Author Archives: Jay Trotman

Size of a cow

Half term is over – ‘rah! However winter is not and the forecast for the rest of this week is distinctly dodgy so I decided I would ride today. Not only in Carpe Diem fashion, but also as kind of a treat to myself for surviving the holidays!

I headed off around 10.00am ish, kitted up as per Saturday’s ride which, again, proved to be just right. I’ve come to the conclusion that if you’re feeling just a tad chilly as you get going, then you’ve probably got it right, as after 20 minutes or so you’ll have warmed up to the right level.

First off was the usual route to Wedmore, and then a little wiggle to get to the top of Mudgely Hill. Down’t’other side and turn right across the Levels. All this done in a world of grey. The low grey blanket of cloud reducing visibility to not a lot, both for real, and also by covering my glasses in a fine coat of mist. Cold, still, grey water everywhere, both in the rhynes and over the fields reflecting the sky back. Grey road. Grey herons. The best that can be said for it was the complete lack of wind…

And then I met the cows. Which I had to follow for a good 10 minutes before I could find a suitable detour as, inevitably, they were going my way… Did you know that cows potter along at about 3.5mph? No, neither did I. I do now. Bet that never comes up in a pub quiz though! *grin*

I mentally rearranged my route, and headed directly into Mark, and out to Highbridge. I followed the coastal path to Burnham which was nice and quiet, and the scenery was properly grey and bleak. Like the Levels but with more water, boats, and mud. And a complete absence of Wales etc. Oddly attractive.

Then it was out of Burnham, north for a bit, with a wiggle around Lympsham, past Rookery Manor, and back up past the Webbington to home. Somewhere along the way it lightened up. I was going to say “brightened up” but that would be over-stating it somewhat. Let’s just say the clouds lifted a bit…

Cycling time: 2:19:44
Distance: 35.34 miles
Avs: 15.1 mph
ODO: 2634 miles

If it hadn’t have been for the cows, I’d have been much faster, honest! *grin* It wasn’t the world’s most exciting ride, but I did enjoy it. Cycling on your own tends to be a much more constant effort. I don’t know if you actually work any harder, since you’re not trying to keep up with folk, but then again you’re not trying to talk and breathe at the same time either so probably go a bit faster. I bet GB’s Garmin would be able to tell me *grin*. Mind you, there’s no stopping for coffee half way ’round so it’s probably swings and roundabouts 🙂

PS. As you know, I like my facts and figures. Well, since this blog started, I have now done 5034 miles – thus breaking the 5000 mile barrier. I do love a good milestone 🙂

Back in the saddle

I’ve not been out on the bike for far too long. Half term and lousy weather have conspired to keep me in the gym. Still exercise, but just not the same so…it was a huge relief to get out with the ACG this morning. There were 5 of us today, relatively well matched. We elected DM to choose the route, which inevitably means hills, and yes, that meant the Gorge. Due to a brief exchange of emails prior to the ride, I was kinda expecting it though. I only really sulk when people spring the Gorge on me *grin*.

When we set off, it was chilly but fairly bright, but that didn’t last long…here came the rain again. A cold chilly Saturday morning, in the pouring rain, heading towards the Gorge… Thoughts of a U-turn did briefly cross my mind but I was determined to get a ride in whatever.

I’m getting a bit blasé about the Gorge these days. I mean, it’s never going to be fun precisely, but I do know I can do it, that I prefer to go up it than down it, and that after the final steep wiggle at the bottom the rest of it is just a sit down and plod job. Unless the goats get in the way…but I’m guessing they were sheltering somewhere today, and who can blame then?

By the time we reached the top – slower in some cases than others (I’m very good at bringing up the rear) – the rain, which had cleared, came back again. Definitely a showery day. Luckily there’s been so much rain recently that the roads though wet are fairly clean, and are no longer greasy. We headed off over the top, via Priddy, to the Rocky Mountain Café for coffee. Sadly they had none of their very lovely carrot cake this time around 🙁 The assorted bacon based sandwiches that other folk had did look fab though…but I stuck to my coffee. I can always over-compensate later 😉

I made a point of taking layers off in the café, in order to be able to put them on again when we headed out. Nothing like putting on a nice heavy cold damp jacket…lovely. Still, it worked, and for once I’d gotten my clothing choice right – longs, short layer, winter jacket, Buff to prevent ice-cream head, overshoes to protect the feet, and new winter gloves (which are going to take some getting used to). I cycle even worse when I’m over-heating, and it feels immeasurably better when I get it right 🙂

We came back through Wells, along the Burcott Mill road, and across the Levels. GB was off in the distance somewhere – clearly not suffering any aftereffects from last weekend’s Beast. I spent most of my time quietly sitting at the back, enjoying being out, pushing to keep up but not so much as to be miserable. Then it was up Mudgely Hill. That man does like his hills… Still, it’s one way to keep warm I suppose! Then it was back down my fave road, with GB on my tail. I made it 25mph for a little bit there, which was fun. He left me for dust on the bypass though – which put me firmly back in my place *grin*

Cycling time: 2:40:33
Distance: 38.35 miles
Avs: 14.3 mph
ODO: 2598 miles

All in all, even with the chill, the rain and the wind, it was a really great ride. I’m sure if there had been more rain, it would have been a different story but we were quite lucky really. I’m all chilled again now 🙂

You can probably see GB’s take on it here later…be interesting to see how we differ *grin*.

Moving on up

Thanks to the Oirish one, I was able to get out for a couple of hours this afternoon – and it was a huge improvement on Sunday’s ride. I did one of my usual training loops, with the odd wiggle tacked on for variety. I even did Mudgeley Hill, mostly because I couldn’t be bothered to do the usual loop to avoid it as I’m bored with going that way.

It was pretty warm – no winter jacket – and though I may have set off wearing two layers, I ended up in just the one about 40 minutes in. I really don’t do well when overheating, so getting comfortable made me feel much better. It being a Wednesday afternoon, there was very little traffic of any sort out and about, which was nice. What wind there was did a fairly good job of being behind me from time to time too.

I spent a while on the Levels around Burtle and Mark, and also on the way back from Wedmore, doing 20mph consistently, down on the drops, in fairly happy bunny mode 🙂

Cycling time: 1:56:41
Distance: 31.58 miles
Avs: 16.1 mph
ODO: 2560 miles

Which probably explains my average speed – again, way better than on Sunday. I find it easier to relax into corners and down hills when it’s just me I guess. And what with it being half term and the mob being constantly home, I had some stress to work out too!

By the time I got back I felt immeasurably better – approaching human…or as close as I get! *grin*. See – I really shouldn’t be kept away from my bike for too long…

Happy Birthday!

A year ago I started blogging my rides. Since then I have:

had 3 accidents: cracking 2 helmets, and adding concussion, a few more scars, and a chipped shoulder bone to my list of cycling war wounds. In fact, the first of these incidents was a year ago today too!
upgraded my bike and kit
raised £1654.03 for Action Medical Research, thanks to friends, family, and my lovely sponsors.
completed 7 events up to and including the London to Paris – a total of around 830 miles.
made lots of lovely cycling friends both locally with the ACG and further afield from the L2P. I couldn’t have done it all without their help and support.
cycled 4928 miles – which is a bit like spending 2 weeks non-stop on the bike, and is further than I drive in a year!

So, Happy Birthday to my blog 🙂 I’ve enjoyed writing it, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it, and I’m sure I shall continue. After all, I don’t cease to be the Cycling Mayor until May, so you’ve got months more of me to go yet! *grin*.

When the going gets tough

The ACG turned out at 9:30am, to unseasonal warmth and sunshine. There were 6 of us, split into two groups, which worked well. One half went off one way, and the other half, myself included, headed off to the Walled Garden at Wrington for coffee and cake. It’s nearer than I’d remembered, and it only took us about 45 relatively easy minutes to get there. It’s clearly very popular with cyclists too – as there were others there, and a group of 24 due in! It was a very lovely place to sit – nice cake, great views. What more do you want? Well, if you’re K, a bacon butty, but he reckons just for once that he wouldn’t have had one even if he could *grin*.

Off we went again, and discovered the reason it had been relatively easy all the way there. Very strong headwind! That’ll do it every time… We slogged back towards Sandford from whence we were due to loop out and ’round again…

The wind blew. The roads were horrible – wet, covered in leaves, muddy, full of pot holes and manhole covers, one of which nearly took me out in Winscombe. Every obstacle was panicking me, and I’d slow down too much, and then have to try and catch up – I just couldn’t loosen up today. And it’s not like I was fast anyway – I don’t know if it was knowing I had to get back in time to get out again, or due to the time of the month, the related medication I’m on, being slightly over dressed, the red wine last night, the moon being in Capricorn (or some such), but it really wasn’t happening for me today.

So, when we got back to Sandford, I bailed. The other two headed off as planned, and I took the direct route home up and through Winscombe. Oddly enough, my average speed went up, probably because I only had myself to worry about and could relax a bit more. And then there’s the 25mph down the bypass which was very enjoyable 🙂

Cycling time: 1:27:01
Distance: 20.50 miles
Avs: 14.1 mph
ODO: 2528 miles

Not the greatest ride ever, but it was still good to get out. I’ll be posting again later, but that’ll do for now 🙂

Dancing in the moonlight

I’m stuck at home at the moment, and for a while, due to eldest’s feet, and half term. Opportunities to get out on the bike are few and far between, relying on hubby taking leave, or being home early, and the weather being nice at weekends. No pressure then.

So, Friday rolled around, and hubby was home at lunchtime as usual. I had it down as “cycling” in my diary, and had been considering doing a properly hilly route. However it turned out to be completely the wrong time of the month for doing that kind of thing, so I rummaged through my saved routes on Bikely to find one that looked about the right length without being too repetitive. Which be here if you be interested.

I wrapped up – a little too warm as it would turn out – and headed out at around 1:30pm ish. The first twenty minutes were more hideous than unusual – but once I’d warmed up, and then taken my Buff off my head, I settled down to feeling ok, and actually my legs felt pretty good the entire way ’round.

Cycling time: 2:25:27
Distance: 36.91 miles
Avs: 15.1 mph
ODO: 2508 miles

It was a pretty good ride – much better than I’d been expecting somehow. I got rained on briefly around the Nyland loop but luckily that passed. I practiced going down hill and ’round corners a bit, though there was slightly too much traffic around to make that entirely comfortable. I got to hurtle back down my favourite road, albeit with a little less tail wind than I was expecting but hey – better than a headwind! Towards the end of the ride it was clouding over a lot, and light levels were pretty low – I was wishing I’d put the headlight back on the bike just in case…so I guess I should do that before the next time. Which will be even worse as the clocks go back today… Winter won’t stop me cycling, but I have to admit to preferring it in the summer! 🙂

Mr Blue Sky

Sometimes it’s nice to combine cycling with life. As Sunday was Dad’s birthday, we had plans for a family lunch in Portishead. What’s the best way to get there? On two wheels of course! With the support car bringing up the rear, full of “proper” clothes (ie no lycra!), the mob, and the bike rack on the back for the post-lunch journey home. G was also planning on get some miles into his Sunday, so agreed to come along for the ride, and then head off and do his own thing.

We set off from the Square at the usual 9:30am, in distinctly chilly sunshine. I’d gone with the winter jacket, wooly socks, and even my new buff to keep my head warm – and I was to remain glad of all of those.

You’d think going to Portishead was a fairly direct thing – and it can be. It’s about 18 miles or so if you go the straight there way but…well…that wouldn’t get many miles in would it? So, we went my much more circuitous route, via WSM and the like. It took me quite a while to warm up – both physically and literally. G is just too fast for me – and I did feel like I was having to keep up again. Maybe it’s something about the “G” thing? I shall take to avoiding cyclists with that initial at once! *grin*. 😉

Anyway, it was a good day for a ride, as well as for seeing the seaside – at Weston and at Sand Bay – it was clear, blue, still, and relatively tourist free. I lost my toes somewhere around Kewstoke…but I’m going to have to get used to that again now 🙁 Hey, I’m sure they’re not essential…

G and I parted company near Clevedon – as he had bigger hills to climb and I’d been holding him back a bit. At that point we’d been doing an average of 16mph. Obviously, left to my own devices, and with the long climb up to Portishead, that went down a bit. Just before I took the left to climb up in Walton in Gordano, I was overtaken by a white Buff estate car covered in their logos, which made me smile, what with them having sponsored me, and me sporting a logo on my back too. I wonder if the driver noticed? 🙂

Cycling time: 2:08:32
Distance: 33.73 miles
Avs: 15.6 mph
ODO: 2471 miles

It was a good ride – and I proper felt like I’d earnt my lunch. The weather was just lovely – much nicer than expected – but there’s definitely very little heat left in that sun now. Time for the overshoes as well methinks. And I really must get myself some decent winter gloves, rather than just talking about doing it.

I’ve also been wondering how much it would cost to get my old bike set up as a winter training bike – with new wheels (the old ones are slightly buckled), drop handlebars, and so on. It would make more sense than trashing this one but… Well, maybe I’ll go and ask Paul, and see what he says.

Grey Day

G was free for a couple of hours on Thursday afternoon, and hubby had a half day off to allow me to escape, so that was that. Not a lot to report really. We did a very standard pretty flat 2 hour loop. It wasn’t windy, and it wasn’t too cold, but it was just very very grey. It also felt like bl**dy hard work for some reason – I think G was in rocket powered mode, and I was permanently trying to keep up. I even gave up chatting after a while to concentrate of breathing – it’s all a question of priorities you know…

Cycling time: 1:50:13
Distance: 28.73 miles
Avs: 15.6 mph
ODO: 2437 miles

And after all that – were we going fast? No, not really. Which is just like the other day – I felt fast, I wasn’t. Quite disheartening really 🙁

All right now

Today was the last opportunity to go for a ride easily for a while – as my time is about to get taken up by various other things, not the least of which will be the two week half term, so I really had to get out on the bike. I wasn’t feeling all that motivated, but I made myself.

I decided to make the most of the continuing sunshine and non-existent wind to go to the seaside. I headed out of town via the post office for a couple of chores, and then out through Winscombe, Sandford and Puxton. The skies clouded over as I wiggled through Kewstoke and Sand Bay, but as I came past the old pier and into Weston, they cleared and the sun came out for good.

Weston was even more chaotic than usual, with all the roadworks and seafront development going on. There were also an awful lot of pedestrians either not looking for cyclists as they ambled across the road, or getting out of their cars by opening the door towards you… so I was pleased to head out of town, past a very lovely red Lamborghini Gallardo, to Uphill. Rather than head home via Bleadon, I took a right at the curry house, and came back via Brent Knoll and Mark.

Cycling time: 2:36:03
Distance: 40.30 miles
Avs: 15.4 mph
ODO: 2408 miles

I felt like I was going much faster – certainly whenever I looked down I was doing over 17mph – so I’m not sure what happened to the average speed. I’m pleased that I managed to get out for a little bit longer than usual, and I did enjoy it. Who wouldn’t, with weather like that? However my head was a bit preoccupied and I kept zoning out so maybe I wasn’t pushing as hard as I could have been. It was good head thinking space though 🙂

Blinded by the light

The ACG were out again this morning, albeit only 3 of us. The others don’t know what they were missing…

G led us the direct way to Brean Down, taking in the hills at the Webbington and Bleadon, where we stopped at the café there for tea and in my case, a very nice cherry scone. I do like their scones 🙂 Then it was back in more circuitous, and flatter, fashion. The long straight bits between Mark and Burtle were the kind of heaven cyclists probably dream about. Apart from the ones that like hills that is. It really was perfect cycling weather – again! – especially on the way back, with the wind at our heels, the sun shining. The only slight draw back was that the weather was so lovely an awful lot of motorists were insisting on being out and enjoying it too! Very inconsiderate *grin*.

Having taken the plunge and dug the longs out I was nice and warm too – warm enough to take the arms off the top layer half way ’round – so I think I’d got it just about right. Clothing decisions are a nightmare!

Cycling time: 2:13:53
Distance: 37.00 miles
Avs: 16.4 mph
ODO: 2368 miles

As you can see, we weren’t hanging around. G and I flew back – apparently he was desperate to get back and go up Shipham Hill (strange man) where as I was more keen on just getting home! There was another serious looking cyclist in the distance on the bypass home, and it being one of my favourite stretches, I had to go rabbit chasing… I kicked off, reeled him in, and went smoothly past at speed before turning in for home. Very satisfying. Mind you, after all that effort, I was drenched by the time I got home! I think it was worth it for the buzz… 🙂

PS: minus the winscombe/shipham bit, our route is here.