Bike Diary

Summer’s back! Or at least it was warm enough this afternoon. I wanted to do 40 or so after work. Surprisingly I didn’t feel too tired, despite having been telephoned at 04:15 in the morning, then asked politely to resuscitate a poorly server belong to a well-known left-leaning political current affairs magazine. I literally switched it off, using a remote power function, then switched it back on again. I’m not the most analytical problem-solver at that time of the morning.

But if I wasn’t too tired, I did feel sensitive to the risk of being called out of hours again – so as usual I took a route intended not to stray too far from base.

I started by going down toward Heather, then across toward Measham. Then up to Packington and back along Alton Hill – the old ‘Packington Pentagon’ route which has fallen out of favour now, on the grounds of being a bit short. Less than 12 miles I think. But rather than turning for home from Alton Hill, I headed up through Coleorton to Melbourne, over Swarkestone Bridge and west along the river.

I turned back after 24 miles with the intention of going east as far as Isley Walton then back home down Top Brand, but on a whim, after crossing the bridge again, I turned right for Ticknall.

If I’d thought about it properly I wouldn’t have done that, because not only did involve me ascending the northern face of Bastard Hill to get home, but it meant that I’d have to do Alton Hill again as well. But oddly it was easier on the second go than the first. I’m sure that’s the first time I’ve done it twice in the same ride. A couple of years ago I used to avoid doing it once, where possible.

Back five minutes after sunset, on 40.70 miles. I’d had the rear light on for about half an hour, conditions had become quite gloomy and I wondered if it was going to rain (it didn’t). I’d had the front light on for the last ten minutes or so of the ride. Only a little LED blinker but that was all I needed.

That was quite a workout, I suspect in my top three or four rides in terms of average elevation gain per mile.

Started the third Jack Reacher novel in audiobook form. Good stuff.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4031344077

I’m 620 miles ahead of my mile tally for 8 Sept on my highest-scoring year, which was 2016. I did 5776 miles in total that year, so I’m aiming for 6,000 in 2020. On that basis I need to do about 500 this month. 157 done so far.

In July 2017 I attempted to cycle to Worcestershire and back. And by the modern understanding of the term “Worcestershire” I did do this, but it later transpired that, by the geography of the “historic” or “ceremonial” counties, I hadn’t. I hadn’t quite managed to leave Historic Warwickshire.

I much prefer the traditional, historic county definitions to the modern notion, which includes the likes of “West Midlands” and “Greater Manchester” and seems to me to be more administrative than geographical.

So this morning, I set off in the direction of Historic Worcestershire. This was actually quite a bit easier than I expected, because the historic version of the county has a sort of pointy peninsula that extends north-eastwards, to the east of Birmingham. The nearest part of this is only a 12 or 13 mile ride from the southernmost point of one of my regular Twycross routes. I took a slightly longer way round though, to avoid a hill climb south of Atherstone – and to help bump the distance up over 62 miles, to accomplish the September Fondo. I also started off by going up to Packington then across, to increase the distance.

So the ride I ended up doing was actually a fairly standard Twycrosser circuit, with a 30 mile linear detour to the south-east tacked on.

Some of the new roads I experienced today were really quite pleasant, making me wonder why I’d never bothered exploring over that way before. However I also had to contend with a busy (but short) stretch of dual carriageway A5 and some stony single-track lanes. I passed a big oil terminal at Kingsbury, apparently operated by Shell and BP, though I noticed some Asda petrol tankers parked up there as well. The last mile or so to the (historic) county border are pretty dismally urban, characterised by run-down looking council flats and awful-looking pubs. Nothing to suggest a boundary between two counties.

I’d been thinking of listening to old Dad’s Army radio broadcasts on my MP3 player. You can buy them in CD format from Amazon and elsewhere, though they’re quite expensive. BBC Sounds doesn’t have any of the old episodes per se. But it does have a three hour programme called Permission To Speak, in which Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles, who adapted the TV series for radio, introduce six episodes. So I listened to that. really quite a joy, I must say. Michael Knowles was an actor as well as a scriptwriter and may be remembered by some as the posh Captain Ashwood in It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum.

Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier were still in their 50s when they recorded the first few series of Dad’s Army. But at least I’m not as old as Privates Frazer or Godfrey, yet.

Later in the day I listened to an interview with Ken Dodd on Radio 4 Extra. Don’t know when it was recorded. Very good, though. Very funny.

Cloudy and cold in the morning. Warm and sunny in the afternoon, but I didn’t get round to removing outer layers until I stopped at the Gibbet Post, a few miles from home.

Anyway – back on 63.42 miles so that’s the September Fondo done. 116 done in September so far.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4021089138

Sunday looks like a less windy day than tomorrow so I thought I’d go and do 25 miles or so on the Tricross after work today, have tomorrow off then do a longer one on Sunday. A decidedly cooler day than yesterday. Cloudy and moderately windy. I headed up through Coleorton, over to Long Whatton and Diseworth then back down Top Brand.

Coming back down through Coleorton, a lady driving a Corsa stopped to let me pass a line of parked cars. Her window was down so as I passed her, I smiled and gave her a nod of thanks. This provoked a bizarre reaction. First she stared at me vacantly, then her whole face creased up in a look of intense cavewoman rage. Then her mouth opened wide and she screamed “WANKER!!” furiously. Then there was a squeal of tyres and she accelerated away behind me.

What that was about, I have no idea! But some readers will be commending her on an accurate character assessment in a very short space of time, I’m sure.

As I reached the bottom of Top Brand I realised that I’d be home on about 21 miles, but it’s hard to extend a ride by a few miles from there. Back on 21.34 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4011412692

A gloomy, rainy morning gave way to a surprisingly warm, dry and partly sunny afternoon. I left work early to get the September campaign off the ground. I did a pretty typical Twycrosser on the Tricross.

A bit of a stiff headwind approaching Newton Burgoland. Apart from that, quite pleasant.

The front disk brake on the Tricross has started a bizarre “gurgling” noise when you operate it – sounds almost like water running into an empty metal tank. Quite bizarre. I’ll google it shortly.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4007276561

31.47 miles.

Not the best bank holiday weather yesterday, but certainly not a bad day for cycling – mild, dry and only intermittently sunny.

In 2016 I set myself the task of cycling to all of Leicestershire’s neighbouring counties and back. Once I’d done all those I started doing non-neighbouring counties, and I’ve done quite a few of those now. In 2018 I decided that the next most viable one was Gloucestershire, but then I injured my knees and I haven’t added one to the set since then. However – my knees are now back to long distance form, the Summer is running out and I had all day yesterday, so I decided to give Gloucestershire a go.

The route is very easy – just pick up the old Roman road of Fosse Way south of Stoney Stanton, and keep going south. I took the eTrex for navigation anyway as although it looks like a straight line on a map, there are actually a few fiddly bits when you get up close and personal with it.

I set off at 07:30. I was actually on call until 09:00 so taking a bit of a risk by 08:30 or so, as by that time I was a fair distance from a computer in the event that I should get a call from work. But it was unlikely, and I didn’t get called. I was very relieved to switch the phone off at 09:00, by which time I was 16 miles away from home.

Nice to be doing an unfamiliar road – I’d only been about 30 miles down Fosse Way before – but the last 15 miles to Gloucestershire are hard. Long climb after long climb, like a drawn out rollercoaster ride. I didn’t much enjoy wooshing down those long slopes, knowing that I’d have to pedal back up them on the way back.

Stopped at a garage to buy some supplies – a sausage roll, a cheese & mushroom pie and some water – about ten miles from target. I dutifully put a face covering on, though the only other customer in there hadn’t bothered. He was only paying for petrol and was in and out of there in about 30 seconds, but still – it does seem inconsiderate.

I turned off Fosse Way onto a B road for the last mile and a half, and arrived at the Gloucestershire border at about 13:00.

I kept going into Gloucestershire for another 200 metres or so and had lunch leaning against a large tree off a secluded little country lane. Then I prepared myself mentally to face the hills again, and came back.

On the way back I stopped to take a pic of the High Cross Monument, marking the intersection of two major Roman roads, and (supposedly) the centre of Roman Britain. It’s featured in one of the Great British Car Journeys episodes, with Peter Davison and Christopher Timothy.

Stopped at a shop at one of the villages on the way back, not sure which one – Bretford or Brinklow, probably – and bought a bag of crisps, a can of cold Espresso and a Magnum ice cream. I hadn’t intended to have the Magnum, I really only bought it on the spur of the moment to get the overall cost up to the minimum debit card charge. I stopped at the bench outside the shop and consumed them all. I’m sure that really helped a lot – after 100 miles I was starting to feel superficially weary but I had loads of energy. I probably didn’t fuel myself enough on the 200 mile ride in June and if I had, I wouldn’t have felt so spent over the last 40 miles.

Back on 115.85 miles, which took my August total to 686 – this year’s highest monthly tally so far.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3992862473

Very nice to have added another county to the list. I don’t think I’ll do that ride again, though. Strava tells me that it’s the most elevation gain I’ve done on any ride so far. 5,761 feet.

I finished my Jack Reacher audiobook on the ride, Die Trying. Quite enjoyable but really pretty dumb pulp fiction. I do like the way he ties the various strands of his stories together, though. But he obsesses over details a bit too much.

I also listened to the BBC’s Brexit: A Love Story? on R4. Predictably there’s a satirical, mocking tone to the way the various protagonists on the Leave side of the argument are portrayed. I’d have been too angry to listen to it a year ago. But in the light of events since then I found a certain indulgent satisfaction in listening to it, knowing that the BBC had been defeated. A bit like listening to one of Lord Haw-Haw’s old broadcasts.

Cold day today. I was comfortable enough on the bike, but I had to wrap up warm. The Boardman was selected as weapon of choice since there were a few puddles around, and I set off at about 11:15.

With a strong-ish wind coming from the north, the intention was to go north, then west along the long A road under Derby, then back. I only wanted to do 35 miles or so but I was on call, so I tried to pursue the usual strategy of not wandering too far from base.

I went up through Belton to Long Whatton where I turned west for Melbourne then over Swarkestone Bridge and westward as far as Willington. Then I came back down Top Brand, rather than continue on to Long Whatton.

Mostly cloudy, but the sun did come out for about five minutes! And unfortunately an unexpected and persistent rain started about three miles from home.

I mostly listened to my Jack Reacher audiobook. The second half has gone a bit incoherent; almost surreally implausible. It’s as if the author developed a powerful drink habit after writing the first 20 chapters or so.

My Garmin bike computer gave a low battery warning on the way down Top Brand but fortunately I had a GPS watch on so I used that for the last eight miles, and concatenated the tracks when I got back.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3982755371

41.25 miles.

I wanted to do at least 34 after work to get the August mile count up to the ‘recalculated’ target, 530 miles. Hadn’t done a Twycrosser for a while so I set off on the S Works shortly after 4pm. I did the Orton detour from Twycross, the long way to Sheepy Magna. From there the plan was to go along Mythe Lane and Atterton Lane to Fenn Lanes, but I was confronted by this familiar sight from earlier in the year, along Mythe Lane:

I turned back the way I came and turned off for Ratcliffe Culey and Sibson; a shorter version of the Twycrosser. Decided to come back along Gibbet Lane since I hadn’t done that for a while. Bad move – it was littered with dried mud and little stones for the first half mile. I took this pic at the Gibbet Post:

I’d intended to take a right along Barton Lane from Congerstone, which would have seen me arrive home on about 36 miles at a rough guess, but I got a call from work at Shackerstone. As it happened our Global Operations Centre had called the wrong person first for this particular issue, so I asked them politely to call the right person instead. However I felt sure that it would escalate up to me 20 minutes later, so I took the quickest route home from there and put my boot down a bit. Home on 33.02 miles, which takes me to 529.28 recorded miles in August, 0.72 short of target.

The weather looks iffy for the next couple of days, but the long weekend is looking good at the moment.

In the interest of maintaining the rigourous intellectual honesty for which I hope I’m renowned by now, I will state that I digitally removed two items of litter from the second photo.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3970138746

Beautiful cycling day, today. Sunny, not too warm, low wind. Great shame I had to work, but at least I was able to down tools by 3:30. I decided to take the S Works – conscious that the summer is not with us that much longer, and I haven’t actually been out on it since I put new tyres on. I wanted to do 46 miles, to take the August total past 500.

I decided to go up through Melbourne, over Swarkestone Bridge and along the A road that runs along the river. I did that as far as Willington then turned back, a little nervous that I was straying too far from home when I might be needed at work. I did go exploring along an unfamiliar road at Willington before I turned for home, but only for half a mile or so.

I didn’t turn back down over Swarkestone Bridge. I kept going through Weston and Aston. I had the vague idea of finding a turn to take me south again, but actually there isn’t one until you get to Shardlow and Cavendish Bridge, so that’s where I ended up. From there, back down through Donington and the usual way home from my old office there.

It annoys me when people spell it “Donnington” as they sometimes do, but interestingly as I pedalled through the town I noticed an ancient road sign – one of those pillars set in the pavement with distances on two faces – with that same spelling. It must have been there since before the war. Odd. Perhaps the name was changed at some point.

Saw a couple of photographers with very powerful long lenses – amateurs, I think – scrambling down the embankment to the side of the road as I passed the airport. I’ve heard of people being harassed by the airport security and police for unauthorised photography around the airport perimeter.

Anyway – I only did 41.59 miles. If I’d come back down a bit sooner I might have tacked on a part-Twycrosser, but I wasn’t going to faff around just for the sake of another three or four miles.

So: 496 this month. I think the weather will allow another 80 at least.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3960608869

The forecast was for rain all day and I didn’t think I’d have a chance to get out on a bike today. I finished work at 5:30 and conditions looked pleasant enough – blue skies, warm-ish and the roads were drying up nicely – so I thought I’d risk 20 or so on the Boardman.

Actually very pleasant out there; not much wind and intermittent warm sunshine. I pedalled over toward Hathern then hung a left to Diseworth. I would have come back down from there but I decided it wasn’t going to rain, and I pressed on a bit further, to skirt the bottom end of the airport at Donington and back down through Isley Walton.

As I turned southward I noticed mildly threatening skies a few miles ahead. Not only that, but there was an indistinct, partial rainbow to the east (of course – this being only a couple of hours before sunset). The rain started not long after and continued intermittently for the next half hour, but it was very light. The bike and I pretty much dried off completely during the last 15 minutes, after it had stopped.

Very pleasant excursion despite the mild precipitation. 23.76 miles. Even when the forecasters threaten rain for a week, you usually get at least one window of opportunity for a bit of a run out – and today was a case in point.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3927615122

Rain tomorrow but the rain expected today had vanished from the forecast, so I decided I’d do a crafty 25 or so. I started off along Ashby Road and Alton Hill without a clear idea of where I was going to go. Took a left along Coleorton Lane to Packington.

Usually I’d do a Twycrosser from there, but I’d determined that the wind was coming from the NE from the orientation of a nearby wind turbine, after consulting the compass on my Edge 130. So I thought that maybe I’d head out east for a bit. Very unusually, I took a right towards Ashby at the junction near Willesley Park Golf Club, rather than the left that would have taken me down toward Twycross.

Went into Ashby. Decided from there to take the road to Ticknall through Smisby, but the diversion for road works that I mentioned in my post yesterday confused me, and I ended up taking an unfamiliar road to a village called Boundary. From there though I found the A511, as pictured below – so I headed down that for a bit. I knew there was a turn for Ticknall along there.

I somehow managed not to find Ticknall. I’d been along that way many times, but nearly always in the other direction. I missed a left turn. Very nice to be doing Bastard Hill in a downward manner, though.

Anyway I followed signs to Melbourne. These took me to the B587, the usual road to the South Derbyshire town bearing the name of an Australian city, and I came home the usual way from there, through Coleorton.

My casual adventuring caused me a lot of hill climbing, but my knees didn’t seem to mind. Back on 20.90 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3916637747