Having been spoiled by some very pleasant warm and sunny weather recently I’ve been a bit reluctant to go out into the cold wind since the temperature dropped off a cliff at the weekend. But I told myself to man up, wrapped up warm with a woolly hat instead of a helmet and went out to do 30 miles. After all, dry roads and 11 degrees C would have seemed like luxury only a month or two ago.
I took the Tricross. There’s something about its robust, weighty stability that’s comforting in cold weather.
I did a fairly standard Twycrosser, with the Orton detour between Twycross and Sheepy. Through Ratcliffe and Sibson, back along Gibbet Lane. Stopped to take the following pic at the Gibbet Lane bench, then my phone battery died – which was unfortunate as I was using it to track the ride, so Strava didn’t get the whole story. But my bike computer said 30.90 and Google Maps agrees, so that’s what’s gone in the spreadsheet.
Wasn’t really in the mood for a long ride this morning despite
near-perfect conditions, and I struggled to think of a route I felt like
doing. In the end I hit on the idea of doing the long A road going
west, south of Derby. So I did that. I took the S Works. Up to Isley
Walton, up over Swarkestone Bridge (where I took the pic) then west
along the long, flat A road along the river.
The S Works was a joy today, it really rolls beautifully along decently surfaced flat roads. Miles of smiles, in the warm sunshine. A nice relaxed run out.
At
Willington I took a right to explore, but that road only took me to a
roundabout for the A38 and A50. So I turned back to the main road. Went
further west than I have before, to Foston.
As I rolled over the bridge over the A38, I noticed it was pretty busy. Last time I was there it was near-deserted. Not today.
Nice
to see all the Union Flag bunting out for VE day. I listened to
anecdotes from people who remembered the actual day on 5 Live, some
amazing stories. Churchill’s granddaughter was interviewed by Adrian
Chiles and I couldn’t help thinking about the present situation, with
the virus. I hate to think how Theresa May would have dealt with the
virus, still more Corbyn. He’d have surrendered to it, probably. But at
our country’s moment of crisis we have, and just in time, another
brilliant national leader in the same inspirational, resolute mould as
Sir Winston. I’m a rational person and not one to believe in destiny or
fate performing magic, but it seems utterly remarkable. Or at least,
very fortunate.
Anyway, really a glorious run out. Came back the quicker way through the centre of Melbourne and Coleorton. Back on 51.21 miles.
I must see if I can develop that route to go a bit further, perhaps toward Uttoxeter or Ashbourne.
Beautiful afternoon again, didn’t stop work until 6pm but there was
plenty of sunshine left. Usually I’d have a day off between rides but
since I only did 22 yesterday and the weather was so inviting, I thought
I’d do another 20 or so. Not warm exactly, but I was OK in shorts and
two layers on top. I took the X.
Mounted the bike with the intention of doing a Twycrosser but I decided to do something a bit different a minute later. I went over to Belton, up through Long Whatton and Diseworth, then looped back down Top Brand. Nothing new, but I hadn’t been over that way for a while.
Really quite a nice day, today. I extracted the S Works from the garage
with the intention of doing 20 or so after work. I took the “down south”
route for the first ten miles down to the corner of Kirkby Lane and
Barlestone Road, turned back, then took a left along Bosworth Lane, to
come up the usual way from Bosworth.
When I came to cross the A447 I turned left. I thought I’d go down to Sutton Cheney then do the long Twycross route from there in reverse. It was such a nice afternoon that it seemed a waste not to extend my ride, and that would have added about 20 miles. But I changed my mind 100 metres or so later and turned back, to pursue my original plan.
There’s more to life than riding a bike, y’know.
Lots of goldfinches around at the moment. Their yellow plumage is effective camouflage against the trees they fly to when you startle them.
No rain in the forecast yesterday, and light winds. I wanted to try a
route that I’d devised a few days ago, similar to the recent
“alternative out east” route except that it crosses the Trent and
continues north of the river for a distance, along flat terrain.
Got
up early and set off at about 0800. As soon as I closed the garage
door, I noticed that it was raining. But at least it was light.
Quite
a pleasant route, nice to be doing something different. The actual
route I’d plotted on the eTrex continued all the way to Lincoln though I
didn’t expect to go all the way. I decided to do about 55 miles, then
turn back. Predictably though I took a wrong turn after Newark, and
started improvising. Which wouldn’t have been a big problem except that
when I rejoined the purple line on the eTrex map, signifying the planned
route, I started following it in the wrong direction. I realised what
I’d done eventually and turned back.
When I got to the A46 I
decided to take a short cut along it. Normally this would be sufficient
cause for a coroner to record a verdict of suicide, but yesterday it was
pretty quiet. Certainly made a change to be rolling along what’s
virtually a motorway instead of the leafy lanes and B roads that I’m
accustomed to, but at least it was well surfaced.
I continued on the A46 past Newark, just to avoid going into the city again. I rejoined the intended route after about 4 miles of A46.
Conditions
improved in the afternoon. The temperature improved considerably,
though never quite enough to prompt me to remove a layer. And the rain
stopped.
I took another wrong turn near a place called Gunthorpe,
just after crossing the river again to the east of Nottingham. This was
quite unfortunate as I ended up pedalling along a gravelly footpath for
a mile or so, which wasn’t particularly enjoyable. I rejoined the
original route (again) at Radcliffe on Trent, following a brief run
along the A52.
My poor old knees were a bit hurty after 80 miles
or so but nothing dramatic. They feel OK today. I’m pretty encouraged
actually.
Once again I pursued a no-shops strategy, and took lunch and other refuelling snacks in a backpack.
Despite
the rain in the morning – quite a nice adventure, really. Home on
116.20 miles, which takes me to 2004 this year, 153 this month.
The forecast was for dry weather today, so I did a longish Twycross Bypasser after work. I chose the Tricross, partly just because I hadn’t been out on it for a while, and partly because the roads were a bit wet here and there. In fact conditions were very variable. Quite pleasant when the sun was out, not so much when the dark clouds rolled over and the temperature dropped a couple of degrees; even less pleasant when the unexpected cold, sharp rain came down for 15 minutes north of Bosworth. The persistent headwind from the west was fairly irritating, as well.
A lot more traffic around now. I well remember the post-apocalyptic strangeness of a ride around Twycross in early April, but the old normal is the new normal now. Lots of cyclists around and a few walkers, including a lady who retreated into her zipped-up parka like a tortoise disappearing into its shell as soon as she saw me, at a distance of at least 50 metres. I gave her a very wide berth so as not to cause any undue anxiety.
36.78
miles, good start to the May campaign and I shall attempt 64 miles on
Sunday, when conditions should be dry and less windy, to tick off the
May Fondo and get the monthly distance count up to 100 miles early on.
My
right knee was a little sore today, though. Possibly a sign that I
overdid it a touch in April. But I want to do at least 500 in May.
Wanted to make the most of the dry weather while it lasts (the rain’s
due back tomorrow) so I left work early and mounted the S Works. I
wanted to do at least 41, which would bring this month’s distance count
to the highest monthly total since August 2016. A moderate breeze was
blowing from the east, so I went that way, on the usual route toward
Belvoir Castle.
I clocked up about 26 outbound miles, then turned back.
Dry
but cloudy and cooler than of late, so it was back on with multiple
layers and tights. Normally I have two different options for coming back
from that route over the last few miles, either through Thringstone or
Coleorton. Today on a whim I took an earlier turn, which joins the A512
for a longer stretch. I haven’t done that for at least three years
because A roads usually aren’t my idea of fun, but I assumed it would be
quieter this evening. Perhaps it was but there was still a fair amount
of traffic.
Noticed a sign for a “Christian rehabilitation centre” near Six Hills. Nice that you can get help with that.
I did get a bit of right knee pain later on. A reminder that I do still need to exercise a bit of restraint and caution.
Thought I’d do maybe 50 or so, today. Didn’t get up particularly early
and I was on call. Set off on the S Works at about 10:30 with no
particular plan in mind, except that I’d go north, then south so that I
wouldn’t stray too far from base.
I went up Top Brand in the direction of Donington then turned left for Melbourne at Isley Walton. Thought of going up over Swarkestone Bridge but decided to pedal over to Ticknall instead. I used to do that route quite often but haven’t done it more than once or twice in the last couple of years, probably in order to avoid a short but unpleasantly steep climb which I have named Bastard Hill.
Stopped to take the following pic along Heath Lane. As I examined it on the phone I looked up to notice a couple standing on the other side of the gate, a few feet away. I was politely asked if I minded if they came past, which confused me for a moment as there was plenty of space for them to do so. Had I not stepped back a couple of feet they would have passed within 5 feet at least, for a fraction of a second. But of course I smiled pleasantly and complied.
Back
down through Ashby, which although most of the shops were closed looked
a lot like a typical Saturday; plenty of people walking along the main
shopping street. I noticed that I had to wait for a gap in the traffic
to cross the A511 this time, as well. All of which reinforces my opinion
that the restrictions on movement are only sustainable at their maximum
effect for a limited time, and the government was exactly right to
introduce them with careful and deliberate timing. I notice in today’s
news that Philip Hammond is already agitating for an end to the
lockdown.
From Packington I decided to tack on a Twycrosser. I
stopped at Snarestone where I took advantage of the bench there for a
brief lunch. I decided at this point to keep it relatively short. The
wind was a lot stronger than I’d been led to expect by the forecast, one
of the earplugs connected to my DAB personal had stopped working (don’t
yet know if it’s the earplugs or the DAB) and, after all, I was on
call. So I took a left just short of Twycross to come home the
picturesque way along Bilstone Road, then Ibstock. Home on 40.11 miles.
I’d been thinking of doing about 40 after work today to take advantage
of the ongoing lovely weather. I can’t (or shouldn’t) go far tomorrow,
because I’m on call.
But ‘er indoors persuaded me that it might
be nice to have a drink in the garden so I did a shortish one, so I
could be back by 6-ish.
I performed a fairly standard Twycross Bypasser. Just lovely out there. Less windy than the last few days.
Took
the road to Bosworth from Sheepy. Usually I take a left to Carlton
along there but today it was closed for some reason. So I pushed on to
Bosworth and came up the usual way from there.
Definitely more traffic this last week or two.
I
saw a little girl on a bike near Barton. I’d guess she was about nine
years old (I’m not good with kids’ ages, never had any myself). She had
all the lycra gear on. She was riding a scaled-down proper road bike
with derailleurs and drop bars. It looked much too big for her but she
had no trouble overtaking me. I thought of the decades of cycling she
has ahead of her, if she keeps her interest in it. And if she’s still
riding when she’s my age, I wonder what her bike will look like? And the
roads, and the technology?
Wasn’t really planning on cycling after work today but I happened to
glance out of the window. I still can’t get used to the novelty of
sunny, dry weather! And it would have been a perfect late afternoon for
cycling if not for a fairly powerful wind from the east, again.
I
set off through Ellistown and Bagworth on the S Works, thinking to go
down to Kirkby Mallory then come back. But I took the road to Bosworth
from Newbold then came the long way home, looping up through Swepstone,
past Measham, and through Packington.
Nice, apart from a real struggle against the wind between Packington and Alton Hill.
