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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Day 260

Got up and was starved so made a cooked breaky for family :-) Lyneham met office had the temperature at -3 Deg C so I thought I would leave the bike ride for a while!

I decided to swap the cyclo-cross tyres for the original Schwalbe Stevio tyres (puncture resistant), just as I finished a delivery man knocked on the door with my new tyres in hand :-) so I fitted the Schwalbe Marathon tyres instead :-)


At 11 wifey went of shopping to Ikea so I thought I would set off on my ride although the temperature still appeared to be negative.

I opted for doing my now 'normal' 25 mile ride in reverse so I started of down the quiet country lanes and ended up on the busier A4. (Route here...)

It did mean tackling the rather steep hill on Stanley lane within 3 miles from home but it was a good way to warm up!

The trees at the top of the hill were covered in frost

When I reached Lyneham the headwind turned into a much better tail wind, unfortunately I have now come to realise that when working hard into a headwind you keep quite warm, when having it easy with a tail wind you cool off very quickly and the wind chill starts to bite as well.

The new tyres did feel a bit easier to cycle with and I am confident that they will be a lot harder to puncture!

The cycle computer showed 25.69 miles in 1 hour 54 minutes with an average speed of 13.4 mph, Lyenham Met office had the weather as -2 Deg C with 9 mph NNE wind

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Day 259

Ventured out at 9:30 ish on the Dawes, I made plans to drop in and visit a friend in Colerne at 11, but I never made it :-(

It was very cold when I set of Lyneham had it at -1.1 but I wrapped up in plenty of layer's and was reasonably toasty. I set of towards Calne -> Lyneham -> Sutton Benger -> Chippenham, then I turned right on the A420 towards Ford at about 3 miles there was a distinct phsssssss coming from the back wheel and I noticed green slime from the self sealing inner tube was spraying the bike green. No problem, I thought its a self sealing tube! Unfortunately it was a shard of glass and the self sealing tube didn't!

I had to do a puncture repair on the side of the road :-( and I must have the only non-sticky rubber glue on the planet, on about the 3rd patch it appeared to hold enough so I re-assembled the wheel and pumped the tyre up, unfortunately I broke the pump (Snapped the handle) just as the tyre was getting to a workable pressure.

Thankfully it held enough for me to get back home.

I have now ordered a pair of 700 x 28 Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres, another Frame pump and a load of inner tubes. I have not had a lot of success with the normal tyres and slime tubes, so I am going back to puncture resistant tyres!

The cycle computer showed 26.11 miles with an average speed of 14.5 mph. The actual route I did is here...

Monday, December 29, 2008

Day 258

Got up early and took Rosie and Cleo to Morgans Hill for a walk (We are looking after Cleo over Christmas for a friend).

We saw a few Deer (Monkjack) at the bottom of the Hill

After the walk I finally got round to shifting an old fridge and freezer to the household recycling centre, its only taken about a year!

After lunch I went for a nice 30 mile ride on the Merida, I cycled Chippenham -> Devizes -> Avebury -> Calne -> Chippenham (Route Here...)

Although very cold (0.6 deg C) the wind had changed direction and dropped a little (ENE 11 mph) and the ride was very enjoyable, even the A361 had some quiet stretches.

The stretch shown in the photo is slightly down hill, but was into wind, I found that cycling sat more upright I was maintaining around 15.5 mph, when I dropped down onto the drop handlebars with no more effort the speed increased to 17.5 mph (I will definitely have to get used to cycling using the drop handlebars!)

I was very happy with today's ride, I cycled up some quite tough hills and I must say that at least one of them seemed easier on the Merida, I will still have to get used to the gear changes, I am still not quite getting it right when changing the front chain ring up/down, I either end up in to easy a gear or worse to tough a gear! and end up loosing my momentum going up a hill.

As it was such a clear crisp day I took a few more photies of the cold Wiltshire countryside.


When I got back home I gave the bike a wipe down with a damp cloth, there was still some road salt in evidence on the roads :-( I will definitely NOT be taking the new bike out again when there is ANY salt in evidence!

The cycle computer showed 29.12 miles in 1 hour 53 min with an average speed of 15.4 mph

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Day 257 (Sunday)

Got up, did normal Sunday house tidy then went food shopping with wifey :-) had brunch at supermarket.

When we got back home I got changed then set off on the Dawes for a nice 25 mile ride. (They had salted the road last night and I didn't want to take the nice shiny new bike out!)

Again today it was a really tough headwind, It sort off makes me feel better that I was struggling with the Dawes today, as I was a bit worried about the gearing on the Merida yesterday.

I did my 'normal 25', according to the cycle computer I did 25.14 miles in 1 hour 46 minutes with an average speed of 14.2 mph, Lyneham met office showed a 17 mph NE wind and a temp of 1.3 deg C.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Day 256 (Saturday)

Got up, had breky, fitted Race Blade mudguards to the Merida, wouldn't want to get my nice shiny new bike dirty now would I? (Was going to fit them yesterday but the front guard proved to be a bit difficult, as you have to bend them to fit)






I set of with no real route in mind, but I did want to try out some hills! So I headed for Batheaston then doubled back up Kingsdown Hill (I was pleasantly surprised with the ease of the hill climb) I then turned right towards Wraxall then to Bradford on Avon. This was my first experience of going down a steep hill with slow traffic, and I found the brakes a tadge awkward to apply firmly unless I used the drop handlebars, then it didn't seem very natural to unclip a foot and put down (I am sure I will get used to it!). From Bradford I headed to Trowbridge, then Bratton, West Lavington. At West Lavington I started to get cold! and I felt I had been working hard into a headwind for miles! I started to find the gears awkward! (At this point I have had 28 gears to work with, and I feel no embarrassment at being on the middle chain ring, for some reason I am avoiding the lower chain ring on the Merida! (How stupid is that!)
From Devizes it was plain sailing home, although the headwind persisted!

According to Lyneham met office the OAT was between 0 and 1 deg C with a 17 mp NE wind, no wonder I was feeling the cold!

The cycle computer showed 50.83 miles in 3 Hours 41 mins with an Average Speed of 13.7 mph.

All in all I am happy with the Merida, I will have to get used to the different gear ratio's. The bike is great fun and on a nice smooth road it comes into its own:-) and the down hills make the up hills worth while:-) I have learnt from Dave that ducking down and making yourself as small as possible whilst going downhill gives an incredible speed that you cant achieve by pedaling :-)

Friday, December 26, 2008

Day 255 (Boxing Day)

First ride on the Merida :-)

It was fantastic! I cycled from Chippenham -> Calne -> Avebury -> Devizes -> Chippenham
(Route Here...) I set of at about 9:10 and was back home for 11.

Wifey took some pictures of my return.



The cycle computer shows 29.17 miles in 1 hour 41 min with an avs of 17.1 mph and a max speed of 43 mph.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Day 254 (Christmas Day)

Managed to get out at 8:20 for a nice 25 mile ride, Santa had not authorised the use of the new bike so I went out on the Dawes.

I did my normal 25 until I got to Stanley lane then I diverted down the Calne cycle way (It added another .5 mile to the trip) (Route here...)

The cycle computer had the ride as 25.68 miles in 1 hour 44 minutes and an avs of 14.7 mph.

When I got back home Wifey took some photies of the new bike and me :-)


Ohh today I have cycled over 4000 miles since I started training in April.

Tomorrow I plan on doing a nice 30-40 mile ride on the new bike :-)

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Day 253

Wahay I am definitely back :-)

Work from home today, managed to get out on the bike at 11:30 for my 'normal 25' :-)

It was great, I have really missed it. Just one observation , I cleaned the Dawes before I put it away (On its last use) and when I got back today its minging again, I won't be able to take the new bike out on this route!

The cycle computer shows that I did 25 miles in 1 hour 36 minutes with an AVS of 15.5 mph, I was very happy that even after 10+ days out of the saddle I can still make it up Wick Hill without climbing out of the saddle :-)

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Day 252

Night off ;-)

Went out for a family meal, so no chance to get on turbo trainer.

I am really looking forward to getting out on a real ride tomorrow

Monday, December 22, 2008

Day 251

Whay I'm back :-)

I felt so much better on the way home from work that I decided I would get changed and go straight on the turbo trainer when I got home :-)

I did 30 minutes (5 minutes warm up 20 minutes high gear working hard and 5 minutes cool down) The cycle computer suggests that I did 10.5 miles

I am looking forward to getting out on Wednesday now :-)

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Day 250 (Sunday)

Still got a cold, but feeling much better today :-)

Down to a tickly cough now...So hopefully be back on bike on Wednesday :-)

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Day 249 (Saturday)

Still got a cold, but now I have a shiny new bike :-)

I picked the bike up with wifey this morning, wasn't allowed to cycle it anywhere :-(

Still not intending to go out cycling until I have shaken the cold.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Day 248

Still got a cold, Still got a sore throat, Still not been out on bike :-(

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Day 247

A very early in the day post.

I still have a cold and will be at work christmas party tonight so no training again today.

Wifey says that although picking new bike up on Saturday, she is going to wrap it up and I won't be able to use it until christmas day :-(

Oh well at least its something to look forward to....

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Day 246

Still have cold :-(

But on the bright side I can almost speak again :-)

Had a phone call from Peddlers in Calne, my new bike has arrived :-) and I will be picking it up on Saturday.

Ohhhh and double good news, Peddlers have also done the warranty change on the Dawes back wheel :-)

Still staying off training at the moment until I feel better, The sore throat is turning into a tickley cough.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Day 245

Still got a cold. Almost completely lost my voice today:-(

But had a nice day out in Stevenage in Hertfordshire(working) and saw lots of old friends that I haven't seen for nearly 6 months. It was amazing most of them were shocked at the change in me.

I didn't really embark on this to lose weight, but I guess it is a matter of fact that if I am burning more calories than I consume and I stay away from high fat and unhealthy foods then it is inevitable that I will become healthier and thinner.

I just really want to shake this cold so I can get back out on the bike! But I dont want to rush it as I really dont want to get a chest infection and be of the bike for an extended period of time.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Day 244

Still got a cold :-(

And now loosing my voice...

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Day 243 (Sunday)

Still feeling unwell :-(

Played computer games, watched TV and sulked all day.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Day 242 (Saturday)

I have got a cold :-(

Sore throat, aching joints :-(

Advice from Dave and everybody else is to take a break, or I could make things worse, so although my desire is to complete 50 miles this weekend, I have opted to have a rest and hope I shake the cold quickly!

And dont ask me about the concert!

Notice the error! The tickets were for Monday 8th, I didn't realise until we actually got to Bristol and the doors were closed!

Boy oh boy I was upset.....

Friday, December 12, 2008

Day 241

Worked from home again today. Going to an Apocalyptica concert tonight in Bristol and would have had to finish work early in good time to go.

I dragged myself away from work at 11:30 and went for my 'normal 25', I am feeling a little achy and think I have the beginnings of a cold :-( but I still very much enjoyed it!

It was a little warmer than it has been of late, but it was very wet and I got back very dirty, I had little choice but to give the bike a wash over before putting it away.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Day 240

Worked late...Got home late....No cycling

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Day 239

WFH today.

Managed to get out at 11:30. Did my 'normal 25' , It was cold and some of the road's still had chunks of ice on them (Perhaps I will have to change my 'normal 25' to avoid the unclassified roads)

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Day 238

Night off....Played computer games :-)

Monday, December 8, 2008

Day 237

Back on the Turbo Trainer again!

Warmed up for 7 minutes (I like to work to the nearest 5 minutes and I got on the bike at 6:23)
Plodded along in the highest gear for 20 minutes then cooled down for 5 minutes in easier gear.

Total time 32 minutes distance covered 13.5 miles.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Day 236 (Sunday)

Up early, house tidy, then out on bike to mother in laws to do some DIY stuff.

I got out of the door at 11 am and as can be seen from the photo it was cold and frosty!

I cycled the 15 miles to Wootton Basset, stopped did the chores had lunch then cycled on to Malmesbury and back to Chippenham. Route here...

A total of 36.37 miles with a cycle time of 2 hours 22 minutes and an average speed of 15.3 mph.

It is a really interesting feeling breaking out into a sweat on such a cold day! The only problem is when and if you stop you get instantly cold, you have to keep moving and working hard.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Day 235 (Saturday)

Very, very, VERY busy day!

Got up, stoked up fire, made porridge for breaky (At the same time as boiling some fruit up for a Worcester Cider fruit cake :-), took dog for walk, went xmas shopping, had lunch out, on returning home got changed and went out for cycle....setting of from home at about 1pm.

The sky was clear, the visibility was perfect and it was cold! I set of with no real plans of a route...

I headed towards Calne then Avebury turning right at Broad Hinton (Over the white horse)

Then on towards Marlborough, the visibility was excellent.

At Marlborough I turned back onto the A4 towards Chippenham, turning left at Clatford to go down the country lanes towards Devizes.

When I got to Alton the sun was realy starting to go down.


From Alton it was a right turn at Alton Priors, then on to Devizes and then Home...Route here...

I had to have my lights on from Devizes onwards as it was really becoming twilight.

According to the cycle computer I cycled 49.2 miles in 3 hours 9 minutes with an average speed of 15.6 mph. The actual elapsed time was 1pm (ish) to 4:20(ish) so 1 hour 20 (ish)

On arriving home I finished mixing up the cake and shoved it in the oven, had a shower, then made up pastry for some mince pies :-)

Friday, December 5, 2008

Day 234

Got home late...very tired...Taking night off

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Day 233

Another night off....Gone to a party.

Will just have to work twice as hard tomorrow ;-(

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Day 232

Work from Home today....

Managed to tear myself away from the laptop and lovely warm fire...

Did my 'normal 25' and it was cold! Lyneham met office had it at 3 deg, My biggest worry was NOT getting cold but encountering black ice and falling off.

I was very cautious on the down hill stretches and generally avoided any areas of the road that had an icy shine.

I did the 25 miles in a fair 1 hour 33 minutes and spent a couple of minutes washing the road grime and salt off the bike when I got back home.

I hadn't really contemplated that the cold temperature would keep me from cycling, I had just thought torrential rain and howling gales but I have no desire to throw myself down the road.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Day 231

w00t night off playing computer games.......

Must shoot Zombies..........

Monday, December 1, 2008

Day 230

Turbo trainer again...

30 minutes, 5 minutes warm up, 20 minutes endurance (Highish gear plodding along) 5 minutes cool down.

Cycle computer shows 10.7 miles in 30 minutes 58 seconds Average speed of 20.7 mph

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Day 229 (Sunday)

Today was another group ride out, hosted by Joy, planned by Dave :-)

The only bits of the route I can explain are...me in car from Chippenham to Leamington at stupid o'clock in the morning, arriving 45 minutes before I was supposed to...

We set of from Joys exclusive 'Royal Leamington Spa' pad at just before 10, As I don't know the area hardly at all (Other than the Fosse way) my cycle Blog will be an interesting description...until Dave posts where we actually went to...We cycled for a few miles then apparently we ended up on the wrong road at one point and got to a T-junction that didn't exist?


Or was it the right road and a T-Junction that shouldnt have been there????

We eventually ended up cycling through Wellsbourne (Wahooo a place I know..I drive past it every day to and from work) and past the Airfield...Its massive! and I didn't have any idea of the scale of size.

We cycled up and down some fantastic roads and ended up at Stratford at 11:30 ish (Apparently due to taking a few wrong roads we had shaved 10 miles of the pre Stratford leg) as we were all starting to get cold we opted for an early lunch and found a suitable Cafe were we could lock the bikes up in plain view.


After lunch we headed for some famous dead geezers house and another photo oportunity.


From here we cycled around north and ended seeing direction signs that I had seen before ,'Balsall Common', 'Chadwick End' etc..etc We had cycled here on Nathan's ride.

When we got to the outskirts of Leamington Joy took over in the lead and navigated us through to the exclusive bit...

According to my cycle computer we did 50.64 miles in 3 hours 32 minutes ride time(We set of at 10 am is and got back at 3pm ish so elapsed was around 5 hours) with an Average Speed of 14.3 mph.

It was really fun :-) Thanks Joy and Dave :-) (I hope to get a proper route plot from Dave and I will post it when I get it!)

The cold made it very fatiguing, and I was very tired on the drive home. Dave showed that there are some challenging hills in Warwickshire/ Stratford area. I purposely hung at the back of the group this time(Hay it was no good me being in the front, I didn't have a clue where we were going!) and I found it a challenge going up the hills slowly...although my Hill strength has come on some what in the past month or two so I was able to go up all of the hills without dropping out of the middle chain ring :-)

Ahhhaaaaaa Dave has sent me the route we did :-) (here....)

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Day 228 (Saturday)

Got up late, washed and cleaned the car up, then did shopping with wifey then finally had lunch at Morrisons.

Eventually got out on the bike at 1:30 did my Chippenham > Devizes > Avebury > Calne > Chippenham ride (29.13 miles) (Route here...)

I did 29.13 miles in 1 hour 54 minutes with an average speed of15.2 mph, interestingly all of the hills seemed a doddle, but overall the ride was hard work due to a very tough head wind on the normally nice down hill stretch from Devizes to Avebury so it was a hard pedal down hill!!!!

I stopped at Peddlers when I got to Calne, ordered up a frame pump for the new bike....and was told that the bike will now not be with me till mid January :-(...Ohh well at least I cant be tempted to use it over Christmas now....

Friday, November 28, 2008

Day 227

Night off, watching TV in front of the fire :-)

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Day 226

Turbo Trainer....

I was going to give myself an hour session, but after 45 minutes I was starting to feel seriously fatigued, to many late nights and early mornings this week? And I hadn't eaten anything So at 45 minutes (15.6 miles) I stopped, showered and ate.

Feeling a lot better now :-)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Day 225

Worked from home today,,,,,
I managed to get out at 11:30 and did my 'normal 25'

I did 25.08 miles in 1 hour 30 minutes with an average speed of 16.5 mph

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Day 224

Night Off, Played computer games ;-)

Monday, November 24, 2008

Day 223

Turbo Trainer

Had a 30 minute session on the Turbo, Warmed up, Plodded along, cooled down
Cycle computer showed 11.5 miles in 30 minutes (If only I could do that on the road!)

Finished of the evening shooting Zombies ;-) and putting my home made mincemeat into jars....

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Day 222 (Sunday)

Got up early and it was cold and pouring with rain. So like a lunatic I dressed up in winter warmer cycling stuff and topped it all of with waterproofs.

I did my 'normal 25', my legs were still aching from yesterday it was a real struggle! The rain was torrential (In fact so bad the computer stopped working for a few miles), I was cold! but I still thoroughly enjoyed it, arriving home with my now usual inane grin. How does that work?

So today I did 25 miles in an unknown time (It did feel like an age!) On arriving home I washed the bike, de-gunked the chain and re-oiled it.

Then spent most of the afternoon shooting Zombies with Russ in Left4Dead, before having to stop and cook tea...

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Day 221 (Saturday)

Got up and went for a lovely long walk at West Woods with wifey and Rosie (Dog)

Got back home and had some lunch and got changed (Put on loads of layers as it was cold out)
I have been wanting to cycle up to Bratton Camp for a long time but have not been able to summon up the courage to cycle up the hill.
But to day I finished of last weeks ride and made it up the hill (Didn't climb out of the saddle at all! and didn't stop - Not even when I got to the top!)

I cycled from Chippenham -> Corsham -> Box -> Bathford -> Bradford-on-Avon -> Trowbridge -> Hilperton Marsh -> Steeple Ashton -> Bratton -> Bratton Camp -> West Lavington -> Devizes -> Sandy Lane -> Chippenham (Route Here...)

I actually remembered to stop when I got to Box to take a picture of the entrance/exit of Box Tunnel

I also took some pictures from Bratton Camp.

The picture really doesn't to justice to the length and scale of the hill.

I did find todays ride VERY hard work again! I wonder if the lower temperature as an impact on fatigue? I am pretty certain it must do.

Today I cycled 51.84 miles in 3 hours 32 minutes with an average speed of 14.6 mph (And it was bloody cold! - and starting to get dark when I got home)

Friday, November 21, 2008

Day 220

Night Off.
Sat in front of fire and watched a film ;-)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Day 219

Turbo Trainer again...

Got home from work late :-(
Gave myself a tough 30 minutes, short warm-up 2 minutes then 25 minutes endurance training and finished of with 3 minute cool down.

Total time 28 minutes, distance covered 12 miles

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Day 218

WFH day today ;-)

Made all preparations to stop and go for cycle ride at 11:30, but didn't make it out until nearly 12,
as it was already a little late I didn't stop and buy a pump today! I did however do what is now becoming my 'normal 25', again I remained seated in the saddle for the massive monument hill climb ;-)

So today I did 25.01 miles in 1 hour 32 minutes with an average speed of 16.1 mph

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Day 217

Day off, Playing computer games.........Then installed some new games servers ;-)

Monday, November 17, 2008

Day 216

Didn't make it out for lunch walk today, it was precipitating heavily

So after my evening meal I went for a long tough turbo training session.

I did 21.1 miles in 1 hour with an obvious average speed of 21.1 mph.

I started with some hill climbing training and then when I got to the top and started down the other side I went for some endurance training, finishing off by continuing down the hill ;-)

When I got of the bike I was steaming, arms aching and tops of legs aching and I felt like I had enough.

Started planning the next cycle ride out with Dave and Joy, plan is to do a Warwick ride on 30th Nov (Proposed route here...), hopefully Marian and Nathan will be able to attend, it would be good to get everybody out together on the road.

I expect I will still be on the Dawes as the new bike isn't expected until December, The extra drag on the cyclo-cross tyres should slow me down a bit :-)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Day 215 (Sunday)

Pumped up tyre when I got back home yesterday, checked on it this morning and it was still up at 5 bar.

I borrowed the pump from Nathan's peugot and fitted it across the top tube, where it fits perfectly, So I think I will get a full size frame pump for the Dawes.

I set of on a repeat of last Sundays ride, Chippenham -> Calne -> Lyneham -> Sutton Benger -> Tytherton Lucas -> Monument Hill -> Stanley -> Chippenham

This time I took the camera!

I took a photy of the plaque on Maud Heaths Causeway

And a couple of photo's of the Causeway itself.


From the Causeway it was a massive climb up Monument Hill and I am REALLY happy as I made it up the hill without standing on the pedals (I sat in the saddle for the whole climb)

The down hill towards Stanley was taken gingerly as the road was very wet and a large amount of the local fields was in the centre of the road.

Today I cycled 25.17 miles in 1 hour 36 minutes with an average speed of 15.6 mph and a top speed of 36.5 mph

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Day 214 (Saturday)

Set of for cycle ride at 1pm.

Headed westerly for a change, Chippenhma -> Corsham -> Box -> Batheaston -> Kingsdown -> Wraxall -> Bradford on Avon -> Trowbridge and I was heading towards Keevil when I got a puncture :-( The slime tube worked perfectly, which is more than can be said for my micro pump...

I pulled a massive thorn out of the tyre and the freen slime sealed, I then went to pump the tyre up and broke the handle on the pump.

I called up wifey and she rescued me again!!!!

I will get a beter emergency pump in my favourite shop on Wednesday.

Today I did 25.86 miles with some chalenging hills before I was forced to give in.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Day 213

Night Off

Had a meal out with family, then chilled out in front of the fire ;-)

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Day 212

Was supposed to go to daughters school, but was let off ;-)

So after tea I got changed and had an hour session on the Turbo Trainer.

I did a hill climb, 5 minutes per gear from easy to tough and back again, covering 20 miles in 1 hour.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Day 211

Work from home day today.

I set of at 12pm on a first! I actually needed to use the bike to do some chores!

I set of towards Bumpers Farm industrial estate and picked up a parcel then on to Melksham via Corsham and Atworth to pick up our car from the garage, then it was a drive back home.

I cycled 16.92 miles in 59 minutes

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Day 210

Night Off......Played computer games

Monday, November 10, 2008

Day 209

Turbo Trainer

Got changed as soon as I got in from work and went straight on the Turbo Trainer for 30 minutes,
did a 5 minute warm up then spent 20 minutes trying to maintain as high a speed as possible, then I spent 5 minutes cooling down by spinning away in an easy gear.

The Computer shows 12 miles in 30 minutes with an average speed of 24 mph, watching the computer I guess that my average speed during the 20 minute session was about 28 mph with 100 rpm cadence

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Day 208 (Sunday)

Up early, normal Sunday house tidy then straight out on the bike.

There was an icy cold strong wind, so I thought I would go for a shorter '20' ride, I set of towards Calne then Lyneham, Then my chain fell off :-( I fitted it back on and adjusted the de-railer.
When I got to Sutton Benger I felt like going a bit further, so I turned right and headed towards Maud Heath's causeway and up the VERY punishing and steep Wick hill where a statue of Maud Heath can be seen.

(Photo from wiki, I didn't have my camera!)

Then It was down hill to Stanley and back to Chippenham.

A round trip of 25.12 miles that unfortunately took 1 hour 42 minutes to complete! (It was one hell of a headwind! and when I say Wick hill is steep it is! ) The route can be seen here...

On arrival back home I de-gunked the chain and gave the bike a wash, then applied some nice new oil to the chain, and gave the shiney metal bits a spray of WD-40.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Day 207 (Saturday)

Got up at a reasonable time, had porridge for breky, then went for a walk at West Wood's

On the way back home we stopped of at Peddlers and I bought some Cyclo-cross tyres and some slime inner tubes for the Dawes and ordered up the rest of the kit for the new bike (Scheduled delivery expected in December)

When we got back home I swapped out the slick tyres for the cyclo-cross tyres, had lunch, picked up the post (My thermal overshoes have turned up ;-) then set of for a cycle ride.

I had intended to do a white horse route that was published in Cycling Plus magazine, however due to the 1pm start and the expected 88 miles, I decided to shorten the ride but still take in all of the white horses ;-)

The route I ended up doing is here...

I set of on the familiar ride to Calne and then on to Cherhill were the first white horse was seen...

I then headed through Avebury then headed on for a couple of miles and turned right at Broad Hinton where the second white horse could be seen.

From here it was a tough climb up the hill then onto Marlborough and then Pewsey, at Pewsey it was a right turn to Wilcot where I saw an unscheduled white horse.

Alton Priors the third 'proper' white horse was visible.

Then it was on to Devizes and the fourth white horse.

And then it was straight on to Chippenham and home.

I must plan my rides a little better, by the time I got back home it was starting to get dark.

Today I cycled 52.59 miles in 3 Hours 20 minutes with an average speed of 15.7 mph and a top speed of 44 mph.

I didnt find the extra drag of the wider cyclo-cross tyres to noticeable, but the over shoes were fantastic ;-) Interestingly I had NO sign of knee problems but I did find my upper legs ached a little.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Day 206

Turbo Trainer again....

This time before I ate ;-)

Did 30 minutes and covered 11 miles average speed 22.6 mph and top speed 38.2 mph

Just got on bike, warmed up then went to outer chain ring and middle rear sprocket, when it started to get to easy I changed up gears, and when it started to get to difficult I changed back down gears ;-) I was attempting to maintain a high cadence under varying loads.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Day 205

Worked from Home again today.

Managed to stop for lunch this time! and set of on my 'normal 20', and it felt cold!

For some strange reason I did find it hard work today? even though there appeared to be very little wind.

I did 21.61 miles in 1 hour 17 minutes with an average speed of 16.6 mph

When I got back my feet were freezing, but I was sweating.... I suppose I must just get used to it :-(

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Day 204

Turbo Trainer!

I was a little to busy to get out at lunch time so I had a 30 minute session on the turbo trainer instead.

Perhaps I should have had a longer break between eating tea and getting on the bike! I ended up curtailing the intended hour session due to a stitch ;-(

The stats for today are.

10.5 miles in 30 minutes
average speed 20.4 mph.

I did 5 minutes per gear up through the gears.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Day 203

Night off, Computer games!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Day 202

To busy to go on the Turbo Trainer!

Ohhhh that's almost a first!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Day 201 (Sunday)

Took a lot of motivation to get out today! but ounce I got going I sort of regretted opting for a 20 mile ride, perhaps I should have gone a bit further?

The bike ran well, I am starting to think that perhaps the small buckle may have been there a while? and it was picking up on the brake blocks!

Any way I forced myself out on my 'normal 20' and when I got back I played on the xbox for a while, then cooked cider boiled honey roast ham for tea ;-)

So today I did 21.59 miles in 1 hour 18 mins with an average speed of 16.4 mph

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Day 200 (Saturday)

Well today was cold.....no VERY cold!

I wrapped up in thermals and set of on my 'normal 30', I did have delusions of attempting 50 but the frozen feet of the first 18 miles saw an end to that!

I noticed that my back wheel had gone out of true, I pulled over expecting to find a broken spoke, but on inspection found no such thing so I continued on :-) (More about this later!)

I worked last week instead of taking the half term of as usual so that I could buy the much wanted new bike, my intention was always to see what the local shop would offer then try Evans in Bristol, So I stopped in peddlers in calne on the return leg, and I said 'I want a road bike with 105 chain set that will be able to take me on JOGLE with gears to suit', and I was made an offer that was VERY reasonable on a Merida 904-20 2009 model :-), So I have payed a deposit ;-)

Now when I got home I took the back wheel out of the Dawes ready to take it to the shop to be trued up, I normaly give the wheel a good clean before taking it and during the clean I found why the wheel buckled! It has had a structural failure of the rim ;-(


So I swapped the cassett, tube and tyre onto the spare wheel we bought a couple of months ago, and I'm afraid the Alex 18 rim is destined for the bin (Although I may still try a warranty replace)

So today I cycled 29.21 miles, froze!, bought a new bike, and replaced the back wheel on the Dawes.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Day 199

Due to munching peanuts most of the afternoon I thought it was probably a good idea to have another turbo trainer session.

So today I did another 30 minute session 5 minutes easy spin 20 minutes hard graft and 5 minutes easy spin to cool down.

Total elapsed distance 10.5 miles

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Day 198

Turbo trainer again......

11.4 miles in 32 minutes, with 21.2 mph average speed

The office was 18 degrees when I started and the thermometer showed 20 degrees!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Day 197

Work from home day today ;-)

Stopped working at 11:30 and went for my first really cold ride.

I dressed up in my winter woollies and set of on my 'normal 20'

I did 21.58 miles in 1 hour 16 minutes with an average speed of 16.8 mph.

On the plus side I have manage to tweak the right hand cleat round a bit ;-) and it did actually appear to make a difference ;-)

As far as the cold, the thermometer had the temperature at 11 degrees so not exactly freezing, but darn my feet got cold!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Day 196

Day off....Played computer games

Monday, October 27, 2008

Day 195

Turbo Trainer

Did some more hill training, 5 minutes in each gear climbing up the hill then 5 minutes in a couple of gears down the hill and finally a 5 minute cool down.

Total ride time of 45 minutes.

The computer stats are....

14.9 miles
19.6 mph average speed
42.7 mph top speed

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Day 194 (Sunday)

Marian, Joy, Dave and myself went on a group ride, route here...

The weather unfortunately was a bit wet, and not so warm :-(

The ride through Calne, Avebury and Marlborough was wet but uneventful, I was however still riding along at my own pace! which is possibly (Definitely) to quick....

When we got to Marlborough it was a tough climb up to Savernake Forest. Then a right turn towards Pewsey then Alton Priors and then lunch at Honey Street ;-)



After lunch there was a concerted effort to slow the pace down, and we actually appeared to cycle a little more as a group.

When we got to Rowde Marian picked up a puncture and had slowed down a little, thankfully we had noticed that she had dropped of the back and stopped in a wide gateway, Marian limped around the corner with an almost flat tire, Dave saved the day by swapping the inner tube with a spare and re-inflating the tyre.

After the roadside repair the rest of the journey back to Chippenham was uneventful.

My right knee pain made a re-appearance and Dave has noticed that my right hand cleat is not aligned correctly. He suggests that the heal is towing in by about a centimetre.

Today we cycled 51.78 miles with a ride time of 3 hours 45 minutes.

It was a very worthwhile experience again ;-)

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Day 193 (Saturday)

My birthday.......

Woke up early, went for a lovely walk in West Wood's



When we got back, I had soup, then went for a cycle ride.

I opted for my 'normal 20' and it was very hard work, there was a very strong headwind.

I did 21.6 miles in 1 hour 16 min with an average speed of 16.8 mph

Friday, October 24, 2008

Day 192

Day off

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Day 191

Turbo again.....

Thought I would have a bit of a change of strategy today, did a 5 minute warm up in a nice low easy gear, then changed up on the front and middle cog on the back and peddled away for 20 minutes maintaining a high cadence (and speed) then settled back down in an easy gear and cooled down for 5 minutes

According to the cycle computer I did 9.5 miles in 29.37 minutes with an Average speed of 19.2 mph.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Day 190

Worked at home today.
Unfortunately I got absorbed into work and didn't make it out at lunchtime ;-(

So after tea I spent an hour (Yes a whole hour!) on the turbo trainer, due to popular demand (Ray) I have moved the computer transmitter from the stationary front wheel to the very dynamic back wheel and will now add the Turbo statistics to the statistics panel. Unfortunately the computer did not receive a signal from the transmitter when on the handlebars so I had to remove it and put it on the floor near the back wheel, this meant that just over 2 minutes of stats were not captured.

It was very interesting to see that I actually do just over 20 mph whilst going nowhere!

Any way here's what I did today (Note I actually did an hour but the computer was on the handlebars for just over 2 minutes and it didn't work)

Cycle Time (Computer) 58 minutes
Distance 19.7 miles
Average Speed 20.2 mph
Maximum Speed 35.4 mph

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Day 189

Turbo Trainer.....

Got in from work, changed and jumped straight on to the Turbo Trainer.
Warmed up for 2 minutes then 2 minutes per gear for the first four gears (easiest) then 5 minutes per gear on the last 3 and finally cooled down for 5 minutes.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Day 188

Night off

Left for work in the dark...got home in the dark....I hate the winter!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Day 187 (Sunday)

Got up early, stoked the fire up and sat in front of it....nice cosy and warm...

Eventually moved and tidied up. Then I braved the icy cold outside and went for a ride on the mountain bike to Avebury and back, along the cycle way.

The cycle way has the best view of Cherhill White Horse and Monument

Some of the cycle way proved VERY interesting to navigate.

When I got to Avebury I did not relish the idea of cycling back up hill across the fields to get to Yatesbury so I opted to cycle on the main road past Silbury Hill and on Up the A4, Turning back onto the Byway at Yatesbury.

Then it was downhill all the way to Calne, were I followed the Wilts Berks Canal for a couple of yards...

Because the canal is not complete there is no boat traffic to keep the duck weed at bay and it looks very green..

From Calne it was back onto the familiar cycle way home.

Today I cycled 31.7 miles on the mountain bike, I haven't been on the mountain bike for quite some time and I found the whole exercise quite a lot slower than I am now used to....But it was FUN and I really enjoyed it....