Category: Uncategorised

I was determined to do a fondo today. A dry, sunny day was promised. A bit of a stiff wind from the west, and it was cold in the morning. But no excuses. I decided on the Upper Westbound route – I hadn’t done the Beloved A Road for a while. Very nice to do that again in the sunshine. Especially on the way back with a tailwind, and when it was a bit warmer.

At Sudbury I turned left to go south, then right at Draycott in the Clay. I used to go north toward Ashbourne. Not sure which I prefer really. Both are a bit too hilly for my liking.

I turned back after about 48km, thinking that I’d make up the fondo distance by coming back the longer way through Isley Walton and down Top Brand. But I had to do a little bit of faffing around in the village to hit the required 100km. Very slow traffic on Swarkestone Bridge on the way back, there was a broken down car on the other side.

Back on 100.08 km. Probably my shortest ever fondo! But I’m glad to have got two in for February and three for the year so far. Doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s the same as Jan/Feb in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Listened to LBC and 5 Live. Fascinating interview on Matt Chorley’s show with Simon Hart, who was the Tory Chief Whip for two years of the Sunak government and has published his diaries. I bought his book, in audiobook form, as soon as I got home.

The second pic was taken at the entrance to Donington Park.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13743209330

I bought another saddle for the X. I thought I was buying a ROCKBROS model as they’re well reviewed, but now that it’s arrived (from eBay) it looks like a copy of one, with a different brand name.

Still – I’ll give it a go. It was cheap (again) but I was swayed by the reviews. it seems decent quality.

Much better weather today. As keen readers will know, I don’t usually ride on consecutive days – but since it’s going to rain tomorrow and it’s been a thin cycling month, I decided to take advantage of the conditions for 50k or so in the afternoon.

I did half a Twycrosser, then came back the same way – something I’ve done a few times recently. Perhaps I’ll do the same with the other half of the route some time.

I looped around Sheepy Road / Wellsborough Road at the bottom. Had a detour to Swepstone on the way back up (I confess this was because I turned right at Snarestone purely out of habit).

Nice run out. A bit windy, but sunny and mild. There were a few spots of rain, but only for a minute. Back on 57.39 km.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13723986103

The weather forecast threatened showers, but since cycling opportunities have been a bit thin on the ground of late, I thought I’d tolerate them. The rain was supposed to dry up in the afternoon and since the sun was due to set at a reasonable 1734 today, I set off at 1050.

I did think I might do a fondo. I decided on the Lower Westbound route. But the first shower, 30 minutes after I set off, consisted of about 20 minutes of very heavy rain. I got absolutely soaked through. I pressed on. At least I had contact lenses in. Makes a big difference in the rain.

After about 15km I realised I hadn’t brought a phone with me.

I got as far as King’s Bromley, then took a left as usual. But I ignored the usual right turn toward Abbot’s Bromley or Rugeley as I’d decided I was going to turn back soon. I’d been rained on again, pretty heavily, by this time. Stopped for a snack at the end of a little one-track lane called Wood End Lane after about 39 km. I wrung about 40 ml of rainwater out of my gloves. Then I did turn back. I did have a bit of an excursion down the road toward Tamworth on the way home. And I went up to Ashby over the last few miles.

Despite the rain I did quite enjoy that one. Lovely sunshine when it wasn’t raining. The roads were wet though and the bike got absolutely filthy, I had to give it a proper wash with a hosepipe and bike cleaner when I got back, on 84.91 km.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13716463533

A very similar day to yesterday – beautiful sunshine, but too cold in the morning. Since the forecast’s a bit damp for the next couple of days, I thought I’d take advantage of the conditions while I could. And since Sutton Bonington was so nice in the sunshine yesterday, I thought I’d go over that way again.

I did pretty much the same as yesterday except that I didn’t attempt to loop round to Sutty the back way. Just went straight up Park Lane and straight back down again.

At Diseworth on the way back I was surprised to meet about 55 people on horseback coming the other way through the village, in hunting outfits, accompanied by a large pack of hounds. The dogs looked to be having a lovely time running through village all over the road. The poor buggers will probably all have been shot in the head by the time they’re five years old.

The weather warmed up nicely later on and I started to think I should have done a longer ride. But I was already thinking of a coffee and a hot shower. And to be honest, the plastic saddle was not really a success. I was pleasantly surprised for the first 15 km or so. I even started to think it was a good fit – its rigidity complementing the stiffness of the bike. But after 35 km I was regretting it. Still – it wasn’t painful, just uncomfortable. I’ll probably leave it on for a bit.

Back on 44.87. More on Saturday possibly.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13660670339

Back in March 2016 I bought this green saddle from Amazon to put on the Boardman. Just had a look through my orders, it was £4.99!

Anyway it wasn’t especially comfortable as you can imagine. I think I did one 25 mile ride then took it off again. It’s made of fibreglass-reinforced plastic. But it is very light and I’m going to give it a go on the Planet X. It does have a bit of give in it, it’s not rigid. I might get used to it.

Set off at about 1035 with the intention of doing about 50km. Had an appointment this afternoon, and it was too cold early on to set off much earlier. I thought I’d do the Eastbound Route for a bit – into Nottinghamshire than loop back via Sutton Bonington. Unfortunately I’m never quite sure which route to take for Sutton from Rempstone Road. I took Trowell Lane, which was correct, but then took a left off that called Hungary Lane, which wasn’t. Kept going along Hungary Lane until it degenerated into more of a trail than a road. Then looped back. I did visit Sutton Bonington via Park Lane on the way back.

Got as far as the hump-back bridge over the railway, which was closed – so I wouldn’t have been able to do the loop I intended anyway.

Really nice along there in the winter sunshine. Lots of greenery. Nottingham Uni has a campus along there.

Came back via Diseworth and Griffydam for a bit more distance. Back on 50.82 km.

That’s 339 km in February, not that much and it’s a short month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13651091827

In what’s been a recurring theme this year, I intended to do a fondo today, but was ultimately defeated by the weather. Got up early enough, but when I strolled outside to sample the conditions, it was a definite “no”. I was going to do the eastbound route, decided to do a Twycrosser instead.

What I actually did was to take the Twycross route down as far as Sheepy, then come back the same way. It wasn’t that bad out there but it was really cold – 3C, and the forecast asserted that it would feel like 1C. Back on 46.65km which feels a bit rubbish, especially since I was back long before sunset. And I hadn’t been on a bike for a week. But as long as I get in the required monthly distance I’m not going to worry about it. Better days are coming.

Listened to 5 Live.

My Garmin Instinct is a great cycling watch unless you’re wearing gloves, in which case the buttons are prone to being pressed by the cuff of the left one. This happened more than once today. I had to combine, then edit two tracks using https://www.routemaster.app/ and I cocked it up. Must have got the two parts back to front. Strava claims, through no fault of its own, that I started and finished at Sheepy. So I’ve hidden the whole track on Strava. I always worry that some random scrote with a Strava account will track down my garage and nick a bike.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13618934287

I had every intention of doing a fondo today. The forecast had promised a dry, sunny day with a moderate wind coming from the east. A perfect opportunity for my beloved eastbound fondo route, to Eastwell crossroads and back

I set off after 1100, to give conditions a chance to warm up a bit. The weather was beautifully bright and sunny. But six kilometres later, just after I passed Thringstone, I saw a patch of fog up ahead. It was as though a cloud had landed, about half a klick in front of me. I assumed I’d pass through it quickly enough and emerge back into the bright sunshine a few minutes later, but nope – I was still cloaked in fog 25 kilometres later.

I’d worked out a slightly different route, avoiding Burton on the Wolds and taking in Walton on the Wolds to the south instead. Done it a couple of times before. After Walton, visibility improved substantially. I’d been making a mental note of distant objects emerging from the bright, white curtain of fog in the distance, then measuring the distance to them with my watch. A couple of km further back it had been down to about 150 metres, now it was more like 400. Luxury. But another few km further on, it was down to about 80 metres and I started to feel unsafe. I put the rear light on and turned back, with 41km done.

Despite the fog the sun was really bright. Apart from being a bit colder than I expected, the conditions weren’t uncomfortable. Just dangerous.

I took a wrong turn at Paudy Crossroads and found myself in Seagrave, but I stopped at the bench there for an impromptu lunch. Here, I was completely out of the fog, there was no sign of it. But by the time I got back to Cotes, it was back (or I was back in it), albeit not as thick as it had been earlier. The sun had finally managed to burn it off by the time I got back over the Leicestershire border.

I took a longer route home through Long Whatton and Diseworth. I did ponder tacking on another 11km to make it a fondo, but it was starting to get dark and I was already colder than I was supposed to be.

Back about 10 mins after sunset, on 88.79km. Listened to 5 Live and another couple of hours of my audiobook about the collapse of Yugoslavia. Shocking.

I do like that alternative route through Walton. It adds about a klick and a half, and some climbing. But it’s a nice change.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13557454583

I got up before 0800 today, which is rare for me these days. But conditions looked pretty unaccomodating out there – gloomy and damp – and an hour later, I’d gone back to bed. But I’d got up again, clothed myself and mounted a bicycle by 1055. The sun was due to set six hours later. Plenty of time for a fondo.

I decided to do the southbound route – was going to go down to Sibbertoft gliding club again. But on the very spur of the moment, at Stoney Stanton, I decided to go down Fosse Way instead. I’d already gone a couple of metres down the left turn, so I u-turned back to the roundabout and took the road down through Shamford.

Nice to go down that long, straight bit of Fosse Way south of High Cross. It’s always unaccountably quiet along there, despite being a fairly wide and decently surfaced road. Unfortunately, not long after I passed High Cross, a persistent cold drizzle set in. Particularly annoying since I’d avoided going cycling yesterday on the basis that today’s weather was going to be nicer. It definitely wasn’t. Wouldn’t have minded so much if I’d put contact lenses in, but I could barely see through the moisture pebbling on my specs. Horrible.

I went down as far as Bretford. Did a little bit of exploring along the road to Rugby rather than carrying on down Fosse Way. Then I turned for home. Had a bit of a feast outside the village shop at Brinklow. The weather dried up very nicely after Stoney Stanton. Actually I suspect it hadn’t rained that far north, so maybe the forecast was right after all. The sun came out. Really quite pleasant after that.

I tried a more economical route over the last 25 km through Barlestone. I was going to come straight up the A447 from there but I chickened out when I got there. Wrong time of day. Too busy. So I went straight over at the crossroads and came up through Odstone and Heather.

Listened to LBC and 5 Live.

Back on 101.95 km, a few minutes after sunset. The bike was a bit filthy and I was tempted to hose it, but I settled for a good seeing to with a bathroom wipe.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13529690520