Monthly Archives: March 2012

Purple Haze

The last entry could have been said to be brought to you by the letter ‘M‘. ‘M‘ for miserable, maudlin, malingering and moaning… Well today ‘M‘ is for a moratorium on such behaviour. And for MTFU and get on with it! Enough already, right? 😉

Today’s ride was an ACG one, and today’s route was created by yours truly. I don’t know why, but I decided it would be nice to go back to The Potting Shed in Langport. This has the advantage of including a few lumps, most notably High Ham Hill, is somewhat flatter on the way back, and is a respectable length loop, being about 46 miles. To be fair, I did advertise it in advance as it was a bit longer than our usual rides are, and I’d happily have done something else if necessary, as this is after all a democracy not a dictatorship. Honest ;).

So another Sunday morning dawned. Tell me, how am I supposed to figure out what to wear when it’s so foggy I can’t see the end of the field behind my house, let alone the weather? Heaven forbid there should be any consensus to the weather forecasts and the actual weather conditions being recorded out there…*sigh*. I guess I should maybe have gotten out of bed even earlier to allow for more outfit consideration (aka faffing)? As it was, it looked like it might be chilly, I was feeling a little mentally chilly, and what I wore on Friday pretty much worked. What’s more it was all clean and dry too, so…stick to what you know, right? And since that’s mostly Rapha, I was unlikely go far wrong, and I didn’t :).

view from my window this morning

can you see the Mendips? No? Well you usually can...

There were four of us today – myself, GB, DM and GH, which made us, I like to think, a fairly well matched bunch. It was grey, and foggy, and a little chilly, and to use a lovely word, just kinda claggy. Not being able to see anything much made for oddly boring and monotonous cycling, though I’m not one to complain about a lack of wind, so I won’t. All that fog was annoyingly wet again and rather than turning my sunglassees into a pince nez like the last time, they ended up in a back pocket for most of the ride. Being a contact lens wearer this is not ideal, but it was better to risk bits in my eyes than not being able to see where I was going, and for the most part I got away with it.

what could be any road on our way...

It’s a fairly direct route from here to Langport really – Wedmore, Shapwick, High Ham, and you’re there. High Ham was the usual slog so I distracted myself by taking photos of GB and DM disappearing into the distance, which lessened the pain somewhat ;).

DM, and a disappearing GB, on High Ham Hill

The descent the other side was lovely, and the coffee stop was just as welcoming as last time, albeit without the free cake *grin*. This is not to say that there wasn’t cake, as you can see. I think GB would have preferred a bacon roll, which he could have had but he’d assumed it wasn’t that kind of place. Never assume… ;).

DM, GH, GB at The Potting Shed

Time to come home again, avoiding retracing our steps at all costs obviously. It was pretty chilly setting off again, which is always quite motivational, and makes you go faster to warm up! Not only did taking a different route make the return journey somewhat flatter as previously mentioned, but it also involved using a lovely road from Catcott to Burtle that may actually have been new to me! At the very least, one of the roads less travelled for sure.

There was somewhat of a tailwind on the way back, in so far as there was any wind, and that never does any harm…so there were brief patches of zone…and stirrings of mojo :). Slowly the fog was lifting, the skies were lightening, and as could have been, and indeed was, predicted, we were back in Axbridge just in time for the sun to come out into blue skies… Ah well, at least if the sun wasn’t out, neither were the Sunday drivers. Well, not as many of them as could have been anyway.

makes a change from tractors right?

I'm thinking GB saw the camera... 😉

It was a really enjoyable loop – including enough up to be a bit challenging, some nice descents, and some lovely fast flat. I can see me doing that one again. As long as there isn’t any wind to speak of that is – it’s a very north/south loop, and it’s quite exposed for a lot of it, which means there’s no such thing as a good wind direction for it! We did a much better job of ‘G‘ being for Group than usual too, which always leaves me feeling better about an ACG ride. It is, after all, the point.

DM and GH on a hill somewhere

According to the usual cycling computer – I did this:

Cycling time: 2:47:10 hrs
Distance: 49.16 miles
AVS: 17.5 mph.

According to Strava – the latest fad around here – I did this:

Cycling time: 2:46:49 hrs
Distance: 46.2 miles
AVS: 16.6 mph.

Considering that the bikeroutetoaster route was designed to be 46.17 miles, this would imply that my cycling computer is indeed over recording. Don’t know why, so I guess I’ll have to check it’s all set up properly again, which will probably only hold true until I change the tyres again anyway! In the meantime I guess we’ll go with the Strava route as actually ridden, with the relevant facts and figures, for the sake of accuracy, even if it does make me slower 🙁 Which takes the ODO to 12465, should anyone other than me care… No? Thought not :).

...as close as you're getting to a photo of me today *grin*...

White Flag

Sometimes, it would appear, the Verve have a point, and the drugs don’t work. Today would be one of those days. I suppose I could have decided to stay in bed and not ride at all, but to be honest that didn’t even occur to me. Yet more proof that I’m not normal, no doubt. Since I’d already said I’d meet the Somerset Cycling lot, I was committed to riding, right? Besides which I really don’t like going back on my word, and how can the Friday ride become a regular one if I miss one? 😉 I was also hoping that a hefty dose of cycling produced endorphins might succeed where pills were failing, and besides which, sitting around at home feeling miserable really didn’t appeal. Better to be riding, better still to be riding in company :).

So I took myself off to Mark as planned, in the usual way. GB had warned me by text that it was colder and windier out there than it looked, and he was 50% right. Typically that would be the half that was the headwind of course. Not conducive to hurtling down the A38 at any sort of speed, but quite good for warming you up, so it was not one of my faster rides but it got me to where I needed to be, early as ever of course.

the grey and not at all winding road to Mark.

As I loitered outside the pub in Mark, waiting for the others, it was pretty obvious that not only were the drugs not working, neither were the endorphins. Ah well. It was worth a go right? The rest of the posse arrived in dribs and drabs…late I’ll have you know. Officially late, since the church clock had already chimed eleven o’clock before any of them showed up. Sarah was first, and she’ll be thrilled that I managed to get yet another photo of her ;).

Then Justin, who I seem to have caught slightly in mail order catalogue male model pose…

Followed by Coxy and Astana Man…feel free to guess which is which.

Coxy explained the route, which involved heading out Glastonbury way, then round to Somerton and so on, and I decided that I would bail at Glastonbury and head for home – as I’d half thought I might when he suggested it by text first thing this morning. A sort of compromise between not riding and riding – riding less ;).

Coxy explaining the route, with hand gestures and everything

Michael was the last to arrive, and he’ll be very pleased to see that I have chosen not to immortalise him this week ;). We all headed out east and had a very pleasant half an hour or so’s ride out towards Glastonbury, picking up Carlo on the way.

Sometimes the pain is, oddly, a helpful thing. It makes you go faster. Either in some misguided belief that you can can ride away from it, or in the hope that the effort and energy being expended will subjugate it. This was particularly true on the long straight after the lovely descent of Mudgeley Hill, inevitably into the wind. Oddly enjoyable. I was aware that this was probably only going to be effective for a while though, as I was still conscious of the niggle gnawing away in the background. However well I was doing, and I was, at some point I would be hoist by my own petard and pay the price, and what with the route getting further and further away from home, taking the left towards Godney still seemed like the best move. Discretion is the better part of valour. Etc.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Michael had had similar thoughts, albeit for different reasons, so not only did I get to ride some of the way home in company, rather than by myself feeling sorry for myself, I also didn’t miss out on a coffee stop, as we had a break at Sweets Tea Rooms on the way back. I think it’s safe to say that that all worked out splendidly :).

Cycling time: 2:01:21 hrs
Distance: 34.91 miles
AVS: 17.2 mph.
ODO: 12419 miles

My average went up with every stage. 16.6mph to meet them. 16.8mph by coffee, and then with a tail wind and the urge to get home, up to 17.2mph by the time I was done. Not bad. Even better still, as you can see, I managed – just – not to break my self-imposed two hour rule. Rah! Admittedly I might have let myself off the hook today, but it’s nice that I don’t have to *grin*. And if that was too much whingeing for you – it’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to *grin*.

Now I believe somebody said red wine was medicinal (it may well have been me) so I think I may have to give that a try later. Then I can swop miserable for maudlin 😉 I surrender…wagon can wait!

The place where I come from is a small town…

It’s more of a large village really, but I’d recommend against using the ‘V’ word around here. If you do, a small mob will probably gather and cart you off in search of a tree to lynch you from. What with the long and distinguished history of the TOWN there’s probably also a small, long forgotten and still extant law lurking on the statue books that means that on Tuesdays in a leap year that’s perfectly permissible. Don’t say you weren’t warned…

This is what happens when you’re riding along happily in the sun. Your brain plays random word association games with the lyrics whispering away in your left ear. There’s really nothing like the head space on a bike. Especially on a day like today. Maybe you have to have days like Sunday’s Mad March Hare (which must surely have gone down in history as the most badass ride ever by now) to truly appreciate days like today? Days when the sun shines, the wind does not blow and, with a little judicious layering, you’re warm enough and can count to twenty on your fingers and toes at any time. Should you want to.

I wanted to ride in the sun. Who wouldn’t? It seemed more important to take advantage of it than usual. Judging by the amount of serious looking lycra out there, a lot of people were thinking the same as me. Although I couldn’t help wonder if they’d have been out on Sunday… 😉 I didn’t want to do the usual type of training loop, as it gets a tad boring and let’s face it, it’s not all that challenging. I did want to do hills, but I didn’t want to go up Shipham because today was not a day for PBs and I didn’t want to start off feeling slow. That starts a ride off on the wrong foot. So I did the Gorge instead, amongst other ups, in a nice sunny loop :).

The Gorge was betwixt and between. Betwixt shadow and sun. Between Winter and Summer. Waking slowly from commercial hibernation, grockles emerging blinking into the light from wherever they’ve been hiding. In short, quite pleasant :). Won’t be for much longer…

a Gorge of contrasts

Clearly it was warm enough for mitts, as I can’t take photos riding along wearing full gloves – it’s just not physically possible. I still had plenty of Rapha layers on though, and got it right today – *phew*. I pottered up in my usual style, and put the worst bit behind me soon enough. I stopped to be charitable along the way as, as a baby goat (yes I know they’re sheep but they look like goats), lying in the sun at the side of the road looking like a dead goat is a very good way to end up a dead goat! With a little persuasion both little families relocated themselves to somewhere safer. Good deed for the day done. It must be Spring, things are clearly breeding!

we are family.

Just as well there wasn't much traffic around...

Somewhere near the top is a memorial to a car accident victim, that is clearly refreshed from time to time. Which was another thing that made me wonder. And it’s very emotive I know. But at what point do you stop using the site of the tragedy as a site of pilgrimage? Is it not better to visit the grave, or the cemetery, or where you scattered the ashes, or somewhere of personal importance? Rather than the arbitary location where someone sadly shuffled off this mortal coil? Hm.

Anyway, let’s get past that and move on. Up up up, but not to the heaviside layer. Up to the top, where usually wind would be, and it wasn’t. Up to a long smooth rolling road, with dappled sunlight and nowhere better to be, which really really didn’t suck *grin*. I just rolled myself along it, up and down, and enjoyed the moment. A lot :).

I went all the way along the right fork, took the left to the Castle of Comfort, and descended via a Harptree. Last time I went down there it was wet and horrible and a little scarey. Today it was a whole heap better. Want to see the view of Chew Valley Lake from the top? You can actually see it! There are some much better, and indeed glorious, views on the way down, but that’s generally considered to be a good time to be having both hands near if not actually on the brakes, not waving around trying to take photos *grin*.

Chew Valley Lake from up on high.

The stretch across the lake reminded me that I was, once more, on the wrong side of the Mendips, by being that little bit colder. Which is an excuse to go that little bit faster I suppose. Weird how much difference those hills make, and how much shelter we must get from them over here.

Lake to the right of me...

Lake to the left of me...

Once through Chew Stoke, which is always surprisingly lumpy, I turned left up the delightfully named Pagans Hill. The lack of punctuation implies that it was once a hill for many pagans. Or maybe that’s where pagans were lynched? A hill made up of pagans? My rides go full circle, sometimes my thoughts do too ;). The climb up to the airport is a nice gradual one that almost goes in steps, and you almost don’t notice it’s happening. Those kind of climbs I like :). You also get to share your route on the ground with the aeroplanes in the skies taking the flightpath down to the airport. Having been born near Farnborough, having attended a great many airshows, and with parents who spent most of my life working in the Defence industry, there may well be a little aviation fuel in my blood, and I really do like aeroplanes :). Come on, it’s pretty impressive that things that size can make it off the ground no? I know there’s plenty of totally logical science behind it, but I’m going to stick to it being magic *grin*. I’m not sure about this one, which certainly isn’t going anywhere anymore, and marks a small industrial estate nearby, but it made for an interesting photo.

Gate guardian

Mere metres down the road, by the entrance to St Catherine’s Church, is this wooden sculpture, making the most of what was once a mighty tree. Did Redbull give it wings? Is he/she about to take flight? Did the wax melt, and leave it earthly bound, gazing wistfully at the sky? I kinda like it 🙂

I don't know why...

...but I like it 🙂

My wings came out to fly me down Brockley Combe which I enjoyed immensely, once I made myself ignore the Total tanker behind me who, to give him credit, did realise after the first couple of corners (which I went ’round faster than he could) that he might as well hang back and wait until the straight bit near the bottom. Many thanks anonymous tanker drive man :). It’s a lovely descent but, though I can’t believe I’m saying it, almost not fast enough unless you pedal *grin*.

Shortly after that I came to my favourite sign in the whole world which I finally get to share to you. Amusingly I’m always going left at this point which is, arguable, the wrong direction, no? 😉 At least where I need to go if I need a boost in the future *grin*. I met a couple of touring cyclists here and we had a brief chat about the lovely weather, the best way to the Strawberry Line and whether or not my overshoes actually did the job. (Yes, they do).

Motivation corner

I left them behind, feeling all smug roadie, and actually managed not to get lost around Claverham, which may be a first. To be fair, I did think I was lost, I just turned out not to be! There’s a couple of the most consistently disgusting patches of road around there, covering in thick churned up “mud” and stones, all related to one particular farm, and quite lethal. I bet Dad knows exactly where I mean too. If that’s the state they keep their farm and roads in I have to say I wouldn’t knowingly go buying anything they produce!

Not far to go now, as these things go. Back through Yatton to Churchill to go and find the last chunk of climbing of the day. Since it worked out well last time with the ACG I wanted to go back up through Rowberrow which I duly did. Just to see if last time was a fluke. And it went just as well, which was gratifying. Up at the top the views were lovely, and I do generally find that the sunnier it gets the further it is best to be from Weston *grin*.

Weston Super Mare in the distance

That just left me the main reason I was there, if I’m being honest, which was to go home down Shipham Hill. A dry, clear, sunny, swoopy Shipham Hill. *happy sigh*…

Cycling time: 2:28:16 hrs
Distance: 37.7 miles
AVS: 15.2 mph.
ODO: 12384 miles

OK, not the fastest ride in the world, but it did involve a fair bit of climbing. I certainly wasn’t pushing it, and I think there was still a little event recovery going on too. It was however a very lovely ride which I enjoyed a great deal, and that’s really the point :).

Mad March Hare Sportive 2012

The sanity of the cyclist is frequently debatable…

At 5:15am this morning, GB texted me to say was I awake, was I keen, and were we doing it anyway? This makes more sense when you consider that it was already raining, all of 5C, and not forecast to be any better where we were going. In fact the forecast for B47 6AJ included a not inconsiderable wind that was due to change direction halfway through the ride (yes, headwind all day) and the possibility of snow, whichever weather website I used – and believe me I have a whole range of those at my fingertips. Despite all of this, I replied in the affirmative 3 times :). Clearly I was awake, and I was caffeine fuelled keen, and not going back to bed anytime soon, so we might as well be doing it anyway, right? Besides this was to be my first event riding and writing for Cyclosport, it was my first “proper” sportive of the season, I’ve done it three times before and it’s become my annual season starter, and I’d paid for it! So even if weather related bailing was the kind of thing I do, which it isn’t, it so wasn’t going to happen today.

The same cannot be said for around 250 of the 500 people signed up to do the event. Not so much DNF as DNA. Bunch of lightweights the lot of you ;). Having said that…

It rained on us all the way up the M5. It was raining when we parked in the large field next to the shed building that was HQ. It rained as we trudged across the long wet grass to sign in, which took no time at all. Over more muddy grass to use the portable loos – two of which were set aside for females, which was much appreciated. Back to the car to stand in the rain assembling bikes, attaching numbers, faffing around deciding on layers. GB told me, quite rightly, to stop faffing and put on as much as I could. As is frequently the case, he was right, and I should have paid more attention. I did put on more than I was going to, but as it turns out, not as much as I could have or should have.

The view of the weather at the start.

Back to HQ to meet up with the BW, and another trip through the grass and mud to the toilet – darn that morning coffee. This had the unfortunate side effect of meaning that my feet were soaked through already – from the bottom up – not a good start. The BW finally arrived. In shorts, having lost one of his legwarmers yesterday… I refrained from the urge to tell him that this was a somewhat debatable decision, since he has one mother already, and I have my own children to tell off! But still…!

Cyclists hiding in the HQ and putting off heading out into the weather for as long as possible!

Cyclists gathering at the start line.

Time to get going as we were already wet and cold and not getting any warmer hanging around. Numbers and start times were noted down by the organisation and we were on our way. Oh man it was cold out there! It was clearly going to take longer than the usual twenty minutes to warm up… In fact the closest I came to warm was the first hill of any note about 12km/8miles in. I think I pulled my zip down a couple of inches, from whence it went back up again pretty darn quickly as soon as I reached the top! And that was it for sartorial adjustment for the day really. The rain continued. The cold wind blew. There was more and more standing water to deal with. Lots of concentrating and trying to avoid hidden potholes. The BW hared off (pun intended), presumably trying to keep warm, whilst those of us who are definitely older, and possibly wiser, flew along as best we could in a more measured fashion. Us tortoises turned him into a Hare for real when we reeled him in and passed him before Willersey. To be fair he looked in a pretty bad way, cold and done in.

The first big hill of the day came about 59km/37 miles in. Having been getting slowly more and more cold, I’d almost been looking forward to it, as I was hoping it would warm me up a bit. It’s a big long fairly steep constant climb up Saintbury Hill. To emphasise how cold and wintery it was, we did this in the snow. Yes. It snowed. In fact visibility became severely restricted due to the amount of the falling white stuff. Add some wind to that and it was a bit like going into hyperspace! (Those of you of a certain age know exactly what I mean and don’t pretend you aren’t/don’t!). And don’t let anyone ever tell you that snowflakes are soft fluffy things. Not when you’re cycling into them they’re not! I think that’s a first for me – a sportive in the snow. Limited novelty value it has to be said. Quite a lot of people resorted, for whatever reason, to walking up the hill which, if I could have felt my feet, might have been attractive. But I was feeling as stubborn as ever, and actually went up it pretty well and definitely with less zig-zagging than last year. Sadly due to the being wet already, and the snow, and the wind, it really didn’t warm me up much. After a bit more climbing we reached the small feed station in a layby on the right hand side, well stocked with bananas, flapjacks and free SIS gels…though hot coffee would have been more welcome ;). I ate some of what turned out to be a very nice uncoated orange Zipvit energy bar that I had, and swopped my soaking wet gloves for drier ones from my saddle bag. It was neither the time nor place for hanging around, and although we waited for the BW there was no sign of him, so we headed off on our way again. (I gather he gave in to the powers that be (aka his Dad in support car behind) and called it a day at around the 60 mile mark).

that’s a snow cloud and the flying white bits are snow!

Looks nice out there doesn’t it? 😉

There was another similar climb, albeit a little shorter, about 7 miles later, which also went well. Descents were less fun than they might have been due to the need to pay attention to the road, and brake in the wet. I was clearly getting colder and colder…I hadn’t had feet for hours, and my hands were well on the way to joining them wherever they were, even in the drier gloves. It always amazes me how much cold parts of your anatomy can hurt! Braking when your hands aren’t all there is…interesting. About 90 mins from the end, after a rather dangerous crossing of the A46, we stopped to grab some more food, and I nearly fell over trying to stand up on feet that I didn’t have anymore! As we ate I realised I had actually started shivering, and we headed off pdq. I don’t think my body has ever been that cold on a bike, let alone tried shivering whilst riding one, and it’s a very weird feeling. It’s trying to do all the things required to propel you along, and to shiver at the same time, which does odd things to your stomach muscles. Which, considering the current state of my insides and the fact that today the painkillers dismally failed to work, is not a nice thing.

Like it or not, life got a little slower. When you can only feel 10% of your hands, gear changes are not a spontaneous thing. They are planned in advance and frequently attempted several times! Braking is a cautious thing, just in case… I was so cold that my brain stopped working properly for a while and I was tad worried that I was just going to stop functioning altogether and end up in some ungainly heap on the floor wondering how I’d gotten there! Luckily this didn’t happen. Even though by now the rain had stopped, this was way beyond too little too late. The temperature may have gone up a degree or so, GB was now ahead of me blazing a trail for me to follow, and however we did it, we got back to the start in one piece. Two pieces? ;). It turns out a lot of those who had turned up hadn’t made it all the way round – DNFs. There’s a rumour that I was the first woman home! Not sure that’s ever happened before! *grin*. Go me!

: Free hot drinks at HQ afterwards.

Along with free bacon rolls or, if like me you can’t eat bacon rolls for some reason, homemade vegetable soup.

Paul Prince, organiser extraordinaire.

I had a quick chat with Paul Prince, who organises it, whilst drinking my soup. It being the fourth year of the Mad March Hare, it’s come a long way, though I kinda miss the Easter Bunny costume he wore first time around 😉 The new venue is a great improvement and there are plans to expand the event in the future. Due to the poor turnout this year they may keep the route the same for next year though, since it’ll still be new to a lot of people! The organisation had all gone really smoothly, and I can personally vouch for the homemade vegetable soup – very yummy 🙂 It’s still much cheaper to enter than a lot of the sportives out there and is extremely good value for money. Well you can’t blame the organisers for the weather, now can you?!

Even with warm food on the inside, I couldn’t stop shivering, and it was getting worse and worse. I’ve never had that reaction before, but then I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold and so wet on the bike for so long! Time to get back to the car, get sorted, and head to the nearest services to get changed into dry clothes somewhere warm, and drink a large caramel macchiato. Even so it took quite a while longer down the M5 for the shaking to finally stop. Hypothermia anyone?

And as we went South for winter, as could have been predicted, the skies cleared…typical.

Roadworks and sun on the M5.

Cycling time: 5:05 hrs
Distance: 78 miles with 1100 metres of climbing
AVS: 15.4 mph.
ODO: 12347 miles

Ish. GB says I’m over recording. Anyway… In retrospect, with the infamous 20:20 hindsight I should have warn my thermal tights under my longs, and a different combo of jersey/jackets, but even so, I think that might only have delayed the loss of extremities, not prevented it. Until I got proper cold I was doing really well, and even once frozen, my legs and the engine were feeling pretty good – just distracted by pain and hindered by lack of functionality! I don’t think I can have been said to enjoyed it, other than in masochistic fashion, but we turned up, we did it, and we are once again officially badass *grin*. First sportive of the season – done 🙂

Hoping for blue skies next time…

UPDATE:

My official time is 5:22. Looks like 179 riders finished, and I’m around 48th. Not bad 🙂 Spare a thought for those poor hardy souls who were out there for hours more – longest time recorded is 8:07!

Also – the official Cyclosport review is now up – about which I’m very excited and very proud. Lots of people have said very nice things about it too. Very cool indeed :).

A hazy shade of winter

Maybe this Friday ride with Somerset Cycling is indeed a regular thing? Three weeks in a row and counting… Perfectly timed too, as I needed to check out all the changes made yesterday were working ok before the Mad March Hare on Sunday. It was another chilly foggy morning, but I took a chance on it not being as nippy as it seemed and left the base layer at home again. Heading down the A38, being overtaken by some uncharacteristically respectful lorries, I was a little concerned that that wasn’t a good call, but as I pushed the wheels around as fast as I could, I warmed up just fine :).

a misty Mark Church

Back down to Mark for 11:00am. I hate being late, so I ended up being early – as usual. Check the time out for yourself! Well the direct route is quite fast, and it was even faster today, thanks to having my wonderful rear wheel back on. It really is faster! And I don’t care if that’s just placebo effect, so there :P. I averaged over 18mph getting there, so there must be something in it, right?

It be rural out here...

After a little while killing time in the twitterverse, I was gradually joined by various other riders. It’s a different bunch of people out every time which makes it tricky to get a grip of. Two different faces this week, two more unknown variables to ride with…

Elliot - looks fast to me!

Michael and Astana Man

Michael had kindly put together a route that headed back out my way – Mark, Weare, Webbington, Loxton, Christon – so that I could peel off and head for home when the time came. Not as flat as the last couple of rides but flat can get a bit boring, and I do love some of those roads. Very scenic, nice and quiet, and there are some nice little descents amongst the ups :).

Sarah and Astana Man near Loxton

We had coffee at Banwell Garden Centre which was a first for me. Good coffee, and massive portions cake, if cake is your thing. They also have plastic covers for their comfy seats, which is a good thing, as it makes me feel less guilty about sitting on them! The staff were very friendly, and if you pick up a card when you’re there – you’ll be entitled to 10% off all purchases made (including food) if you turn up on a bike. Very environmentally friendly no? Mind you, I can’t think of much that I could buy at a garden centre that I could get home on a bike! Packets of seeds maybe? Which I’d probably forget about, leave in a back pocket, wash, and leave to germinate in the kit box by accident! *grin*.

...that's another fine mess you've gotten us in to...

Michael, about to tell me where to stick my camera...

From there it was easy to fly home. Down the lovely straight to Winscombe, out and up to the main road, down the bypass. My feet barely touched the ground…unless you count the traffic lights at Winscombe where Sarah and I were so busy admiring Elliot’s track standing ability, and wondering if he could keep it up, that when the lights went green there was a pedal related incident and instead of him coming a cropper, she nearly did! How she managed to stay upright I’ll never know *grin*. Never a dull moment…

I found a headwind on the bypass which ruined my attempts to get over 30mph, but still, in no time at all I was back here. I know, it broke my 2 hour rule, but I did promise myself I’d try and take it a little easy this week before Sunday, so I have an excuse. Having said that I was having so much fun out there I could cheerfully have done twice as much – even though it’s probably just as well that I didn’t :). I’ll be grateful on Sunday I’m sure, as I’m slogging around in the wind and the rain…

Cycling time: 1:33:03 hrs
Distance: 27.75 miles.
AVS: 17.8 mph.
ODO: 12269 miles

I really need to get better at group riding. Actually it would help if I was more confident in my own abilities. Only I have this tendency to be convinced that everyone else is better than me. If I sit in the middle of the pack I worry that I’m not pulling my weight. And then when I get on the front I go too fast because I think that everyone behind me is faster than me, and I think I’ll be holding them up. I don’t check behind enough, and then what with the way everyone goes up hills differently, and the fact that I don’t seem to be able to help going as fast as I can when I can I end up going off the front, which is a very poor show, and if I keep that up they’re probably going to stop letting me ride with them at all! Sorry guys :(. I promise to learn and do better!

On the upside – my brakes were working just fine, and the rear wheel went ’round as it should. And I love my new Rapha mitts. They fit like a glove (who’d thought it? *grin*), warm to the temperature of your skin, and I’d forgotten I was wearing them in no time at all. Oh, and they smell of leather too, which may sound obvious, but is rather nice nonetheless. Well lycra is frequently not all that fragrant *grin*.

Papa’s got a brand new bike

Today my bike and I spent a couple more happy hours in Andrew’s garage, sorting various bits out, and putting the world to rights. Both the brakes now work, and have new brake pads to boot. I do like to be able to stop. And best of all, my rear wheel now matches the front one – yes, both my wonderful Pro-Lites are back on and I can’t wait to ride ’em! OK, so the summer tyres are a little while off yet, but tis a start :).

The other reason I was there was to see what was happening with our new bike plans. There had been a Plan A afoot for quite a long time, but as is oft the way with Plan As, things have gone a little, nay a lot, pear shaped, and Andrew had a Plan B to present to me. I think he was a bit worried about it, that I wouldn’t like it, but he needn’t have been. Rather than a one off demo model as we were half hoping to do, we’re going with an existing one, a line of which mine will be the fourth – graphics refined, and specced up to suit and fit me. He needs to see how the frame copes with sportive riding, and that’s something I can certainly test out for him. Oh, and I’d quite like a new bike. N + 1 and all that. Win Win :).

Here’s number three to give you an idea of how it looks:

…right hand side…

…left hand side…

Picture it considerably smaller, with Ultegra kit, a compact chainset, Pro-lite wheels (did I mention I love my wheels?), and you get the picture. Pretty no? And black and white goes with everything *grin*. I’m not counting any chickens, nor holding my breath…but with any luck, I should have my shiny new bike in the middle of April. *fingers crossed*!

I am reliably informed that there is a Plan C, and D and… just in case… 😉