Author: james

Wanted to get some more miles into my legs – my physio advised me yesterday to man up, keep increasing my distances and ride often – so I left work early with the idea of doing a 25-ish mile Twycross. I didn’t actually plan it, was fairly confident I could get it to 25 or so by busking it.

I took the Boardman. A bit cloudy and cool, but no rain. Not nearly as windy as of late, either. Set off at about 4:15pm.

I wrapped up if anything a bit too warm, with long johns underneath my tights. I also trialled a new soft balaclava / hood hybrid item that I got off Amazon cheap – that was very effective, kept my ears warm and the wind noise out of my earplugs. But I took it off at the first wee stop as I was overheating slightly.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2225130645

Kept on keeping on after Sheepy, down to Ratcliffe. Hadn’t been that far down on a Twycross for quite some time, not sure when the last time was. I suppose there must be some way to find out from Strava by scrutinising segments. Ah there is, just had a look. Unfortunately you can’t sort them by date though but I’ve had a scan through and it looks like I last did that in May 2018.

The dummy in the phone box at Ratcliffe is now wearing a Kaftan.

Right knee especially was hurting a bit over the last few miles. I think I’ve overdone it slightly by doing 58 in the last three days. But I won’t be able to do a significant distance until Friday at the earliest anyway due to other commitments, so I’ve got a bit of recovery time before my old legs have to undergo substantial pedalling duties again.

So nice to do that two mile stretch between Ratcliffe and Sibson again.

Getting dark by the time I got home. I had a decent head lamp with me but didn’t need it, the road was still just about visible by the time I got back.

I must sort out the new chain and cassette on the Boardman soon, some of the gear options are a bit juddery now. I remembered with only a few miles to go that I hadn’t actually lubed the chain after hosing it out with GT85 last time – but I reckon GT85 is a decent lube anyway if you apply it often enough.

Anyway that’s another 27.36, and 182 this month.

Last night I planned a ~26 mile route for today that would have taken me down to Twycross as usual, but through Shenton to Bosworth, then back through Bagworth. However, as I pulled my bike out of the garage this morning, I decided that it was too risky – I’m on call at the moment and the route I’d planned would take me too far from home.

So as I set off, I decided to try to make up a route that would still see me doing ~26 miles but without travelling so far from home at the most distant point. So I thought I’d head north for a bit, come back down, then do a short Twycross to the south and back home. And that’s what I did. Up to Belton and the top of Top Brand, then back down through Peggs Green, Coleorton and Farmtown.

I hadn’t been through Farmtown for a very long time. It was actually part of my default route of 7 miles or so when I was a very occasional cyclist and I don’t think I’ve ever been that way on a proper road bike.  Was interested to see how I’d cope with the brief but steep hill there – better than I used to back in 2014 or so in fact. I was on a lighter bike today of course but I think my legs are stronger, if a few years older.

Anyway from there I crossed Ashby road, came through Packington and past Measham then tacked a short Twycross onto the route. It was obvious by this time that I was going to end up doing more than 26 by going down to Twycross, but I couldn’t really think of anything better. Looking at the map now I suppose I could have cut across to Shackerstone from Snarestone. But anyway I didn’t, and ended up on 31.14 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2219847398

The weather was forecast dry, but actually while I was putting my gloves on with the bike leaned against my car ready to go, a few hailstones clattered against the windscreen and bonnet. That soon stopped though, fortunately. Nonetheless, once again a mixed bag of weather with cold sharp rain, bright pleasant sunshine  and gloomy overcast conditions in varying quantities. I can’t say I enjoyed myself much during the rain and I hadn’t quite wrapped up warm enough, but overall an enjoyable run out.

Despite being pressed into service for a few more miles than I’d intended, my knees coped well. A bit sore now. Nothing unusual. But I’ll keep the distances down to 25 or so for now (can’t always get the time to do more than that anyway).

No interesting wildlife of note. A couple of dead frogs (or toads, no idea). A dead fox, a dead badger. A juvenile cat carrying a squirrel it had (presumably) just killed at Farm Town. Not much older than a kitten really. It wasn’t much bigger than the squirrel.

Chucked it down this morning, but only briefly and by afternoon the roads were mainly dry. By 3pm or so the gale force winds had abated a tad. Still very blowy, but the forecast over the next few days is pretty awful so I thought I’d take advantage of a brief dry spell.

I did a Twycross. I briefly considered doing a long-ish version taking in Ratclffe, something I haven’t done for months – but settled for a compromise and did the longer-than-of-late but shorter-than-Ratcliffe-variant Sibson version. Very nice to be gliding along the quiet road between Sheepy and Sibson, and it wasn’t overly troubled by mud.

Just managed to pass the farm north of Sheepy in advance of a huge herd of cows being guided over the road – I’ve had to wait for them before; a remarkable sight but rather time-consuming. And by Christ, that farm honks to high heaven.

Mixed bag, weather-wise. Strong wind, but only really bothersome over a few miles. I did worry about being blown in front of a car passing me from behind on Ashby Road. A couple of brief, light showers. Some overcast gloom. And a bit of warm sunshine.

My knees held up quite well – better than Monday, but not as well as Saturday. Who knows why? No rhyme or reason, really. I mean – I’m sure that on some level, my knees and my perception of them must be obeying the natural laws of our universe in some rigidly deterministic fashion. But I can’t fathom them myself.

22.49. Just another 82 to do this month to stay on target. 124 done already in March.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2213122749

Dry day, though a bit cold and blowy. Keen to keep my knee joints working and the weather is decidedly iffy over the next week or so, so I made the best of a long-ish lunch break with a short version of the Twycross.

I was quietly thrilled with the state of my knees on Saturday – not a sentence many people will get to type in their lifetime – but yesterday I may have overdone the physio exercises because the right one has been a bit sore all day. And it did hurt a bit throughout the ride, but it didn’t get any worse. Hopefully it will wear off in a day or two.

Was keen to try the new pedals so I took the X. Unfortunately while the right one was fine, the left one didn’t work too well – it was impossible to clip into it. The hook at the front of the cleat was well enough anchored and I didn’t have any difficulty riding, in fact I forgot about it after a while. But I had at least 90 degrees of circular movement pivoting from the front of the cleat; basically as much as my ankle would tolerate.

Annoying. Might be that the left cleat is a bit worn out but all my other left pedals are happy enough with it as it is. Although the new pedals look mostly like my other PD-R540s they do have the text “LIGHT TOUCH” printed on them, so perhaps a slightly new / different design. Will be annoying if I have to start changing cleats early just because of one fussy pair of pedals. But perhaps it’s an adjustment issue. I didn’t have time to look closely.

I was also annoyed by the sheer quantity of compacted clods of mud on the roads, presumably from farm vehicles.

Anyway quite a pleasant run out, otherwise.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2206482667

16.62, which takes me to 101 this month.

Put new pedals on the X, basic cheapo metal Shimano PD-R540s. The black & white colour scheme turned out to be an inspired choice – they go very nicely with the black & white “PLANET X” branding on the green frame.

Also adjusted the front brake on the S-Works so that there’s just the right amount of lever travel – had to reclamp the cable at the brake and managed to pull off the crimped cap, but I put a new one on.

I’ll give it a couple of hours then go out on the older Boardman, I think. The lower gears are usable enough. Will get a bit more use out of the chain and cassette before I put new ones on. Planned a relatively high elevation (1,292ft) route up to Melbourne, across to the airport at Donington then back down through Belton.

Went out at 2:35-ish on the Boardman and did exactly the ride I’d planned, for once.  Although the Twycross route is a bit of a Saturday tradition, it’s nice to do something a bit different for a change. This particular ride involved a new stretch, between Melbourne and Wilson which is not a super-quiet road but does have a lovely view of the landscape for miles to the north. That particular part of the ride, just south of the race track was particularly enjoyable as I had a powerful tail wind.

I didn’t find the wind too bothersome overall. Only a very small part of the route involved cycling straight into it. But the bright sunshine promised by the BBC forecast never materialised, sadly. In fact things became a bit gloomy around 4pm. But it didn’t rain and the roads were nice & dry all afternoon despite a bit of rain this morning.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2202014423

Noticed another expired mouse in the garage. Got to say these simple plastic traps really work well – nice clean kill every time. I think that’s 18 now.

Used my Garmin Foretrex to record the track – it’s not the most convenient device to use for a shortish run like this but it had been so long since I last used it that I thought it deserved a run out.

Nothing but flippin’ rugby on 5 Live this afternoon so I listened to Gilles Peterson on 6 Music, and that was a nice change as well.

Knees held up pretty well over 22.58 miles – quite pleased and quietly confident things are going the right way, albeit slowly. Maybe a 25-miler next weekend, weather permitting.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2202014423

Curiously the elevation recorded by the track as uploaded to Strava – 939ft – is significantly less than the Strava route planner claimed.

That’s 85 miles this month, 120 to target.

Just ordered a new chain and cassette for the Boardman – lost count of the number of new bits it’s had since I bought it in 2015. Two cassettes, three or four chains, a stem, a seatpost, new wheelset, front derailleur, skewers, bar tape, not counting pedals, mirrors, bike computers.

Hoping to do 23 or so tomorrow, may take Boardman II. Should be nice-ish weather.

I attached the X pedals to my new bike, an S-Works Tarmac 56. With a few days inclement weather forecast but none of it due over until about 7pm this evening, I thought it would be rude not to take her for a spin and see what she’s made of. It was nearly 4:45pm when I set off so I decided to keep it reasonably short to beat the darkness. Clipped a couple of flashy blinkers to it and set off.

First impression – it has the same WHOOSH factor as the Cannondale in that it takes minimal effort to push it forward but it’s also very very smooth and refined with it – I don’t know whether it’s the carbon rims, the carbon seat post (has a bit of backward flex in it) or the carbon bars but it made ordinary roads feel like nicely surfaced tarmac. Really a revelation.

I didn’t adjust it before setting off as the frame is the same size as the X and the saddle is in the same position. The bars were lower than I’d normally have them and although I wasn’t as comfortable as I’d be in a slightly more upright position I wasn’t uncomfortable either. At most I’ll flip the stem, it doesn’t need a new one. I might even leave them and see if I get used to them.

All the gears changing very nicely and very slick. The only bummer is that the right brake lever has more travel in it than is normal or proper, but that should be an easy adjustment.

I went round a short Twycross route like I was on rails. 18.04 miles of smiles. A bit dark by the time I got back but not as bad as yesterday. I could see the road well enough.

Wasn’t quite sure about doing a ride the next day after doing more than twenty but the knees felt surprisingly ok-ish today so I risked it. And I think they’ve held up pretty well. A little bit sore now but really not that bad. I don’t like being optimistic about them because I’ve been proved wrong in the past, but I do think they are improving gradually. Maybe.

I will stick to my physio’s prescribed regimen of adding 2 miles per week.

62 this month now.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2193468197

Downed tools at about 4:30 and retrieved the red Boardman from the garage. Thought I’d do a Twycrosser, since I didn’t do one at the weekend. Dry enough weather. From the forecast and the Met Office rainfall radar it looked like I might pick up a brief shower. Interestingly the roof of my car was wet indicating that a shower had occurred, but it must have been brief because you couldn’t tell from looking at the roads.

It was very flippin’ blowy though, not to mention a bit cold. After the first couple of minutes I decided to keep it short, just a statutory 15 miles to get me out of rowing machine duties – but as time wore on I got used to it and decided to perservere. I did do the intended 21+ miles. Picked up a bit of rain later on but very light.

Only had a little blinky flasher front light with me and I’d intended to be back while there was enough light, but unfortunately I had to take a phone call for ten minutes a mile or two north of Twycross, which upset my timing a bit. Ended up relying on passing and oncoming cars to illuminate the road in front of me over the last mile and a half.

Because I pushed a bit harder than usual after Twycross to get home before dark, my knees feel slightly knackered now. But I hope my strategy of working them regularly will help them to recover. Eventually.

My Soleus GPS claimed 22.23 miles when I stopped recording and Strava took it at its word, but I knew that about half a mile of that was LIES due its GPS doping habit so I dutifully pressed the “recalculate” button on Strava to get a more realistic 21.80. And that’s 44 this month, not too shabby.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2191356779

Did a modest 22 miles earlier on to kick off the March campaign, but didn’t do a Twycrosser this time. Thought I’d do something different, and I fashioned a route that would take me through Coalville, up through Whitwick and up to Belton, then across to Diseworth, just south of Donington then home via my old way back from the office. This would have given me 20.35 miles, so I was a little puzzled when I realised that I’d end up doing at least 22. As it turns out, I took a wrong turn at Diseworth that resulted in me taking a longer loop round at the top, though I didn’t realise it until later.

The red Boardman was once again my instrument of preference today. Mostly nice out there, fairly blowy but bright and dry. I mostly took at easy, though I put my boot down a bit in the middle 7 or 8 miles as I’m on call, and was taking a bit of a risk being more than a few miles from home. Could have done without the headwind over the later part of the ride.

The Boardman has started doing that annoying thing where the transmission is a bit juddery in the smallest 3 cogs at the back – I can’t remember how I fixed it last time; new cassette, new chain or both. But it’s not that bothersome at the moment, I don’t use those gears that often. I’ll have have to have a look back through this thread to find out what I did to fix it before.

Noticed a blue purse lying in the grass just off the road about a mile from home. Stopped to have a look – it was rather damp, but contained quite a few debit / credit / loyalty cards and a driving licence with a name and address, so I brought it back with me. No cash in it of course. Took it round to the specified address in the car shortly after I got home, and the lady to whom it belonged was very surprised to see it – said it had been taken from her bag in a supermarket before Christmas. She gave me a £5 reward – I honestly did my best to refuse it, but she was so insistent that it actually seemed rude to argue the point. So I accepted it gratefully and humbly, and shall stick it in the breast cancer charity fund.

22.24 miles. 385 this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2186010391