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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

30th September 2009

Worked from home today:-)

Had to take the car for major maintenance at the garage, so I loaded the bike in the back of the car, dropped the keys of, unloaded the bike and cycled home...It was early morning rush hour and the traffic was pants...but I was going faster than it :-)

I ended up doing a zigzag route home to avoid the major roads and stay on the safer country lanes...

The Garmin had the ride as 18.1 miles in 1 hour 7 Minutes with an Average speed of 16 mph, GPS trace can be found here..

I didn't stop for lunch at all...I stopped at 4:40 to pick the car up, I again avoided the main roads wherever possible but I needed to be at the Garage for just after 5 so I put a fair bit of haste in my journey...

The Garmin had the ride as 9.86 miles in 33 minutes, GPS trace here...

When I got back home I ate a lovely Spag Bol then set of on a pre-cycle club ride....
As the evenings are now getting very dark and cold, I thought I would try out the new warm overshoes and hat from Aldi...I also thought it was about time I started using the back-light on the Garmin Edge!...I cant really use not being able to see the computer as an excuse!

I didn't have a great deal of time as I set of at 6:30 and the club starts at 7:30. So I set of out on a flat quick ride...Then I changed my mind and headed up Bencroft Hill (1:6) ...

The Garmin had the ride as 12.99 miles in 47 minutes with an average speed of 16.3 mph, GPS trace here..

As I was showing the Edge to somebody at the cycle club I stopped the current ride ...so The ride home was tracked as another ride...

1.8 miles in 7 minutes with an average speed of 14.8 mph. GPS trace here...

The total distance ridden today was 42.75 miles...

The stats for September are...

Distance:902.81 mi
Time:52:05:18 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:40,386 ft
Avg Speed:17.3 mph
Max Speed:45.6 mph
Calories:69,641 C

Hmmm shame I am 98 miles from target distance this month......Must try harder in October!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

29th September 2009

Worked late again!!!! When I got home I sorted out the bike lights on the Merida then got changed ready to go for a nice 25...

Son then decided tonight would be the night that he wanted to use his new (I bought it from Nathan) bike, and I had to sort out some lights for him.....eventually I got going!

It got very dark and very cold quickly! I headed out on the planned 25 mile quiet route, but instead of heading back to East Tytherton on the return I headed straight back to Chippenham on the main road (It was getting late and everybody was waiting for me for tea).

The Lights performed flawlessly again :-)

The Garmin had the route as 23.33 miles in 1 hour 16 minutes with an average speed of 18.4 mph, the GPS track can be found here...

It is getting a lot harder work to get the speed up as I am starting to wear more clothes(Its getting colder!) and it is difficult to push myself to go faster as I can't actually see the computer now as its dark!

It also looks like I will be working on Sunday :-( I am trying to see how I can fit a days work in and still go for a 50 mile + ride....One option would be to cycle to work but I am not sure if it would be wise to cycle 70 miles do a days work then cycle home......Perhaps I may actually have to take Sunday off cycling in favour of working....


Ohhh came across a new metal band today.......ALESTORM Pirate Metal :-)

Monday, September 28, 2009

28th September 2009

Worked late :-( Didn't get home until gone 7, cooked tea with wifey..

To late and to tired to go for a cycle ride :-(

Sunday, September 27, 2009

27th September 2009 (Sunday)

Got up early, dressed up warm - it was bloody cold out! Made some nice warm porridge for breakfast.

I set of towards Wavin for the 9:30 start...

We set off following the route sheet and naturally split up into various groups, I of course turned it into a race again!!!! (Until it came to the hills and I reminded everybody it wasn't a race :-)

The route was fantastic and the weather was perfect, although to start of with it was cold! By the time we had climbed Broad Town hill I had a good sweat on! We joined the A4361 at Winterbourne Bassett and had the most fantastic sprint to Avebury, I was in front for most of the sprint, but as I started to tire Richard passed in front and I slotted in behind and slipstreamed and the pace picked up again :-)

At Avebury we turned left onto the A4 for a short stretch then right onto the back roads towards Alton, there is quite a long drawn out hill before a fantastic descent into Alton, I took the opportunity to take a photo of the rest of the group

Unfortunately sweaty cloaths and camera don't mix to well!

We stopped at the Garden Centre at Woodborough where I treated myself to a Bacon Sarnie and shared a large pot of tea.

We followed the route sheet back as far as Blacklands then deviated for a pleasant ride through Headington, Stockley and a Fast descent back into Chippenham from Sandy Lane.

I have REALLY enjoyed this weekend's club rides, nice fast pace and an excellent route today, all I need to do is loose a bit more weight and climb the hills a bit faster, but with the people I ride with to spur me on that should not be a problem!

The Garmin had today's ride as 53.61 miles in 3 hours 2 minutes (Ride time) with an average speed of 17.6 mph, the GPS trace can be found here...

On a different note I finished the woodwork and painting on the fireplace yesterday evening, after I got showered and changed today I did the finishing touches to the trim - all we need now is the ashpan and ashpan cover to turn up...

Saturday, September 26, 2009

26th September 2009 (Saturday)

Went straight out to Chippenham Cemetery for the chain gang start (9:30) , there was quite a lot of people today so we split in to 2 groups.

It was so much better! A nice constant speed, no braking constantly...

I did have a slight issue keeping up on one of the hills but it was short and sharp and I soon re-grouped, I think it may have been the fastest and most enjoyable chain gang I have done - Including the ride from and to home the Garmin had the ride as 40.75 miles in 2 hours 1 minute with an average speed of 20.1 mph, the GPS trace can be found here...

On the way back home I was keeping a good pace with Richard Buckley (About 22-23 mph) All I did was drop down onto the Aero Bars and I shot of ahead at least 1 to 2 mph faster with NO extra effort :-), it is the first time I have actually been able to see what a dramatic difference the bars make.

Now spending an enjoyable??? afternoon finishing of the fireplace...

Friday, September 25, 2009

25th September 2009

Drove home in the sun, got home and it was starting to get dark :-(...

Cooked tea with wifey then set about cleaning the bike in preparation for the weekend.

Did a 'proper' job! chain off de-grease, cassette strip down and cleaned all the gunk off!

This has probably been the longest time the bike has not been cleaned, nearly 3 weeks! The chain was in desperate need of a lube, and I cant bring myself to put oil on a dirty chain...

Thursday, September 24, 2009

24th September 2009

Got in, got changed, went out on bike...

Tried out the new route, but decided flat was for girls so started of climbing 1:6 Bencroft Hill then thought I may as well carry on to Charlcutt, by then I needed the lights so I lit the world up :-)

When I got to Dauntsey it was proper dark and the lights are awesome! I could cycle along at 20mph + with no worries, even the approaching cars acknowledged I was there and dipped their lights :-)

As I drew back round to Tytherton Lucas the twin lights low battery came on, it would appear that the advertised 1 hour 3o of daylight was accurate! I think that the 5 watts on its own may actually suffice.

The Cateye LED was bright enough to see me safe on the last mile or so of journey...

The cycle computer had the ride as 26.21 miles in 1 hour 29 with an average speed of 17.6 mph, the GPS track can be found here...

The whole riding in the dark thing does take some getting used to, but its a whole lot more fun than sitting on the turbo trainer!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

23rd September 2009

Worked from home today...

Managed to get out at lunchtime for a quick ride, decided to take the Peugeot out as the weather looked a bit changeable.

I had a stonking ride on it! What a difference a road bike makes after the rough terrain of the last couple of days!

I decided to take a reasonably flat but high speed route out, I started out on the chain-gang route then switched to the 10 mile TT route then returned home on the last leg of my 'Normal 20' ride, It was fantastic and had very little main road on it.

Total distance was 23.51 miles in 1 hour 12 minutes with an average speed of 19.4 mph. GPS track can be found here...

I think a variation of this ride (With less main roads) will become my winter training ride...(Quiet25)

After tea I fitted the new lights to the Merida...

The twin lights each have an independent switch...

With the Cateye (New replacement turned up today from Wiggle) and the twin headlights I have loads of light :-)


At 6:15 I set of on a pre cycle club cycle ride :-) I headed out on the same route I did at lunchtime (with the intention of setting a benchmark time for the course)...Boy what a difference the Merida and Aero Bars make to the ride...

As I got to Sutton Benger I came across another cyclist coming from Dauntsey direction he turned into Sutton Lane as well, we passed pleasantries and realised we were both heading for Chippenham and both heading for the Chippenham Wheelers pre-AGM meeting, I tucked down and started cycling with haste - He sat on my back wheel...

As the elevation started to rise I slowed down and he overtook and I sat on his back wheel - Slipstreaming is great :-)

When we got to the cycle club I was wringing wet and stank!

During the meeting I found myself volunteering to run the Open 25 mile TT on the 18th July 2010 - Nobody else seemed interested and they needed a name by Sunday.

After the meeting I had the first chance to try the new lights out, the Cateye was sufficient before the meeting. WOW they are perfect, the Cateye gives the very bright focused light and the twin headlights give a more general light to dissolve the shadows - I think I now have a working light solution that is easily transferred between bikes!

The evening ride was 25.96 miles in 1 hour 20 minutes with an average speed of 19.4 mph, GPS trace here...

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

22nd September 2009

Ohhh didn't get home until late, when I got home I got distracted...had to raise a ticket with one of my email providers...pop3 and smtp has been failing authentication since yesterday lunchtime.

I eventually kicked myself into action and was in two minds whether to go out or not, then as I contemplated it I realised if I didn't go out I would just sit on my arse and do nothing!

I changed into cycling gear...I used the new cycling trousers wifey picked up from Aldi and headed out on the Lacock cycle-way only a 9 mile route but again actually quite hard work due to the terrain!

As I was tearing through the track on my way back I came to the realisation that I was going faster than I could actually see.....damn cycling with poor lights is pants!

Hopefully my wiggle replacement will turn up soon...

I was contemplating making my own lights, making a water bottle battery cell seemed easy enough, and powering a couple of low voltage Halogen's was equally a good idea, but how to mount the Halogens and water proofing it all seemed to much like hard work! I stumbled across Electron EHP315 Twin 5w-10W from Chain Reaction...And ordered a set on Friday...It has arrived today and seems to be really good quality, I am currently charging up the battery, I am going to give it a try tomorrow night.

Tonight's cycle ride was 9.05 miles in 39 minutes with an average speed of13.9 mph (Damn all those gates!) the gps track can be found here...

Monday, September 21, 2009

21st September 2009

Got home from work at a reasonable time :-)

Hmmm No lights on any of the road bikes :-( Although Wiggle are amazing, they have refunded the postage for returning the light and have dispatched a replacement :-) Thank you Wiggle

I decided to take the Dawes Hybrid down to Black Dog Halt and back on the Chippenham/Calne cycle-way, it does at least have a Halogen light.

The Sun still had plenty of warmth in it.

When given a choice of what bike to take out I would always opt for the road bike, but when I do eventually take the Hybrid out down the cycle-ways I always enjoy it, and start questioning myself why I don't use it more often!

The cycleway runs down the route of the GWR Calne branch line, but in places is no more than a gravel farm track.

I did 5 miles then turned around and stopped at Black Dog and took a few pictures...


I really like the access road gateway, it is a very clever design...

After the photos I headed on home, the Garmin had the ride as 10.11 miles in 40 minutes with an average speed of 15 mph, the GPS track can be found here...

Now it was only 10 miles but when I got back home I was drenched in sweat and felt like I had done 20, the rougher terrain does take it out of you, you have to keep the pressure on otherwise you slow down...Not like the road bikes where you can back off a bit and still roll.

I think I may well take the Hybrid out for a longer ride, there's a nice 50 mile off road loop route I can take :-)

Sunday, September 20, 2009

20th September 2009 (Sunday)

Up early, changed straight into cycle gear then milled around the house for a while....got side tracked then set of for the CDW Sunday ride at 9:15, the start point was Chippenham rugby club and it takes about 15 minutes to get there and the ride was supposed to start at 9:30.

None of the 'Fast' people were there this week :-( I set of from the rugby club at my 'normal' pace and suddenly found that nobody was behind me, dilemma....do I continue and be a Billy no mates, stop and wait for somebody to catch up or turn around and join up with them? As I slowed down to contemplate this important question I came across a cyclist walking down the road towards me (I guess that should be a walker pushing a bike towards me!) I stopped and asked if he was ok...

He had a puncture and carried no tools or spare inner tube, as I always carry two I gave him one of them, making me feel good that I had helped out a person in need, it also solved my dilemma of what to do about the 'group' ride that I had turned into a loan ride, the faster group of 3 had caught up with me and I tagged on with them.....In front :-)

I actually used the route sheet this week! I used the Aero Bars as a map holder again...

I thought I was setting a reasonable pace, but apparently it was a little quick, so I dropped back and started following the leader...

This week there was no planned cafe, so we chose one when we got to Tetbury, it was VERY expensive...£5.95 for a pot of tea and a slice of Carrot Cake!

For a change we followed the route sheet back, I just rode at my own fair pace without worrying to much about others.

The roads were fantastic, and the weather was awesome.

At Hullavington I decided to divert from the route sheet and head straight back to Chippenham.

Then I changed my mind as the weather was so nice and I was enjoying myself, I ended up doing another 15 miles instead of the 3 or so to get back home! Only cycling can make you desire a long cut!

On my way back home there is a really dangerous traffic calming feature, that sets the cars against each other head on, there is supposed to be a priority and give way involved but it just does not work, today I had a complete idiot with more money than brains try and take me off my bike head on in his Subaru, shame I didn't get his registration number.

The Garmin had the ride as 51.48 miles in 3 hours 8 mins with an average speed of 16.4 mph, the gps trace can be found here...

When I got back home I showered, changed ate lunch then set about refinishing the wall around the fireplace.

A couple of years ago I came across Wickes ready mix patching plaster, it is awesome stuff really easy to use and even I can get it smooth!

Now all I need to do is let it all set then fit the new bits of Dado, Skirting Board and re-paint...easy :-)

Ohhh I also need to re-grout the slate tiles on the10
hearth and re-seal them...

We noticed that the ashpan cover was missing from the fireplace today :-( lets hope the supplier wont be to difficult about it.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

19th September 2009 (Saturday)

Got up early, put cycling gear straight on, then mixed up some mortar and pointed in some of the fire place brick work.

I also took a picture of the hole in the old fire back.


Had breakfast then tinkered with the bike a bit, the gears had played up last Sunday. When I backed of the front and rear cable tension adjusters the cable was REALLY slack, I tightened it then re-set up the gears.

At 9:20 I headed of for the CDW chain gang, it started of at a really fast pace, and I still had a bit of a stomach ache :-( It was also NOT very smooth riding.

I tried to spend as much time on the small chain ring as possible, and it sort of worked.

There was a bit of an incident about a 1/3 of the way round the route and a couple of guys fell off, after that everything appeared to settle down and smooth out.

Because I still had chores to do I did not dilly around getting home..

The Garmin had the ride as 41.4 miles in 2 hours 4 minutes with an average speed of 19.9 mph, the route can be found here...

When I got back home I showered, changed then went back to the fireplace.

I started out by cleaning the slate tiles on the hearth with a rotary wire brush, then fitted the fire surround in place.

I then set about back filling the fireplace with a vermiculite, sand, cement mix

Finally I capped it of with a 4 to 1 Sand, Cement mix, I was going to do the plastering today as well but it took longer to back fill than planed.

Plan is now to go for cycle tomorrow morning, plaster in the afternoon then re-decorate Monday evening.

Friday, September 18, 2009

18th September 2009

Woke up and had an awful stomach ache, went to work anyway and ended up working late :-(

Got home and although still got a stomach ache I forced myself to eat.

Plan was not to cycle tonight anyway...But start the weekend's project of replacing the fireplace (I only fitted it 2 years ago, but it was a cheap one from ebay and the fire-back has cracked and blown through)

I did fit it to last, but at least I knew where I had concealed all of the fittings!
I started of removing the fire surround, then the cast iron insert - revealing the builders hole.


Then it was a simple job of cleaning out the vermiculite and rubble...


Not bad, started at 7:30 finished by 9:15 :-)

Plan is to cycle in the morning and fit the new fireplace tomorrow afternoon.
Then if all goes to plan ride Sunday morning and do the painting and tarting up in the afternoon.

Mustn't let house chores get in the way of cycling!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

17th September 2009

Night off, Played computer games..

Had to fix the game server before anybody else could join it....Power supply had failed.

Light has been returned to Wiggle today....

Wifey bought me some new winter cycling kit from Aldi today :-)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

16th September 2009

I have had a really pants day!

I did manage to get out for a short ride at lunchtime, just 12 miles - it did allow me to let of some steam and calm down a bit.

I did'nt push myself at all but just plodded along and enjoyed the countryside and calmed down.

The Garmin had the ride as 12.37 miles in 44 minutes with an average speed on 16.6 mph the GPS track can be found here...

I had planned to go to the Chippenham and District Wheelers club night tonight as there was no TT's any more, I thought I would go there indirectly and enjoy the last bit of daylight.

I swapped the new Cateye EL320 light on to the Peugeot road bike and the foot on the bottom of the light disintegrated!

Pretty bad for a 12 day old light that has'nt been abused! I have initiated a Wiggle return...

The light still fitted securely to the mount so I headed of in the same direction I did at lunchtime, but instead of returning home I headed towards the club meet, I did ban myself from using the large chain ring in the hope of increasing my cadence.

The club meeting was actually quite good, I chatted with a few people, It appears that the long Sunday ride was a great success and the club will plan some more :-)

The Garmin had the evening ride as 14.56 miles in 55 minutes with an average speed of 15.6 mph, the GPS track can be found here...

I also registered for the New Forest 100 sportive - on the 11th October, the 100 mile route of course! I have cycle through the New Forest before and it is fantastic, the route looks really good.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

15th September 2009

I have been feeling completely run down and tired ALL day, I think it may be wise to have a bit of a rest this evening.

It could well be that I am a summer person and hate dark nights and dark mornings, I always feel tired during the winter.....I think I may be solar powered.

May actualy sit down and watch a film tonight......

Monday, September 14, 2009

14th September 2009

Got home at a reasonable time, got changed and started wheeling the bike out of the door and noticed the back tyre was flat :-( I had cycled over quite a lot of glass yesterday but thought I had got away with it!

I lifted the almost impossibly tight tyre of the rim and partially removed the tube, gave it a few pumps of air but the leak was so small I had to take the tube out completely and immerse it in water.

I found the leak then had to reassure myself that the tyre did not have a lump of sharp thing in it.

That's why I line the logo up with the valve :-)

It was simply a case of lining the valve up with the logo and the puncture hole in the tube revealed the suspect area on the tyre, it looked like the lump of sharp thing had sliced the tyre in an area not protected by the puncture proof band!

So after a 15 minute delay of faffing around I eventually got going on my 'Normal 20'

It was complete pants! Don't believe what the met office said...
1800 Medium-level Cloud 15.8 °C N 10 mph 45 km 1025 hPa, Falling
1900 Sunny intervals 14.6 °C N 10 mph 40 km 1025 hPa, Falling
It was a 360 degree 20 mph wind...My intention was NOT to race around the route but I wasn't expecting the struggle!

Everything was really hard work! I did try a different technique on the hills, I tried to change down gear and spin up them - It didn't work for me...YET (The intention is to ride on only the small chain ring for a while....As we say down here "that'l learn me")

The normally fast stretches from Pewsham to Derry Hill and Calne to High Penn were slow! Calne to Lyneham because of the direct head wind! All the hills were tough as my legs were still a little tired from yesterday.

The Garmin had the ride as 21.26 miles in 1 hour 12 minutes! with an average speed of 17.6 mph (Shocking!) The GPS track can be found here...

Today was my first ride since the winter in cycle trousers, Its starting to get very cold after the sun has gone down...Perhaps I can blame the poor performance on the long legs and sleeves of the jacket and trousers, although common sense would probably dictate that it is fatigue from the weekend and the northerly wind on a route that favours south easterly winds.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

13th September 2009 (Sunday)

Had a really bad nights sleep, woke up tired!

I set of from home on the Merida at 7:50 to get to Castle Combe for 8:30, I dressed for a 23 degree day, but at 7:50 it was definitely NOT 23 degrees! Once I started moving I had warmed up nicely :-)

I got to Castle Combe at 8:15 and spent the next 15 minutes cooling down, just as I was about to start shivering we set off :-)

I really didn't know what to expect, it turned out to be a rather pleasantly paced chain gang experience :-)

The first 25 miles (including the ride from home) was up hill :-( then the best descent you could ever wish for....700 feet in 3 miles....

The first 40 miles were on either B roads or on nice quiet country lanes with next to no traffic, once we got to Gloucester and the busy roads we travelled along the cycle paths.

After the 40 mile point we were climbing again to the 60 mile point, then a descent to the lunch stop...The Forest of Dean Heritage Centre. I treated myself to a mug of tea, bacon sandwich and a can of coke. The sun was out and it was perfect :-)

Our choice of parking could have been a little better :-)


At the 74 mile point we had our first glimpse of the Severn Bridge...It was a perfect view of the bridge down a wooded valley, although it was still nearly 20 miles away!


When I stopped to take the photo everybody else continued on....It didn't take long to catch them up though!

When we started the ride there were about 20 of us, at this point we were down to about 15...

It was another massive descent from the point I took the picture, then another tough climb (The Garmin had it as 850 feet in 5 miles)

I was then back on familiar territory and it was a quick blat over the old Severn Bridge (M48 - when they built it they also included cycle lanes/paths as they closed the ferry crossing)

Once over the bridge I needed a pee stop so pulled over and everybody else raced on. It did give me a chance to stretch my legs out and use the Aero Bars for a change of position and catch them up. (By this time we were down to 8)

My legs were now starting to feel the affects of all the climbing, although I can cycle ALL day, the first thing that starts to get me is the speed of hill climbs - I still think its because I do not spin up them but power up them in to high a gear, at 100+ miles it starts to have a detrimental effect on my speed!

By now I had completely run out of water, so made the suggestion that we ought to stop at the next convenient place for a fluids top up.

We stopped at a garage just out side Yate and filled up the water bottles with nice chilled water, I added a freebie (with a magazine) Zero tab to both bottles and took a nice swig of the cold stuff :-)

It was then plain sailing back to Castle Combe.... I didn't stop but continued on the 5 miles home...

The Garmin had the ride as 123.39 miles in 7 hours 26 minutes with an average speed of 16.6 miles (The elapsed time was 9 hours 14! damn lunch time, and group riding does unfortunately mean stopping!) The GPS track can be found here...

Ohhhhhh I have cycled OVER 7000 miles this year! :-) Lets see if I can do 9000 this year?

Saturday, September 12, 2009

12th September 2009 (Saturday)

Got up and went straight ot on the Chippenham Wheelers chain gang...

It was quite a good pace today :-) The sun was out and it was really nice...I returned back home via Lacock and over Naish Hill..

The Garmin had the ride as 45.68 miles in 2 hours 20 minutes with an average speed of 19.5 mph (Prior to Naish Hill it was 20.4 mph) The GPS trace can be found here...

When I got back home I sat showered and changed in shorts an T then chilled out in the Sun for a while.

I did have plans for doing an oil change on the cars...But I really didn't feel like it, so I pootled around in the garden all afternoon cleaning and fiddling with bikes :-) I added a bikes post to the blog as well...here... and on the stats page.

Just after 5 wifey n me went for a doggie cycle ride and food out in Lacock :-)

Whilst at the pub the sun was highlighting some fantastic colours on the trees.

Unfortunately it was dark by the time we got back home :-(

But a fantastic sunny day :-) and tomorrow is forecast to be some of the same :-)

The Garmin had the evening ride as 7.66 miles in 56 minutes with an average speed of 8.1 mph, The GPS trace can be found here...

Friday, September 11, 2009

11th September 2009

Got home late :-(

Decided I was going to go out for a cycle ride anyway! put on a black cycle top because I was going to wear a high-viz jacket over the top...Then forgot to put the jacket on!

I headed of on my 'Normal 20' with the intention of cracking 21 mph again, I also wanted to 'improve' my hill speed a little by not winding down into grind mode.

It was a reasonable NE wind.
1900 Medium-level Cloud 16.8 °C NE 10 mph
25 km 1034 hPa, Falling
2000 Medium-level Cloud 14.5 °C NNE 8 mph
35 km 1034 hPa, Falling

By the time I got to Lyneham - 10 miles it was getting to dark for me to see the cycle computer and I really couldn't be bothered to fiddle about and turn the back light on- So I just kept pushing myself...

After Lyneham I turned out of the head wind and things started to feel a little easier and faster ;-)

Then Chippenham town centre happened again! I was slowed down by cars again!

The end result was 21.28 miles in 1 hour 1 minute with an average speed of 20.9 mph, the GPS track can be found here...

I did find the air temperature noticeably colder when the sun went down...soon going to need the long sleeve tops and cycling trousers out :-(

On the plus side the front light on the bike was perfect in the dark :-)

Thursday, September 10, 2009

10th September 2009

Night Off, Played computer games...

Also fitted smaller saddle bag to Peugeot bike, swapped pumps over and added another water bottle cage to the Merida, forecast is for HOT weather on Sunday and I want to carry loads of fluid!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

9th September 2009

WFH day today :-)

Part 1...

Managed to get out on the bike at lunchtime for a nice easy ride :-)

IT'S SUMMER AGAIN :-)




I didn't want to push to hard as it is the cycle club hill climb TT tonight, on the other hand I didn't want to sit on my arse all day in my office either!

I opted for a nice flat ride around the country lanes.

The cycle computer had the ride as 17.39 miles in 59 minutes, The GPS track can be found here...

Part 2....

I set of for the Hill climb TT at 5:30 taking a leisurely non hilly ride to the event.

I took a couple of photo's of the hill....

It starts of very easy

Then kicks up to a 1:6 at the top... so you have no speed to carry you through the steep gradient.

I stopped half way up the hill and took the photo above and looked back down the hill for the photo below.


The hill climb course is relatively short less than half a mile.

But it as stated above it is 1:6 and the gradient starts shallow and kicks up at the top a bit like a ski jump.


I have absolutely NO idea how quickly I cycled up it, I just went up it like I normally do! I have been reading a few articles recently on hill climbing and may well try and change my brute force approach over the winter!

Needles to say I turned up I paid my money and I cycled up a hill that I have cycled up 100's of times before. It was interesting to see how many people didn't turn up that normally do on the flat TT's, it was equally interesting and really quite nice to see how many people turned up to watch!

The fastest gut up the hill did it in 1 minute 30 seconds ish, looking at the Garmin trace I did it in about 2 minutes, But as I have always said I can get up almost any Hill (1:4 causes an issue) but at my own pace!

The Hill climb was good fun but was all a little to short! But the weather was excellent, I ended up climbing the hill about 3 times before the evening was out :-)

The Hill climb gps trace including the ride back down and up the hill and the journey home can be found here..

Ohh the total mileage for the evening was 11.19 miles (quite pleased I went out at lunchtime now!)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

8th September 2009

Got home late :-(

Got changed and went out on the bike. Tomorrow night is the last cycle club TT of the year and it is a 'special' its a hill climb :-) so I thought I would go out and get some hill climb practice!

I set of out of Chippenham towards Lacock on the main roads, but it was still reasonably light so the cars were sensible! I cycled up Naish Hill across Derry Hill with the intention of going down Charlcutt and back up Wick Hill (The site of tomorrow's TT), unfortunately by the time I got to Bremhill it was already getting to late so I decided to head straight home.

Now it was getting dark and I have noticed something...Cars don't give way to bikes at night! During daylight hours cars will slow down and give room to bicycles, they will give way at junctions...but at night even if you wear dayglow clothes and have megawatt lights you must be invisible!

I think in reduced light it may actually be safer to ride on the main roads than it is the country lanes...

Tonight's ride was 13.84 miles in 52 minutes with 976 feet of climb, the GPS track can be found here...

Monday, September 7, 2009

7th September 2009

Got home at a very reasonable time, got changed and went straight out on the bike for my 'Normal 20' ride.

I had the lights on and wore my wind proof high-viz jacket with the arms removed (in vest mode), I got to hot! and it didn't get dark!

Just as I was thinking the dark ages of winter were here we end up back in summer!

There was a moderate SSW wind that helped push the speed up on the already fast bit of the ride from Calne to Lyneham.

1800 Medium-level Cloud 19.1 °C SSW 8 mph 40 km 1018 hPa, Rising
1900 Medium-level Cloud 18.0 °C S 9 mph 40 km 1018 hPa, Rising

The ride went well until I got back to Chippenham, then between me driving home and me cycling home they decided to dig up the high street :-( I cycled to the front of the traffic jam and sat and waited for the lights to change...they showed no sign of it so I did the good thing of getting of and walking around the road works, then set of again...

I still managed to do the 21.28 miles in 1 hour 2 minutes with an average speed of 20.4 mph, the GPS track can be found here...

Sunday, September 6, 2009

6th September 2009 (Sunday)

Got up, finished making the Worcester Cider cake, made some porridge, surfed the net then poodled of for the cycle club leisure ride...

The e-newsletter said...
"On Sunday the Leisure Ride will be heading off to Radstock (approx 50 miles). This is a great ride which we haven’t run for a while (back by popular demand!) The track is rough in places therefore narrow tyres are not recommended. Meet at Chippenham Rugby Club at 9:30am."

I was in two minds which bike to take, either the Dawes Hybrid or the Peugeot steel frame road, as the weather was good I opted for the Peugeot.

I am not sure who the popular demand was, as there were only seven of us on the ride and one of them wasn't going to do the whole ride!

I was expecting some major off road exercise and was really not sure about the 700c x 23 tyres on the Peugeot as it turned out the off road was rather well compacted gravel canal tow paths and some well finished farm tracks :-)

It was quite a long ride to get to the tea room, mainly because of the constant headwind! I was also finding the hills a bit more of a challenge with the gearing on the bike.

After the tea and bacon sarnie :-) we headed back in the direction we had travelled, until we reached the canal and I opted to throw the route sheet away and head in a faster more direct route home.

We headed towards Bradford on Avon, over the very steep hill (I actually had to stand up to get up it! - I am sure it must help my hill climbing having a bike with feck all useful gears!) It was then plain sailing home...

The cycle computer had the ride as 54.77 miles in 3 hours 48 minutes with a rather sad average speed of 14.4 mph.

The GPS track can be found here...

When I got back home (After I showered of course) I set about cleaning, degreasing and re-oiling the Peugeot. Now I'm cooking Cider roast Chicken for tea (Cider is just soooo good AND its one of my 5 fruits a day :-)

Saturday, September 5, 2009

5th September 2009 (Saturday)

Got up milled around for a while then at 9:20 I headed of to the Chippenham Cemetery gates for the 9:30 chain gang start.

It was a much better pace this week than last :-) although I did get moaned at again after blasting up a hill at 21mph into a headwind :-) As far as I am concerned if I can ride up the hill with the wind in my face then surely people draughting me can do it!

When we got to the end of the ride at Corsham the Garmin had the average speed for the ride - including the ride from home to the cemetery as 20 mph.

From Corsham I cycled to Lacock and over Naish Hill (1:6) then on to Wootton Bassett - I had to go and fix the mother in-law's garden wall...

The entire morning ride to Wootton B was just over 60 miles with a very respectable average speed of 18.8 mph :-)

I was then fed and watered and I got on with fixing the wall...

Whilst preparing the area I startled a frog who also startled me!

I repaired the wall as best a non bricky can do! - I had to re-fix all of the capping stones onto a wall that has been very frost damaged.

Once I had finished and tidied up I hopped back on the bike and cycled the long way home :-)

End result according to the Garmin was 77.3 miles in 4 hours 9 minutes (Ride time) with an average speed of 18.6 mph (Bit of a head wind on the way home!). The GPS track can be found here...

When I got back home I fitted the new pump to the Peugeot.

The Turbo Trainer tyre turned up today :-) along with a parcel that was delivered to the wrong address so wifey n me took Rosie for a nice long walk and delivered the errant parcel to the rightful owner :-)

Thinking about doing tomorrows cycle club leisure ride on the Peugeot :-)

Friday, September 4, 2009

4th September 2009

Nobody fancied going swimming again tonight so I fitted the new front light bracket to the Merida and went out for my 'Normal 20' ride.

It was VERY windy!
1800 Medium-level Cloud 15.5 °C W 18 mph 29 mph 45 km 1013 hPa, Rising
1900 Medium-level Cloud 14.8 °C W 17 mph 29 mph
40 km 1014 hPa, Rising
2000 Medium-level Cloud 13.9 °C W 15 mph 29 mph 30 km 1015 hPa, Rising
Gusting to 29 mph indeed!!!

As I have NO handlebar space left at all I fitted the light to the Aero Bars :-)

I had had enough of cheaper lights so spent £35 on a Cateye EL320 front light and an extra bracket so I can move it between bikes. I am a big fan of the smart super flash rear lights and already had one fitted to the Merida,I fitted one to the Peugeot on Wednesday - They are bright enough that you cannot look directly at them :-)

After I had fitted the lights I set of on my ride...

It was hard work! but I still managed to do the 21.27 miles in 1 hour 2 minutes with an average speed of 20.4 mph :-)

Perhaps I will be able to keep the 20 mph+ average over the winter :-)

The GPS track can be found here...

Ohhh my Continental Grand Prix 4 season tyres turned up today - planning to fit them for the Dartmoor Devil and Exmoor Beast rides, I stayed with 700 x 23c but wanted tread and grip! but didn't want to increase the foot print and rolling resistance!.

The Topeak Master Blaster pump for the Peugeot arrived today as well :-)

Thursday, September 3, 2009

3rd September 2009

Night Off, played computer games :-)

Did pick up another bike today....Thank you Nathan...Not for me though it for son.

I will have to clean it properly! the chain and cassette are minging!

Ohhh had an email today, the David Duffield Severn Bridge Sportive has been cancelled :-( I am still going to do the ride :-) but it will be free!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

2nd September 2009

Worked from home today ;-)

I managed to get out on the bike at lunchtime for a quick 16 miles. The bike was clean when I took it out and it returned just as clean!!!! A miracle that hasn't happened in weeks.


I realised today how things have changed, at one point it was a question of IF I could make it up a hill or how far could I go, now its how fast can I go up the hill and can I really be bothered to change out of the top chain-ring!

I was pleased to finish the ride with an average speed of over 17 mph, there was quite a tough head wind on the outward leg.

The Cycle computer had the ride as 16.13 miles in 56 minutes with an average speed of 17.3 mph.

The GPS track can be found here...

When I got back from the ride I checked for mail and none had arrived, so I settled back into work...

At 5pm I went to check for mail again and it had been delivered, along with a Royal Mail parcel card!!! I had been in ALL afternoon!!!!! (I am sure if the house looks empty they just card it without ringing the door bell)

I had been expecting my Turbo Trainer tyre to turn up, because the weather was turning out as forecast I was hoping to have a quick turbo session....

I descided it would be a good idea? to fit the lights to the Peugeot and cycle to the post office to pick up the parcel!

So I fitted the lights, changed into cycle gear and paddled of to the post office...
1700 Heavy Rain 13.7 °C S 14 mph
6 km 1002 hPa, Falling
On leaving the post office the driving rain stopped, so I came home the indirect way, annoying all of the stationary cars sat in rush hour traffic by doing 20mph past them all :-)

At home I opened the package to find it wasn't for me, it was wifey's :-( as the rain had stopped it seemed like a good idea to go out for a cycle ride :-)

I plodded over to the TT on the Peugeot to see if the TT had happened, I wouldn't have been able to make it there in time to actually participate.

When I got to the start point it was empty, so I cycled on to the finish point (Directly! not via the course) and the time keeper was sat in the car! Apparently only 3 people had turned up and they were on the course, I stopped and chatted until everybody had finished then pottered on home.

The cycle computer had the very wet ride as 22.58 miles in 1 hour 31 minutes with an average speed of 14.8 mph

The GPS track can be found here...

I gave the bike a quick wipe down and sprayed the shiny metal bits with WD40 before putting it away.

Needless to say the bike is now dirty :-(