It was cold.....VERY cold.....no REALLY....it WAS VERY COLD!!!
| 0900 |  | -1.6 °C | SSW | 6 mph | 20 km | 1006 hPa, Rising | |
| 1000 | | -0.6 °C | SSW | 7 mph | 25 km | 1006 hPa, Rising | |
| 1100 | | 0.0 °C | SW | 7 mph | 25 km | 1006 hPa, Rising | |
| 1200 | | 0.7 °C | SSW | 6 mph | 25 km | 1006 hPa, Rising | |
| 1300 | | 1.3 °C | SSW | 7 mph | 30 km | 1006 hPa, Rising | |
| 1400 | | 2.0 °C | SW | 7 mph | 30 km | 1006 hPa, Falling |
I parked up dragged the bike out of the car and re-fitted the front wheel and front mudguard and ambled over to the check-in, and had a nice cuppa and a biscuit :-)
I was in two minds to cycle from home to Ashton Keynes, but I didn't fancy the idea of an early morning freeze, but I must have been a wimp...one guy had cycled from Bristol...(at least 30 miles!!), another Guy had cycled from Cirencester (10 miles)and looked like he had hypothermia! (The water had even frozen in his water bottle!)
At 9am we set off :-) The roads were surprisingly ice free....I of course turned it into a race again!!! (I must learn that I don't have to be in the front)
It was quite a nice SW wind blowing and the initial pace was very nice.....I ended up hooking onto the back wheel of a local guy who knew the route and was holding a very reasonable pace (18-19 mph)
I ended up taking the lead a little and opened up a gap, at about 25 miles I saw the guy in front of me go down heavily on some ice...I opted for the stopping and walking approach! I warned the guys following and they followed my approach.
After the ice we re-grouped and the local knowledge was back in the lead :-) The first sign in was at 30 miles...We opted to not hang around (The idea of stopping and getting cold was not appealing) - I should have picked up some food though...in my rush to set of in the morning I forgot to pack any bars or gel's :-(
From the control we headed NW through Witney to Crawley....then we turned into wind and followed the Windrush Valley...It was very interesting and a little alarming to be cycling through places that I see signposted on my way to and from work.
At 48 miles we stopped at the Fox Inn at Great Barrington for the last Control (I was starting to feel a little hungry) but stopping for a meal in a pub was not really an option I would have cooled down to much and would have been in real trouble. Besides it was only 20 miles to the end - and there was food and drink waiting for me :-)
I set off promptly from the Inn, I was passed by the Cornium CC guys who flew past me up the hill as if I was standing still! I held a reasonably good pace heading south into wind, catching up and overtaking one of the guys who was dropped by Cornium peleton..
As Ashton Keynes drew closer I was starting to feel stronger and my speed picked up, I almost went sailing past the Bradstone Pavilion entrance.
It was a really nice friendly ride and I really enjoyed it, it was excellent to be in completely unknown territory :-) I think I may adapt the route a little for a summer excursion from home...
The Garmin had today's ride as 66.87 miles in 4 hours 26 minutes with an average speed of 15.1 mph, route here...
I felt really happy with my performance today, I was holding my own on a heavy steel bike, some of these guys were on lightweight carbon frames, the Cornium CC guys only arrived back 10 minutes ahead of me :-)
Ohhh a number of compliments were made about the Peugeot on the ride as well, it was remarked on the good condition and how well it had been maintained :-)
As it is the end of the month it is time to publish the monthly stats...(Real road miles only!)
| Count: | 13 Activities |
| Distance: | 576.48 mi |
| Max Distance: | 87.92 mi |
| Time | 37:34:53 h:m:s |
| Elevation Gain: | 19,482 ft |
| Max Elevation Gain | 4,319 ft |
| Avg Speed: | 15.3 mph |
| Max Speed: | 40.2 mph |
| Calories: | 41,534 C |
Not too shabby considering the weather, if you include the rollers (294.75 miles) the months mileage is up to 871.71 miles :-)
5 comments:
Sounds like a good ride. You really must let others take the lead on a ride, you are the deserved owner of my trophy. If you had been there it would have been yours.
With todays ride (tell you another time but it was an early start and I clocked -6 in the car getting to the start) I did 373 road miles in Jan so only 214 behind you (removing turbo/roller miles as I don't have a computer on mine).
In summary, not bad month for riding miles considering the weather and all.
You're bonkers. Plain and simple ;) But I am envious ;)
I am glad my efforts maintaining the peugeot have been noticed. It made all of that effort worth while!!!!!!!
Nath
Cant believe I missed this post! your mad. However, Im very impressed. Witney was where I was born and brought up, all the roads round the Windrush valley have been travelled many, many times by me on a bike and they still rate as some of my favorite places! I see you went past the Mill and Old Swan in Minster Lovell, I was head gardener there for a good few years!
@Matt...I have planned another ride out there in the summer :-) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/30381
It was a lovely ride even in the freezing temperatures :-)
I expect I will be cycling out in your direction some point in the summer as well, it would be good to meet up :-)
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