Author: james

To celebrate the first anniversary of my 200-miler, I decided to do the June Fondo after work today. In all honesty I was going to do a Fondo today anyway, but why not make an occasion of it?

I was able to leave work at about 3:30pm. A bit of a wind coming from the west, but dry and warm. Quite cloudy when I set off but the sun came out for long periods later on.

I was going to go straight up to Melbourne then over the bridge, but absent-mindedly went up Top Brand instead. At the top I decided that the quickest way to get to the South Derbyshire town with the Australian-sounding name would be to go left through Breedon, but looking at my track on Strava, I wasn’t right about that. Would have been quicker to keep on to Isley Walton then turn left, or to go through Wilson. I normally prefer not to take that latter road though because it goes past a quarry, and the road is usually rather dusty.

Anyway – up over Swarkestone Bridge then west along my beloved flat A road south of Derby. I went a bit further than Sudbury where I calculated that if I came back through Ticknall and Hartshorne, I’d have done the required 100km.

Beautiful out there, especially at about 9pm in bright, late evening sunshine. Back shortly before sunset. I did think of stopping at a pub near Hilton for a pizza or something but I’d brought enough food with me, so I didn’t.

Really loving these opportunities to go out in shorts and short sleeves. I’d brought a long-sleeved top in my backpack in case it was too cool later on, but it wasn’t.

I really enjoyed gliding back along the A road with the sun and the wind on my back. Glorious. If only the last ten miles could have been flat as well.

Listened to my Alastair Reynolds audiobook, which is only just maintaining my attention I have to say, then Iain Dale on LBC who was hosting a sort of ‘Any Questions?’ without an audience. Quite good-natured. Then he had a phone-in about Gareth Southgate and his attention-seeking “Dear England” open letter. I’ve come to dislike Southgate, I’m sorry to say. He is arrogant, self-important and unwilling to listen. And for the first time in my life, I’ll be hoping this current crop of attention-seeking English footballers, with their fondness for political gestures, get knocked out in the group stage of a major tournament.

Anyway, 63.18 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5443010554

Blowier than I’d have liked today, but conditions were warm, dry and intermittently sunny – so it would be churlish to complain. My intention was to slide out of work early and do a Fondo, perhaps to the Northamptonshire border and back – but I didn’t manage to creep away from my PC quite as soon as I hoped, and after I noticed that I hadn’t brought a pump with me, about 10 miles in – I decided to keep it to 40 or so. Shame because I love dusk this time of year, but there’ll be other opportunities.

I continued down the southbound route as far as Earl Shilton, then decided to take a left along the A47 instead of crossing it to go through the town. I had no clear idea where this would take me, but that was the general idea really. A bit of adventure. I assumed I’d arrive at a left turn that would take me back to familiar territory before long, and I did. I took a road that went through Peckleton, to Desford.

Bizarrely, I couldn’t find my way out of Desford. This was disconcerting because I’ve been along that same road a few times and never got lost before. I recognised the cast-iron aircraft model placed there in honour of the RAF airfield at the same site during the Second World War; I’ve passed it more than once on my travels.

I took a small road that degenerated into a very rough, gritty track. I wasn’t taking a nice road bike along that so I U-turned. Back through Peckleton where I consulted Google Maps, and took a route that would lead me to Kirkby Mallory. Back home through Sutton Cheney, Bosworth, Odstone et al.

Really lovely out there, really should have squeezed more miles out of a very nice evening.

I saw a woodpecker near Bosworth – it landed on a fence post in the usual posture and looked like it was about to give it a good seeing to, but it flew off as I passed. Colourful creature.

40.59 miles, 71.31 this month and that takes me just over half-way to the 2021 target. 2008 miles done this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5431215928

I hadn’t intended to ride a bike today as I had other commitments in the afternoon, but the evening sunshine was so warm and pleasant that I thought I’d sneak in a crafty 30 miles after dinner. The weather forecast for tomorrow’s not quite so pleasant and opportunities for cycling in light clothing with your legs out are a shame to waste.

I did a Twycross Bypasser. Pretty unremarkable really except that I don’t usually do the stretch from Atherstone Road to Sheepy from south to north.

Listened to the Wales vs Albania friendly until I got bored, then listened to a Hue & Cry compilation on the music player on my phone.

Very nice run out, very nice out there. Glad to have got the June campaign up and running. The adjusted target is 336 miles, but I’ll aim for the original target (386).

https://www.strava.com/activities/5419797958 30.72 miles.

I was going to do at least the regulation 62.14 miles to achieve Fondo status for my ride today, but thought I’d probably do more. I’ve devised a new route to get over to Norfolk, should I do that again some time – and I think I probably will – and I wanted to try part of that out. The new route is largely north of the old Norfolk route. Rather than going through Melton Mowbray, it takes the usual route out east nearly as far as Eastwell – then takes a 90 degree right turn before curving eastward and into Lincolnshire.

This has the advantage firstly that the first 31 miles are very familiar to me, from many rides out to Eastwell or Belvoir Castle – and secondly that it’s a bit less hilly.

So that’s what I did. I wore light clothing, because this afternoon was slated to be warm. Shorts, and a short-sleeved jersey over a long-sleeved top. And unfortunately I got punished for this. I set off at 08:35 when it was pretty overcast and cold, and I was still shuddering in the oncoming cool breeze two hours later. It wasn’t until midday when the sun came out that I started to feel comfortably warm. An hour or so later I had to stop to stuff the long-sleved top in my backpack.

The new stretch of route is really nice – much better than going through Melton. I used the eTrex for the part of the route after Eastwell.  I will definitely do this one again. Because my spirits picked up nicely riding along the various scenic roads and through pleasant villages in the sunshine, I decided to make a 100-miler of it. I stopped eventually at a place called Grimsthorpe, then turned and came back exactly the way I’d come. Another five miles and I’d have been onto the flat bit of Lincolnshire, east of Bourne. Perhaps I should have got up a few hours earlier and gone to the Norfolk border again.

Nice that my route took me right past a TV transmitter that’s visible from the road near Eastwell in the distance. Turns out it’s the Waltham Transmitter, which broadcasts Freeview to 700,000+ homes in the East Midlands (I’ve just read). No doubt including this one.

I listened to 5 Live until they threatened to broadcast a piece on Stop and Search on the execrable Nihal Arthanayake’s show, and I was just in too good a mood to be brought down by one-sided race-baiting drivel. So I started my next audiobook, Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds.

I read a brilliant double novella by Reynolds in the noughties called Diamond Dogs / Turquoise Days – unbelievably stylish, imaginative and clever science-fiction. And I’m sorry to say that Pushing Ice seems a bit pedestrian, but I quite liked it. I’ll stick with it.

The shop at Sproxton where I’d intended to stop for food and drink on the way back was closed when I tried the door, despite a conspicuous SHOP OPEN sign deployed on the pavement outside. I was nearly out of fluid but not suffering. I made it to Burton in the Wolds, where I bought a very welcome, very cold bottle of fizzy Lucozade, a sausage roll and a Raspberry Crumble bar. Lovely.

After the initial brutality of the cold morning wind, a super ride out with some thoroughly pleasant new places and roads. Back on 104.23 miles. That was my third 100 miler of the year. I think my target was to do five this year.

Quite surprised that I’ve got a Strava personal record on a long stretch of a route that I’ve done many times, from Cotes to Eastwell – despite a headwind.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5390823055

Didn’t feel a need to go too far today while on call, and I had other plans for the afternoon anyway. Set off at about 10:30, thinking of doing 35 miles or so again. Quite surprised to find that a few spots of rain were descending as I extracted the Cannondale from the garage, but I expected that they’d dry up before long. In fact, twenty minutes later I was riding through a persistent soft rain. But another half hour later things had brightened and warmed up considerably, and my clothes and the bike dried off nicely.

I did a Twycross Bypasser, extended to the west by an excursion to Polesworth from the Orton detour. I’d actually intended to turn left short of Polesworth along Kisses Barn Lane, but I missed that turn.

Back up through Shenton and Bosworth. Every time I take Shenton Lane I wonder why I don’t do it more often, and make a mental note to do so. Beautifully quiet along there. Took this pic there.

Listened to the rest of the Reacher audiobook, Echo Burning, to its conclusion. Seems a little bit contrived, the way Jack ultimately determines the exact sequence of events, Sherlock Holmes-style. But it’s a pretty good book, one of the best of the first five. Unfortunately although there’s an audiobook version of the next one, Without Fail, for some reason it’s not available as a cheap add-on with a Kindle version purchase. Perhaps I’ll try something a bit more highbrow for a bit, anyway.

Lots of little flies around at the moment, presumably because we’ve had a wet May. And as I was coming round the fast downhill bend north of Bosworth, head down, what must have been a fairly large one collided with my right eye like an air rifle pellet. Not really what I wanted on one of those rare moments when I have concentrate carefully on a bike ride. But I survived. Thoroughly pleasant run out.

Back on 36.08 miles, 440 this month. Quick shower when I got in then spent a very nice hour or two in a sunny restaurant garden in Melbourne quaffing cocktails, so it’s been a rather nice day.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5377109032

Beautiful weather this afternoon. Actually warm! Not too windy. And sunny. I had withdrawn a bicycle from the garage by 4pm.

No clear intention other than to do about 35 miles, which would take me over 400 for May. On call though, so I couldn’t go too far. I went north-east up to Long Whatton, west via a rather wayward route to Melbourne, then south-west to Ticknall. I detoured through Hartshorne again like I did on Saturday. Nice to have a viable way of coming home through Ticknall that avoids Bastard Hill.

Came home through Ashby, slightly more directly than last time. Lots of people out on the street, and a queue outside one of the pubs there, the White Hart.

Hadn’t stopped off at the bench near Ticknall for a long time, so I snapped a pic there. It’s clearly in need of a lick of varnish.

Listened mostly to Matt Hancock’s press conference. I don’t want to dwell on Dominic’s little vendetta really, because outside the often fictional world of opposition politics it’s a non-story, but clearly the journos in attendance today didn’t think so. I’ll just record here that Matt handled the questions put to him with great dignity and integrity, and indeed with commendable clarity to be fair.

The BBC is using the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, whom their presenters speak of in hushed, reverent tones now, as though he was Black America’s answer to the Dalai Lama, to have another broadcast race politics festival. This evening 5 Live invited a number of contributors to give their view on how History, as a school subject, might be adjusted to better serve the agenda of the perpetual victim culture addicts and race propagandists. No opposing view was permitted, no kind of critical questioning of this took place.

Anyway, fuck the BBC. I’m not paying for that garbage any more. Back on 36.77 miles, which takes me to 404 this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5368554081

A warm-ish, sunny afternoon but a bit windy. Left work early and did a pretty run-of-the-mill Twycrosser on the Cannondale. Nice apart from the wind which was a bit of a struggle with it in my face coming north of Bosworth.

Had to be back early so only 28.74 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5357155430

368 this month.

Today was supposed mainly to be dry, which is a bit rare this month. I’m still on call, but half hoped to do a Fondo.

Not long after I’d set off though, I’d decided that I wasn’t going to do one. It was spotting with rain, overcast, cold and a bit windy. Not really a Fondo day. And when the rain started to come down fast about 40 minutes later, I’d pretty much decided to keep it to 30 or 40 miles.

I started by heading up north-east through Coalville and Belton, up to Long Whatton then west to Breedon. Then back up near Melbourne and across to Ticknall, before coming back down South. I decided to see if I could avoid Bastard Hill by taking a detour to Hartshorne. I did that and found myself coming through Woodville and Boundary; not often I’m over that way.

I took a right turn at Boundary to explore a bit, through Blackfordby and Shellbrook. At Blackfordby I had a call from our Global Operations Centre and I thought I was going to have to come straight home, but fortunately, over a few MS Team interactions over the next few miles, I was able to establish that my immediate intervention was not necessary. Even better, by this time the sun had come out and conditions had started to warm up considerably  – so I decided to stay out and dry myself and the bike off. I turned right at Packington to add on a Twycrosser.

Annoyingly though the dark clouds came over again, not far from Twycross. Conditions grew very gloomy indeed and the rain came down once more, pretty heavily this time. So from Twycross I came back the most direct way. yet again though conditions brightened and the rain stopped by the time I reached Heather. By this time I’d done nearly 50 miles so I decided to do at least another 12, to clock up a Fondo. I did a bit of the “southbound route”.

Of course it started raining again about 5 miles from home, and I had to dry the bike off back at the garage.

Back on 64.27 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5340365764

Very variable and random ride that one, alternating between being quite pleasant in the sun and abject misery in damp clothes in the cold wind, with my cycling glasses pebbled with rain. But I’m pleased to have got a second Fondo in this month; that’s 10 this year.

Listened mostly to 5 Live and the Reacher audiobook, which is nearing its conclusion.

Disappointed that Bournemouth, managed by fellow Teesside lad Jonathan Woodgate, lost to Brentford in the Championship play-offs. Got the impression that they’d been robbed by poor officiating on the part of a referee out of his depth.

Like yesterday, a downpour of rain in the early afternoon gave way to sunny skies. A bit windier today, but warmer as well. Very nice out there by the time I withdrew Boardman II from the garage. I wouldn’t usually do consecutive days, but I only did 20-odd yesterday and the weather looks iffy right into the weekend.

At lunchtime, I had decided to replace the slightly rusty stem bolts with some nice shiny corrosion-resistant titanium ones. I’d taken the steerer tube bolts out before I realised that I’d mislaid my torque wrench. Couldn’t find it anywhere! So I just tightened the new ones by hand, and left the old face plate bolts in for now.

On call at the moment so I couldn’t go far. I didn’t really fancy a Twycrosser again so soon, so I did something a bit different. I went up through Coalville and Belton, up over Swarkestone Bridge and west along my beloved flat A road for a couple of miles. Then I turned back – the tailwind was very pleasant after I performed the U turn – and came back down through Ticknall and Ashby.

Some beautiful views out there. After a long climb going up toward Ticknall from Melbourne, I stopped to take a pic of the view to the east. But as I removed my phone from my pocket, I saw that the view down the hill I’d come up, toward Derby about ten miles away, was even better. So I snapped a pic of that.

I don’t think my phone did the view justice, unfortunately. One sunny day I’ll take an SLR with me up there, in a backpack.

Extended my ride a bit by taking a detour through Packington and Ibstock, which apart from adding a few miles to the May tally, got me out of climbing Alton Hill. Having already suffered Bastard Hill south of Ticknall, I felt that I deserved that.

Back well before sunset, and a really enjoyable run out. 40.81 miles.

Matt Hancock’s press briefing started just after I set off, so I listened on 5 Live. I was quite amused that one of the journos asked a question about “pregnant people”. Jenny Harries did not indulge her, and referred consistently to “women” in her reply. And I’d have to say that if you identify as a man and you get pregnant, you probably haven’t quite got the hang of the male lifestyle.

I’ll have a better look for my torque wrench in the garage tomorrow.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5325402466

The forecast was for persistent showers all afternoon. The rain did come down quite heavily for 20 minutes at about 1pm, but by the time I stopped working for the day about three hours later, the rainfall radar suggested that it wouldn’t rain again today. The almost-warm sunshine and mild breeze had dried the roads off quite nicely bar a few puddles, so I went out for 20 miles or so. Had to be back by 6:30pm.

I did a shortish Twycrosser, omitting Sheepy Magna by taking a short cut down the A444 and coming back along Gibbet Lane, where I took the pic.

Back on 20.31 miles, briefer than I’d have preferred but a nice run out. 234 this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5319882102