Author: james

Might well have done a fondo today, but I didn’t go to bed until about 0415 last night (this morning) folowing airport taxi duties, I didn’t get up again until about 1100 and I didn’t much feel like riding a bike. But with rain in the forecast for the next few days, I decided I should make an effort and I set off to do 30-odd at about 1520.

I did a Bypasser, with a couple of deviations from more usual versions. Firstly I did a very minor detour into Warton village, only because I’d caught sight of a rather athletic pedestrian in flared psychedelic gym pants, and I wanted a closer look after she took a right turn. Secondly, I did the right turn toward Nailstone again, same as last time. But this time I went right through Nailstone to Ellistown, so I sort of tacked on the last few miles of the southbound route onto the ride. Made a nice change.

Nice day, easily warm enough for short sleeve top and shorts. Quite a few barely-dressed female joggers were out for a run this afternoon, which is always good for morale. I got caught paying closer attention to one than might be considered necessary while pedalling through Ibstock. She glanced around and noticed that I was having a good look as I went past. She took it well, though. She grinned. I grinned back, quite involuntarily, out of embarrassment. Busted.

In my defence – she was a phenomenal specimen. I’m all for not objectifying women, but in my view they need to meet you half way and not wear tiny jogging shorts that look like they’ve been sprayed on.

Anyway back on 37.97 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11953857038

A warm day, but overcast with rain threatened for the early evening. Since I put a new chain on the Cannondale and adjusted the front derailleur yesterday, I wanted to give it a run out to check everything’s working properly.

I hadn’t used it for eleven months, because I knew it needed some attention. And of course it’s taken me ages to get round to it. Well – to be fair I was waiting for some warm weather to give it a good clean at the same time. I only ever wash a bike on a warm day so it dries quickly.

I didn’t set off until noon but I only wanted to do 30 or 40 miles anyway so a Bypasser seemed the obvious choice. I found a ROAD CLOSED sign and a barricade blocking the entire road coming into Ashby, so I backtracked and went through Packington instead.

I was overtaken by a couple out for a ride near Snarestone. Posh bikes, swanky cycling gear. The male rider, a well-built man in his late 40s at a guess, gave me a smug wink as he passed. A few minutes later I found that, without particularly trying to, I was catching them up again. I came right up behind them coming through Norton. The poor lad was having a real struggle getting up the hill out of the village in the granny gear, so I breezed up past him. Naturally I gave him a wink on my way past. His face was roughly the colour of a beetroot.

His girlfriend had managed the hill without difficulty.

Down to Mythe Lane and rather than Fenn Lanes I came up and east through Upton. Glad I’m remembering to do that road a bit more often these days, it’s very nice along there. After Carlton I took a right to Nailstone and came along the main road up through Ibstock, which is something else I don’t do often.

The Cannondale is running nicely on the new chain, except that getting it onto the big ring at the front is more of an effort than it should be at the shifter. It requires a harder push than it should (or used to). I think I’ll probably end up fitting a new cable and setting the front gear up from scratch. I don’t think I’ll bother with a new cable housing but I’ll flush the old one through with GT85 to give it a good clean. Not going to bother with the rear cable. Ain’t broke – don’t fix it!

I listened to the rest of the Reacher novel. It unfolded quite nicely. Not one of the best but pretty good.

Back on 35.97 and that’s 440 this month now. I think 600 is very doable for July.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11936039392

A warm, almost hot day, mostly sunny with intermittent cloud and the wind coming from the south. I set off not long after 0900 with the intention of going down the Southbound Route. I didn’t think I’d go right down to Northampton, but I thought I’d go down to Welford, or the gliding club at Sibbertoft.

Warm enough for minimal clothing from the outfit. I wore a short-sleeved cycling top received as a birthday present from Stepdaughter II and her boyfriend, and it fits nicely. Nice secure pockets as well.

I got as far as Broughton Astley, only to find that the road south of there had been resurfaced by having sharp, dusty gravel thrown onto it. I just wasn’t going to propel my S Works over that, so I turned back. I went back as far as Stoney Stanton, and from there went down Fosse Way. My alternative southbound route. A thoroughly serviceable Plan B.

I got as far as Bretford, then just to do something a bit different I took a road signposted to Coventry. Wasn’t going to go much further anyway. But it wasn’t a very interesting road. It took me to a village called Brandon, which also wasn’t very interesting. And I turned for home. I had a sandwich and a Magnum ice cream at the village shop at Brinklow. It has a little bench outside, although I invariably have to make room by shifting a box of old paperbacks and some pot plants. Come to think of it, perhaps I’m not supposed to sit on it.

Took a pic at the High Cross monument as usual. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned a few times, it marks the centre of Roman Britain and the intersection of the two great Roman roads.

I came back the old-fashioned way through Earl Shilton. I didn’t take the bypass that would have avoided the hill, because I forgot to take a left turn instead of straight on at the crossroads at Stoney.

I listened to more of the Reacher novel, GB News, LBC and the 2019 Who album Who. 5 Live is a no go area for me when the Open Championship is on. I can’t imagine why people follow a golf competition on the radio.

Back on 74.00 miles. That was my fourth fondo this month, nice to have a bit more time for them.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11920137986

Not a bad day, warm enough and dry. On another Sunday I might have done a fondo, but I seem to have a lot more time on my hands now and I’ve done three already this month. With a light wind coming from the west, a Bypasser seemed a good idea.

I did a longish version, right down to Fenn Lanes. Fortunately Mythe Lane wasn’t flooded this time. I took the left from Fenn Lanes along Mill Lane to Shenton, which I haven’t done for a while. Nice to see that Mill Lane has been resurfaced, though I don’t remember it being particularly bad before.

Listened to the Reacher audiobook all the way round. Not one of the best, but good stuff. I could have done without the ten minute sex scene though. I completely forgot that the men’s final was on at Wimbledon or I’d have listened to that, but fortunately I got back in time to see the last few games on the telly.

Back on 40.30 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11887787656

For years I’ve had a vague intention to do a bike ride to Kilburn, an unremarkable village about eight miles north of Derby. I’d probably never have heard of it except that, in the early ’90s, it was in one sense the location of a (bizarre) love triangle I was caught up in, and the geographical focal point of a lot of emotional turmoil.

So, with the wind blowing from the north unusually, I decided I’d give it a go today. I set off at about 0950.

Up Top Brand to Donington, over Cavendish Bridge, up past Elvaston Castle. The intention was to head towards Oakwood, where I used to live all those years ago, then take what was my usual driving route to Kilburn back in 1993. Or one of them.

I tried to take a short cut through Spondon on the way to Oakwood, partly to avoid the busy ‘ASDA roundabout’. But I ended up on the A52, which – being a fast dual carriageway and the most popular road into Derby off the M1 – was considerably worse. Oh well. I put up with a mile of it, then I ended up on the ASDA roundabout anyway despite my attempt to avoid it.

At the next roundabout I took a right turn to go up Acorn Way. I was happily pedalling around it in the usual clockwise fashion when a learner driver decided to join the roundabout right in front of me. I had to apply brakes pretty sharply to avoid colliding with the driver’s side of his car. Perhaps the youth behind the wheel thought that right of way on roundabouts only applies to motor vehicles. Needless to say I gesticulated aggressively, but he looked very nonchalant about it. Would be quite funny if he was on his test, but somehow I doubt it.

Familiar roads from that point up towards Kilburn, albeit I hadn’t been on some of them for over three decades. Nice to see some familiar places, odd somehow that they’re still there after all this time.

Not long after Morley I decided to take a detour after seeing an idyllic-looking left turn. To the left, a long, quiet, straight, narrow but decently surfaced road beckoned, lined by trees. Very nice, but it didn’t last long and the next turn saw me rattling downhill along an uneven and grotty country lane. Ah well – it’s good to explore.

Got to Kilburn, had a look round. I decided to go back down to Derby the other way, down Derby Road. It had clearly been resurfaced recently – gravel bound with tar, but no white lines or road markings. This was a really pleasant stretch of the ride. It’s a big road and yet quiet, presumably because it’s parallel to the A38. It goes through a pretty village called Little Eaton. And all of it is gently downhill until you get to Derby.

I stopped at a bench in Oakwood, not far from my old house, to eat some food I’d brought with me. It bore a sign saying “Happy to Chat Bench – sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping to say hello”. Fortunately, I didn’t have to glare at anyone. Then I headed home through Spondon, Borrowash, Elvaston, Shardlow. After Donington I took the longer way home through Diseworth and it was even longer than I intended because I hit a ‘Road Closed’ sign on the turn to Belton. But I thought I probably needed to add a mile or so anyway to get up to fondo distance, so I continued on to Long Whatton then came home the usual way from there.

There’s now an elegant little caff along the main road near Shardlow, and I stopped there for a sausage roll, a fruit scone and an Americano. Very nice but it came to £8.30 and although I wouldn’t have thought twice about that a few weeks ago, I wonder if I should really be doing that now I’ve turned the money tap off. I should probably have brought more stuff with me.

Cool for the first hour or two. Warm later on when the sun came out but cooler again later when the clouds rolled over. I wasn’t tempted to take the legwarmers off. I got rained on slightly over the last mile.

Listened to more Reacher, Adrian Chiles and Wimbledon coverage on 5 Live and the Who album It’s Hard.

Back on 65.53. Nice run out, a bit of an adventure. I’ll have to do that one, or something like it, again.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11871053000

Dry again today but I had things to do around lunch time and this evening, so I wasn’t going to do another fondo. The wind from the west was a bit too strong for that anyway. I was slightly debilitated from drinking Japanese whisky last night, as well. So I thought I’d do a longish version of the famous Twycross Bypasser route. About 40 miles, perhaps.

Pretty comfortable out there, about 16C I think. I was going to go down to Fenn Lanes via Witherley, but Mythe Lane was flooded where the stream passes under the road. I’ve seen this quite a few times now, but somehow didn’t expect it today. So – I backtracked back to Ratcliffe Culey and went east via Sibson and Shenton then up through Market Bosworth.

Gloomy from 1800 and I picked up a few specks of rain near Odstone so I came home the quicker way through Heather (pronounced Hee-ther by the locals by the way) instead of Swepstone. Fortunately I didn’t get rained on.

I forgot to bring a phone with me somehow so I couldn’t make any progress with the Reacher novel. I listened to coverage from Wimbledon.

Saw a huge swarm of pigeon-sized birds near Orton. Not sure what they were. Seemed to be thousands of them. Crows maybe. They were silhouetted against the sky so I couldn’t really make out their colouring.

Back on 36.11.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11856135165

Another dry day and, with the wind coming from the south, I took an opportunity to get a southbound fondo in. My usual route, except that I took a longer deviation round the Earl Shilton bypass, to avoid the hill you have to navigate to go straight through.

Stopped when I got to Welford Road after about 32.5 miles, and came back the same way.

I stopped at the village shop at Gilmorton on the way back. Alas, the Google Pay app on my bloody phone wouldn’t work so I had to put the Magnum ice cream, egg mayonnaise sandwich, bottle of Lucozade and Milky Bar I’d plonked on the counter back where I’d got them. Annoying. I always take an actual debit card with me on longer rides, perhaps I’ll do that on short rides as well now.

Fortunately I didn’t really need them. I’d already eaten a rather nice chunk of Fortnum & Mason pork pie that I’d brought with me and with uncertain economic fortunes ahead of us now, perhaps I shouldn’t be purchasing superfluous goodies on relatively short bike rides.

Really nice out there, warm and sunny later on. I backpacked my fleece and tights after about ten miles. Perhaps I should use my legwarmers more often; I always feel a bit inconspicuous wrestling tights off while propped against a farm gate. I must look like an old woman about to take an impromptu leak.

I started the next Reacher novel, The Affair. Good stuff so far although it’s in the first person, which is not my favourite Reacher mode.

I would have done a longer ride, but rain was forecast for the late afternoon. It never happened.

Back on 65.87 miles for a pleasing 188 this month. That was this year’s 21st fondo.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11838233821

A few years ago I rode to Worcestershire (the historic version) and back. I refer to this ride sometimes as my “Dad’s Army route”, because I spent most of the ride listening to old recordings of the BBC Radio version of the famous sitcom about the fictional Walmington-on-Sea division of the Home Guard.

I’ve often thought of doing it again. The main deterrent has been the necessity to do about three miles of the A5 west of Atherstone. It’s a fast dual carriageway, and not the sort of thing you really want to be negotiating on a bicycle. I did try to do it spontaneously a couple of months ago, but hadn’t planned the route and I messed it up.

I thought I’d have a go at it today. I didn’t upload the route to my eTrex, but I did memorise the turns carefully with the help of Google Street View.

Roughly the first half of the ride to the destination is part of my usual Twycross route. Then the A5, then south-west toward Kingsbury, then down to Coleshill.

So – I did that. I didn’t go right down to the border with Historic Worcestershire, because it’s depressingly urban after Coleshill. You’re pretty much in the outskirts of Birmingham after that.

I stopped at a garden centre on the way down to look for a caff. Didn’t find one, but they did have a butcher’s shop situated in a sort of prefab hut, so I bought a chicken samosa there. Very nice. Also stopped at a friendly village shop at Kingsbury on the way back for a sandwich and a Magnum ice cream.

Came back the same way as far as Grendon Road. Then I came home through Sheepy, Congerstone, Shackerstone, Heather. So the whole ride was in essence a Twycross Bypasser with an excursion south-westward at the bottom.

Actually the worst part of this ride is having to negotiate the big roundabout on the A5 near Hockley on the way back. It’s a lot scarier going round it clockwise than coming off at the first exit on the outward leg.

Despite that, nice to do it again. I didn’t listen to Dad’s Army this time, I listened to 5 Live – and I got another 4.5 hours out of the Duracell Plus AAs in my DAB, for a total of roughly 36.5 hours. Amazing.

I have to say though I didn’t quite remember it as the same ride I did in 2022 .. I seem to remember a few views and scenes that somehow weren’t present today. I’ve checked, and I definitely did the same route. Must be my memory playing tricks.

Nice run out though. Pleasantly warm and sunny in the afternoon. Back on 53.67 miles. I’ve done 122 already this month; I guess that’s the retirement distance dividend.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11807694957

My usual route to Wales is an extension of the Lower Westbound route, but a while ago I devised a route that would extend from the Upper Westbound route, instead.

A critical component of this new route is a mile-long stretch of cycle path running along the A50, about 30 miles from home, leading into Uttoxeter.

So, on a dry day with the wind coming from the west, I thought I’d go and check out the cycle path, go into Uttoxeter for a mile or so then come back the same way. Usually I don’t like to use cycle paths. They can be poorly maintained sometimes, with indifferent surfaces, thorny vegetation, sharp stones and bits of broken glass. But sometimes they’re OK if there’s no alternative. And certainly, the A50 itself is not an option. The coroner would probably return a verdict of suicide.

So I set off at about 10:30 and pedalled up through Coleorton and Melbourne, west along the Beloved A Road, all the way on to Doveridge and onto the cycle path. I realised when I got there that I’d been there before. It’s not too bad. A bit concretey in places. A little bit of debris, but no conspicuous puncture bait.

I went into Uttoxeter, but instead of turning back, I followed a sign to Abbots Bromley, which is on my Lower Westbound route, or one of them. I think I’d taken this same road a few weeks ago when I went into Uttoxeter via Marchington. Came back the usual way from there, through King’s Bromley, Alrewas, Croxall, Netherseal et al. I took the pic at Lullington.

Cloudy and cool in the morning, but – unexpectedly – a lovely warm, mostly sunny day in the afternoon. Fortunately I had a backpack so I could stuff clothing into it.

Listened mostly to 5 Live. I listened to James O’Brien on LBC for a while; I think a psychiatrist would find him a fascinating case. And I listened to Rush’s 2112, a personal favourite of mine since the age of 16.

Back on 68.16 miles. I didn’t manage 600 in June but I’ll be happy with 450 for July.

The night before I set off on my 200 miler, I put a fresh pair of Duracell Plus AAs in my DAB personal. It’s now got about 32 hours from them, and they aren’t dead yet! Very nice to know I wouldn’t need a spare pair on a long ride. In fact I could put the same pair in an LED torch on a long ride with the last couple of hours in the dark, and use my phone or MP3 player for in-flight audio.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11791188500

I intended to do 30-odd miles after work today. That’s after work in the unusually final sense that I have – at least provisionally – retired today. However I had very little to do this afternoon apart from completing an exit survey and sending round a few messages, which I wanted to do at about 4pm – so I decided to set off at lunchtime instead.

I did a Bypasser. Somehow I missed the left turn along Kisses Barn Lane – probably because I’d just been overtaken dangerously closely, and was seething. I only noticed when I found myself approaching some speed bumps that aren’t a normal feature of my intended route.

So I continued on into Polesworth. It’s a bit urban. I don’t mind that so much as the hills you have to negotiate to pass through it. Then I took a left onto Grendon Road. Wasn’t completely sure where I was until I passed Spon Lane on the right. I think I might go exploring over that way soon.

Came back up athrough Sheepy and, after Snarestone, the same way I’d come down. Back before 4pm. I completed and sent my exit survey. It was a bit of a hand grenade, but quite cathartic. Said a few goodbyes. Signed off.

Lots more free time for cycling now.

Back on 36.17 miles. Nice out there. Warm.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11754260580