Bike Diary

Windy but dry and mild. The wind was coming from the south again so once again, I decided to do 16 or 17 miles of the southbound route, then come back. When I got to Kirkby Mallory though I decided to take a right to Sutton Cheney, then take the Twycross route home, in a backwards-stylee.

I don’t often do Fenn Lanes east-to-west and I always forget how rough that side of the road is. The wind was pretty annoying as well until it became a tailwind, after which the combination of a zippy bike and assistance from the elements had me flying along, up from Twycross.

Noticed my bottle cage flapping around on the frame after I removed the bidon for the first time. One of the bolts had worked loose and disappeared. Fortunately I was able to remove the other one with my fingers. I put the bidon and bottle cage in my backpack.

Apart from the wind, pleasant out there, especially at dusk. And the Cannondale is rolling very nicely on its new wheels.

Back on 36.20 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8098545311

The weather forecast suggested a threat of a shower before 5pm, but dry conditions were promised after that. Managed to down tools at about 3pm at the expense of having to work later this evening, and set off hoping to do at least 32, which would get me into double figures for November.

Only my second bike ride in November, mainly due to the weather. A brisk wind was coming roughly from the south so I had a simple plan: do the southbound route for at least 16 miles, then come back.

I rested the bike against a fence at a favoured wee spot not long after Kirkby Mallory, and the wind blew it over. No damage, it fell onto soft ground and I wasn’t on it. But the mirror popped out of the ball joint on the rightmost end of the handlebar tube and I couldn’t force it back on. It was dark by this time. I pressed on to the northern end of Stoney Stanton, then turned back.

Beautiful full Moon after dark.

I was congratulating myself on not having being rained on when I noticed a few flecks of moisture in the beam of my head torch. Ten minutes later the rain was coming down properly, cold and unpleasant. Not heavy, but not light and very persistent. Misery.

Had to give the bike a good wipe down when I got back. It had only done 60-odd miles since I had it cleaned, as well.

Still – 35.46 miles.

Listened mostly to the Reacher novel. It’s really drawn me in now.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8088936122

The forecast promised a dry, sunny day so I took a day’s annual leave to get the November fondo in. Slightly scary single figure temperatures, though. I wrapped up very warm.

The wind was coming from the west, and I thought I’d do the Lower Westbound route, or some variation of it. The rough idea was to do the first 30-odd miles of the route to Wales, then come back. I did that, except that after 24 miles, I took a right turn toward Abbots Bromley at the T junction rather than a left to Rugeley. I only need to do another 7 miles or so and I felt sure it would be a bit more cycling-friendly than pedalling through Rugeley, which is a bit industrial. I also took a wrong turn after 8 miles, but I looped back onto the correct route more or less by chance a mile later.

I had the impression that I hadn’t been right up to Abbots Bromley for years, but when I got there I remembered sitting on the bench near the village shop about a year ago. I did the same again today, to refuel with a cheese & onion roll and a sandwich from the shop.

I continued on up the road to Uttoxeter, until after about 33 miles I took a right turn along a small country road named Hobb Lane. This turned out to be a bit bumpy and gritty – one of those one-track roads with passing places, copiously furnished with grit, stones and grass growing in the middle like a sort of central reservation – but I was able to plot a course through the worst of it. I persevered for about a mile before I decided to turn back, and head home.

Interestingly, although I didn’t know it at the time, the map tells me that I wasn’t too far at this point from the “Upper Westbound” route.

I came back the same way although I did wonder if I’d gone off-piste a couple of times. But I hadn’t.

My paranoid fear of the cold had caused me to over-clothe myself. I was far too warm after the first few miles. I stopped at a log and removed my jogging pants (worn as a layer between my cycling tights and overtrousers) and a fleece (worn as a layer between my cycling jacket and compression top). I was fine after that apart from being annoyed that I was carrying them round in my backpack for no sensible reason.

Came back through Packington and Alton Hill over the last few miles, rather than Heather.

Listened to 5 Live, then more of the Reacher novel.

Very good one, nice to go up that way again. Back on 68.58 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8068159948

The weather forecast warned that rain was due over at around 6pm. I took a long lunch break at about 2:15pm, thinking that I wouldn’t get wet if I was back by about 5.

I got showered on for five minutes near Sibson after 18 miles and I hoped I’d get home without attracting any more precipitation, but nope – after a brief respite it was mostly persistent rain all the way home.

I trialled a new cycling jacket – really a perfect fit, nice and tight, but the pockets – especially the rear one – aren’t quite as big as I’d like. The sleeves are just the right length though, which is unusual for me as I have abnormally long arms. It did resist the moisture quite nicely, as well.

I listened to Nihal Arthanayake’s programme on 5 Live, which today was about how Mugabe’s behaviour in Zimbabwe was really the fault of the British.

Had to give the Tricross a good wipe down to get the moisture off when I got back, but at least it looks cleaner now.

29.42 miles, 557 this month which is 207 over target. Looks like I’m on course for about 5350 this year. 4687 so far.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8048660419

Rain this morning but a very mild day – almost warm – and the roads dried off eventually. I decided to make the most of the unseasonal weather and set off at about 3:15pm under strict orders from myself not to do less than 36 miles, which would take me to 530 this month.

I was going to take the red Boardman but found the rear tyre a bit soft. I thought I’d probably get away with 30-odd miles if I pumped it up but I decided not to risk it. It must have a slow puncture and I’d probably have worried about it for the whole ride. So I took the X instead.

Really remarkably nice out there considering we’re on the cusp of November, especially early on when it was sunny. Late-summer-ish.

Today’s plan was to do a Twycross Bypasser as far as Kisses Barn Lane, then take a right instead of a left to explore new parts in the approximate direction of Tamworth.

So I did that. Despite a bit of climbing, the road toward Tamworth was very pleasant. I kept going until I was in the suburban outskirts of Tamworth itself, then came to a roundabout with no appealing options except to turn back, which I did. However on the way back I decided to take an unplanned turn signposted to Shuttington – just to see if I could find my way home from unknown territory. I knew I’d seen Shuttington on a map but couldn’t remember where it was.

Before long I saw a sign to No Man’s Heath, which was on one of my regular routes years ago, so I followed that one. However I arrived at a T junction, at which I assume I was supposed to guess whether to go left or right, because No Man’s Heath wasn’t signposted from there. But I could see the Lichfield transmitter in the distance to my left, so I turned right. No Man’s Heath was about a mile further on and I took a time-honoured route home from there.

I’d expected my adventurous orienteering to knock my distance up considerably, but nope – I’d only done 31 miles when I got to Heather and although I could have added a mile or so by detouring through Ibstock, I didn’t bother. Back on 33.0 miles. 527 this month.

Listened mostly to footy on 5 Live, Brighton vs Chelsea. Highly entertaining, although every time Brighton scored, you’d think the match commentator (Ian Dennis) had had an electric cattle prod stuck up his bum.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8038659868

A dry, mild afternoon and I was able to leave work early – at the cost of having to work later this evening – and mount a bicycle at about 3pm.

The wind was blowing fairly powerfully from the south. I left with the intention of doing a southbound fondo. However by the time I reached the T junction at Potters Marston after 17 miles, I’d decided not to do that. The headwind was annoying me. And besides, I thought – who really gives a toss if I do five fondos in the same month? It would be a personal record, but I decided I wasn’t that bothered about it.

So I decided to go left instead of right, explore for a couple of miles, then turn for home.

However – by the time I’d reached a village called Huncote I’d come down a longish, steepish descent that I didn’t really fancy coming back up. I kept going until I hit Narborough, on the south-western outskirts of Leicester – then I followed a sign to Stoney.

This wasn’t a great idea really because it took me along a pretty busy B road in rush hour. Funny how B roads can be bigger and badder than A roads, sometimes. Three or four miles later though I found myself on the usual southbound route, so I followed it home.

It was getting dark by the time I rolled through Stoney, so I put my lights on. By Ibstock, the rechargeable rear light had run out of juice (I might not have noticed this for a while, but a passing motorist tactfully drew my attention to it). Not to worry, I’d brought a spare of course. A little clip-on flasher. I clipped it to the hem of my cycling jacket at the rear.

A mile later I got beeped at again. I reached behind to check the clippy red flasher was still there; it wasn’t. Fortunately the rechargeable cell in the main rear light had recovered sufficiently to see me home and I only had a couple of miles to do at this point, though I was a bit nervous in the pitch-dark coming up from Ibstock before I reached the street lighting at the outskirts of the village.

Nice to have a bit of an adventure on a new stretch of road but the rush hour traffic spoiled the party a bit on the way back.

Back on 42.29 miles, 494 this month. More than happy with that, but perhaps the weather will permit another run out before November. Currently the forecast claims rain every day for the rest of the month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8023756535

Torrential rain yesterday and the roads were a bit wet again, but a high probability of a dry afternoon was promised so I thought I’d do 30 or so after work. Didn’t want to go much further than that because I’d been feeling a bit tired and frazzled from a beer-enhanced gig followed by a late bedtime last night.

I did a Twycross Bypasser, starting off by going down through Heather. I don’t usually do that, but on this occasion I’d actually intended to go out west through Measham but changed my mind when I reached the turn for Swepstone. The cosy familiarity of a Bypasser just felt more appealing.

It was getting gloomy by the time I reached Sibson and I reached down to turn on the rear light, only to find that it wasn’t working. I remembered that I’d had exactly the same experience last time I took the Tricross out after dark. And I never got round to fitting new batteries.

Luckily though I’d brought a spare head torch that takes the same (AAA) batteries so I stopped and swapped them in. Just as well because it was properly dark for the last half hour of the ride.

Really nice out there in the Autumn sunshine and not too cold. I picked up a few spots of rain near Sibson, but nothing to speak of.

I listened to the Drive programme on 5 Live, which mostly concerned itself with the result of the Tory leadership election of course. Geeta Guru-Murthy was sitting in for Clare McDonnell. It became obvious from the first few minutes that she holds similar views to her brother Krishnan, although she didn’t call anyone a cunt.

Back on 30.44 miles. 452 this month and I’ve more than made up for the September shortfall now.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8013414942

I decided to have a go at fixing the freehub attached to the Fulcrum 5s that were on the Cannondale. You may remember that it stopped working on a long ride a few weeks ago, preventing the pedals from engaging the back wheel.

So .. I bought some freehub springs from Amazon and fitted one.

Actually a pretty simple job once you’ve taken the freehub off the wheel – you just wrap the spring, which looks like a slightly oversized cheap keyring, around the groove in the freehub body. The pawls are designed so that the tension in the spring makes them stick out and engage the hub when not freewheeling. I’m no mechanical engineer but I reckon that using a single spring for this is a poor design.

The remaining springs in the pack are shown here:

I gave the innards a good wipe round, and relubed the pawls and the hub. Fortunately the Fulcrum 5 rear wheel has sealed bearing units so I didn’t have to bother with regreasing little steel balls.

Working nicely now.  Some freehubs have independently sprung pawls. like this:

.. and that’s surely a better design.

Still to do: swap the 8 speed cassette off Boardman II and put it onto the Fulcrum 5 rear wheel. It’ll need spacers because the Fulcrum freehub is designed for a 10 speed cassette.

A dry day was promised after a few days of persistent rain. Handy for a Saturday. With a moderate wind coming from the south, I thought I’d do my “other” southbound route, which differs from the usual one in that it turns off down Fosse Way after Stoney Stanton.

Pretty mild out there. I set off just after 0900. The roads were wet from yesterday’s rain for the first hour or two, so I took the Boardman.

Cool for the first couple of hours but I got the clothing strategy just right. I stuffed a fleece and a nylon outer layer into my backpack after Brinklow, while I gorged on a sausage roll that I’d bought in the village shop there. Brinklow is also the home of the Lost Deli, but it wasn’t open when I got there.

I hadn’t been down this route for quite some time – I think I’ve only ever done it four or five times – and I did manage to take a wrong turn, down Watling Street (also known as the A5). Fortunately it narrowed to a single carriageway after about half a mile so I was able to do a U turn.

I went down Fosse Way as far as a place called Princethorpe – I don’t think I’ve been down that far before, I’d done 36 miles at this point – and I took a left to go exploring. I found myself on a very pleasant, well-surfaced and delightfully flat stretch of road. I did about three miles of this then I came to a T junction with a very busy road, so I decided to turn for home. As it turns out I was a few miles from the south-western outskirts of Rugby.

I took the above pic at the High Cross monument, which marks the centre of Roman Britain at the intersection of two great Roman roads (Fosse Way and Watling Street). You might remember that it was featured in Great British Car Journeys a few years ago.

Just found this old bit of film from 1966 in which it’s featured, as well, about 30 seconds in:

https://www.macearchive.org/films/atv-today-14121966-fosse-way-part-three

I listened to 6 Music for a bit, then I started the next Reacher audiobook, The Enemy. The last one (Persuader) featured some flashbacks to Reacher’s time in the army, and I suppose Lee Childs must have got the taste for it because this one is set wholly in Reacher’s army days. Makes a change, I guess. Written in the first person again. I prefer the third person ones. Annoyingly the audiobook MP3s were a bit quiet even with the volume right up but I can fix them.

Back on 79.36 miles, which makes this possibly my first Quadruple Fondo October. 422 done this month, which is 72 miles over target, and about five miles short of target + last month’s deficit.

That was a really nice run out, I must go down that way more often, especially the flat stretch near Rugby. Probably one of my five or six favourite rides this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8002884607

I went over through Norton Juxta Twycross in Twycross Bypasser stylee, but I turned right instead of left, thinking of going over through No Man’s Heath and Clifton Campville. Then I remembered how rough the roads are over that way and I didn’t fancy doing that on two nice new road wheels, so I followed a sign to Orton. A few minutes later, I realised what I’d done. I was following a road that would lead me, inexorably, to the wrong end of a curvy hill known locally as the “ski slope”. I’d made this mistake before. Actually it wasn’t too strenuous.

I must say the views over there, with the fields bathed in late afternoon sunshine, were glorious.

After Orton I came back via a typical Twycross Bypasser route. I was tempted to come back along Fenn Lanes, but since I was road testing new parts and I didn’t have a proper front light, I thought better of it and took a mostly direct route home along Burton Road and Gibbet Lane.

Everything working nicely on the bike, thankfully. Does it feel a bit more zippy with the new wheels? No, it feels pretty much the same but I’m happy enough with that. Objectively the wheels are a bit lighter. I get the feeling the rolling resistance is a bit higher but that’s probably because the tyres (Conti Ultra Sport) are new (they should harden up a bit over time and resist a bit less).

Back on 32.74 miles, 342 this month which is only 8 miles short of target. But the rest of the month is predominantly rainy, according to the forecast.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7978587017