usual, but from there to keep going east until I came to the A508 – then to take the A508 down toward Northampton. Usually I go down Welford Road.

So I did that. I wasn’t really impressed with the stretch between Sibbertoft and the A508 – a bit bumpy and ill-surfaced. But the A road was fine, quieter than I expected. The thing that worried me most was that I seemed to be descending perpetually, and I really didn’t fancy coming back the same way.

I came to a roundabout after 71km, with a right turn to Spratton – which I knew to be on the Welford Road route. I kept on, though. But the road was faster and busier after the roundabout so after maybe 200m I performed a reverse ferret and took the Spratton turn. I’d decided to return homeward the usual way, up Welford Road.

Initially this took me through a village called Brixworth where I bought some food at a Co-op and had an impromptu lunch at a bench.

At Spratton, as I swapped between my DAB and my phone by the roadside, a young woman came up to me slightly nervously. She was of South Asian descent, off-the-scale pretty, with shoulder-length hair, hypnotic eyes, very well-spoken. She was wearing a leather tunic over a long, flowing, colourful ankle-length dress and Doc Marten style boots. She wanted to know if I knew how to get to Guilsborough. I’d never heard of it but I invoked Google Maps and planned the route for her. It was 5.8km away, or, as I told her, about three and a half miles.

Must admit I felt a bit of disquiet afterwards .. she wasn’t exactly dressed in walking clothes. Should I have asked if everything was OK? Did she have a bottle of water on her? It was a warm day.

So anyway I came up the usual way after Spratton. Stopped for an ice cream at the petrol station at Welford. Back on 141.61km.

That was a very satisfying run out. Mostly warm and sunny and I’ve caught the sun a bit. Did feel slightly uncomfortably cool when the sun disappeared behind clouds, but that wasn’t often or for long.

Mostly listened to LBC and footy on 5 Live. But I also started the next Reacher novel, Never Go Back. The one the second Tom Cruise film was based on, but although I don’t remember the plot of that one very well the book doesn’t appear to bear a lot of similarity to it. Decent so far, though.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14439238950

Had a jazz guitar lesson until 1330, but it was a decent enough day for an afternoon fondo. The wind was coming from the east so I settled on the time-honoured eastbound route as far as Eastwell.

A fairly cloudy day and a bit cooler than I expected. The headwind was annoying on the way out. I went the slightly shorter way via Rempstone and Wymeswold, so I’d done a bit less than 50k by the time I turned back, after a quick snack at the bench at Eastwell. Made up for it by taking Narrow Lane back to Wymeswold, then coming back the Peggs Green / Coleorton way after Belton.

Enjoyable run out, especially on the way back with a nice tailwind. Picked up some PRs on segments I’ve done dozens of times (as always, without trying). The sun came out as well intermittently, which warmed me up nicely. Wished I’d worn gloves rather than mitts, my fingertips were uncomfortably cold.

Back on 100.86, 391 done this month now. I’m 703.02km ahead of my yearly distance on this date 12 months ago, and by an odd coincidence 303.02km ahead of 7th May 2023. Exactly 400.0km difference. What were the chances?

Some nice cycling days coming up in the weather forecast.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14408437935

Another quick one today. Actually I didn’t really want to go out at all. Feels a bit cold out there all of a sudden. But I reminded myself that I’d have pounced on a dry, 12C day in January so I dutifully operated a bicycle. Not that much time today, and on top of that I left my water bottle at the garage. The wind was coming from the north-east, so I went up through Coleorton, up Top Brand, through Diseworth, skirted the airport then west through Isley Walton to Melbourne.

And back the usual way from there. 36.95km.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14385845934

I was determined to do at least 161km today, or what might be termed a “100 miler”. I knew the route I was going to take, out toward Norfolk. But I didn’t know how far I was going to go, or what time I was going to get up.

I went to bed early, at about 2330. I dozed happily for a couple of hours then got up at 0300. Took my time having breakfast. Didn’t want to leave too early. Would mean spending more time in the cooler conditions. I set off just after 0410.

In one respect I’d picked the perfect day for a long ride. Although I sometimes listen to music or an audiobook, most of all I like to listen to the radio on a bike ride, on my DAB personal. I’m a politics junkie, and the local election results were starting to come in. As I set off, the count for the Runcorn by-election was taking place. Drama! I followed it on LBC. The whole eastbound leg of the ride was a breeze, I think partly because for long periods I was too engrossed in the election results coverage to notice that I was riding a bicycle. Beautifully quiet first thing in the morning.

I did miss a turn after Castle Bytham, the third time I’ve made the same mistake now. I must rehearse it on Street View. I recovered fairly quickly, anyway.

I’d chosen a route that’s a good compromise between nicely surfaced A or B roads and the very distinctive straight roads that run alongside the drainage channels, and give the Fens its character. I stopped at an airfield about a km short of Holbeach, then decided to turn back. I’d been toying with the idea to go all the way to Foul Anchor, but it wasn’t the best day for it. I’d have to do a couple of hours in the dark over the last 35 km or so. Perhaps in a few weeks’ time I’ll set off at 0300 and do that, when the daylight hours are longer.

Had a very enjoyable rest stop at the village shop / caff at Castle Bytham on the way back. Friendly place. Not long after that though, somewhere near South Witham, I noticed a subtle, rhythmic bump coming from the back wheel. Checked it of course – the tyre had slightly deformed; the same thing that happened to the Tricross a few months ago, though not quite so obvious. I had about 70km to go so I was a bit anxious. It did actually get a bit worse. But it didn’t look like the tyre was going to selectively burst out of the rim so I kept my fingers crossed, mentally anyway.

Once back in familiar territory, I failed to take the turn to Wymeswold as I’d intended. Just running on autopilot, or too absorbed by the election results coverage. Unfortunate because a stretch of the road between Cotes and Stanford has been “resurfaced” by having dusty gravel chucked on it. Perhaps Leicestershire’s new Reform-dominated council can improve matters.

Lovely warm day, periods of bright sunshine interspersed with light cloud, and I’ve caught the sun a bit. Sharpened my tanlines nicely, even though I didn’t take the tights off until I’d got onto the Fens.

Back on 253.04km.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14357594363