Friday afternoon:  childcare sorted, sun shining, and no excuses.  Time to ride then.  GB has been advised that, post track-standing induced injury, he should rest up for a couple of weeks.  Advice that, in the best of traditions, he is ignoring completely…  I notice he’s unclipping from the pedals more now tho’… 😉

So – 2 pm in the Square, and we set off into the almost warm sunshine.  A positive start.  However Axbridge was suffering from the usual meteorological anomalies, as the apparent complete absence of cold headwind proved to be a glitch in the space time continuum…normal service was resumed on the way out to Wedmore.  We didn’t really have a route planned, other than to try and not do exactly the same route as usual.  We headed out across the levels, and once at Glastonbury I had an idea, so I took GB on a mystery route to Ashcott.  It’s very weird doing a route you always do one way in reverse, and there was a certain amount of hoping that I was getting it right…but I was, as we came out exactly where I expected to.  Always good 🙂  It was a nice way to get up there actually, so I think I’ll be doing that again.

From there it was down through Shapwick, enjoying the stunning views over to the Mendips, and around Burtle.  Most of this was hard slogging into the wind stuff.  I was relieved to hear that I wasn’t the only one feeling it and looking forward to putting it behind me – literally!  Which happened as we took the shorter cut across to Blackford.  Sun on the back, wind on the tail.  Nice 🙂  We wended our way from there to Cocklake and down the main road to Cheddar where we showed remarkable restraint and didn’t race…

We did try and see what happens when the person in front slows down after turning right and the person behind doesn’t…  Apparently you get a very unusual tyre against tyre noise, some interesting yelling, and distinctly increased adrenalin levels…*grin*.  No harm, no foul, as we were both still on our bikes afterwards, which is the kind of  non-racing incident I can cope with.  From there it was a hop, skip and a jump to home…

Cycling time: 2:29:10
Distance: 38.13 miles
Avs: 15.3 mph
ODO: 3236 miles

About half an hour before home my knee went, swiftly followed by my shoulder and then – a new and exciting pain – my left lower back!  Ooh, the novelty.  I think I may need to get someone to get a look at how my new saddle is set up…  As ever, I was colder than I felt at the time, which took a while to wear off once home.  I feel like I cycled a lot further than I did – and am blaming the headwind, the consistent speed and the inconvenient stomach cramps.  (I’m a girl – ’nuff said).    The wondrous pink pills have helped with most of the aforementioned.  A couple of glasses of red wine and a good night’s sleep should fix the rest 🙂

Going to try for 50 miles on Sunday…

Well it was sunny.  That’s about all I say for today’s ride.  Other than that it was cold, windy, and thoroughly miserable.  Even my computer flooped out for a bit, and I reckon I lost 4 miles or so (having checked our route on bikeroutetoaster.  Still, figures are figures, and here they are.

Cycling time: 2:27:45
Distance: 34.75 miles
Avs: 14.0 mph
ODO: 3164 miles

The first hour or so, out via Bleadon to WSM and out again, were ok.  GW and I nattered, and the time passed.  The sun shone, the tide was out, and the North Wind blew…  However, though I was wearing every layer I possess, at some point I lost my feet.  Probably around Ebdon somewhere, which is roughly where I started to get lost by GW too.  And you know how much I enjoy that.  After a while all I could feel was the pain in my feet – odd how something absent can hurt so much – which was totally distracting me from the actual act of pedalling. On the A370 main road from there to Yatton – a down on the drops, head down, boring stretch – I swear I almost felt like falling asleep!  Very weird…

I would have bailed earlier, but that required talking to GW which would have meant either an herculean effort to catch her (never going to happen) or some serendipity with junctions/traffic lights…  Finally, in Yatton, as she was unsure of our route and was waiting for me, I caught her.  After a detour getting lost around Claverham which was at least more sheltered, I decided that there was no way I could face detouring around the roadworks to get to Portishead, warming up, and then having to get cold all over again to come home.  I know I need to get the miles in, but I can’t imagine there would have been much benefit in doing them today!

We turned ’round and headed towards Wrington, and GW decided to do a u-turn and head out to explore Clevedon.  Sadly I had no idea where I was and had to guess my way back which, luckily, worked out ok.  I’ve done enough of those roads, and they all join up sooner or later…  I think the best bit of the entire ride was the hurtle down the A368 from Churchill to Sandford.  That I nearly enjoyed…

Other than that…it was cold.  Cold.  Cold.  Cold.  It took 20 minutes in a hot bath before all my toes were back, and I’m still feeling spacey 🙁

Another Friday, and another ride with GW.  As it turns out, we did pretty much the same loop as I did on Wednesday.  However, you couldn’t get two more different rides as this time the sun shone, the views were visible, and it was really enjoyable!

GW was on her shire-horse again which, from my point of view, is fab, as it slows her right down.  On the down side, it’s power training, so by the time she gets back on the thoroughbred, she’ll be faster and stronger than ever…!

Cycling time: 2:17:29
Distance: 31.76 miles
Avs: 13.8 mph
ODO: 3096 miles

Due to GW’s bike, and the girly chatting, it was a slower ride but, like I said, a much more enjoyable one.  I’d forgotten how nice it is to cycle in the sunshine, with only the roads being wet, not me!  So nice that I even felt up to washing the bike when I got back.  It’s all clean and shiny now 🙂

If I keep not going cycling because the weather is crap then, bearing in mind the fact that the forecast predicts the same for days to come, I’ll never get out on the bike.  Since I’m due out with GW on Friday, and with GB over the weekend, I made myself go out today, so that I have tomorrow to rest (ie go to the gym instead).

I set off around 9:30ish, into the drizzle.  I did the seaside route, more or less.  It was low cloud, poor visiblity and either drizzle or rain the entire way round.  Nice.  Since my legs and bum were soaked through after about half an hour, it didn’t make much odds what form of precipitation it was really.  My gloves were eventually soaked too, but somehow managed to keep my hands warm nonetheless.  My upper half fared somewhat better as the water had more layers to go through, and the fact that I’d opted for the base layer meant my core temperature stayed a bit higher than sometimes too.  But there’s only so much you can do.  By the time I got home my feet had deserted me, various other bits of me had gone numb, and I really couldn’t summon up the energy to wash the bike.

Cycling time: 2:01:27
Distance: 30.97 miles
Avs: 15.2 mph
ODO: 3064 miles

The actual riding went quite well.  Oddly enough I think the (sunglasses covered in rain) reduced visibility helped a bit, as I couldn’t see the road surface in enough detail to panic about it too much.  The roads were wet rather than muddy which is always nicer.  I spent my time on the drops again, as my knee was twinging early on, and I definitely ride better down there.  I think I feel more stable, I can brake better as I can reach the levers properly, and I feel better going round corners.  If I’m going to keep that up, I think I’m going to have to do some work on my neck muscles though, as all that looking forward is a position my neck isn’t used to, so it got a bit achey.

So I rode.   It was a bit trance like out there – head down, ignore your surroundings (because you can’t see them anyway) and just push on.  It wasn’t until I pulled up at the house and got off the bike that I realised quite how zoned out I’d been, and how wet/miserable my body was!  It really wasn’t quite as unpleasant as it sounds, but I was seriously pleased to get home and have a long hot bath.

Better out than in?  Probably 🙂

I’m not getting out much at the moment as every time I have plans to, the weather louses them up.  Tuesday was abandoned due to a zero degrees temperature – frostbite really isn’t my thing.

Today was better.  Although, judging by how long it took me to warm up in the bath, not much better.  Still, as I didn’t feel it too much when we were out, that’s ok.  It also managed not to rain on us.

I went out for the usual training loop with GW, and we nattered the entire way around.  GW was on her workhorse bike, the heavy Dawes, which was a blessing.  In fact, she even asked me to slow down a couple of times.  It also meant that the poor girl was stuck with sticking with me, which I imagine I appreciated much more than she did *grin*.  Yes – I know, she was handicapped – but you have to take little pleasures where you can, and that was certainly one of them.    Ah, the day that GW asked ME to slow down… 😉

Cycling time: 2:10:43
Distance: 31.93 miles
Avs: 14.6 mph
ODO: 3033 miles

Talking and cycling slows you down and also makes you work harder.  We were going to come back via the Nyland wiggle, but both my knee and shoulder were hurting.  They both felt better on the drops, but it seemed best just go come home directly.  I had a long bath to defrost in, and to soak the aforementioned achey bits, but in hindsight I’m not entirely sure that was a good idea as it seemed to induce instant fatigue pretty much as soon as I got out.  I grabbed some lunch and had to have a siesta as staying awake became impossible.  Weird!

As I sat in the bath, it hailed.  Which made me feel very pleased about being where I was and no longer where I had been 🙂

Also known as not cycling but swimming…

I had to go out this morning – as GW made me.  W came along for the ride, which made three.  Never a good number.  And it was raining.  A lot.  It had been for hours…which meant that even when it wasn’t raining, it was still very wet.   Many of the roads were more like riverbeds as the water from the hills poured off towards the Levels, and I met a couple of cracking potholes,  hidden beneath the muddy torrents…  I left the two of them to carry on their merry way after half an hour or so and headed back, which at least meant I could do things my way.

Cycling time: 1:17:10
Distance: 18.84 miles
Avs: 14.6 mph
ODO: 2966 miles

The only up side of all the water was that the bike didn’t need a lot of cleaning when I got back.  I popped into see Paul this time, and picked up some new brake block things that I’m going to try fitting later.  I’ve also been meaning to mention that I have a new saddle – a Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow – and it’s fantastic!  🙂

The weather forecast said 3C and sleet.  I was <this> close to wimping out but chose instead to compromise.  An hour on my bike this morning, and an hour in the gym this evening. I togged up, base layer and buffs a plenty, and headed out into the dismal drizzle.  I did a little loop through Cross, up the scenic (ie not madly steep) way to Badgworth, down to Cocklake, ’round Nyland, down the back route from Draycott into Cheddar, and home.  To be honest, it was pretty miserable…  I was going to pop in and see Paul at the LBS for some advice on my brakes, but couldn’t face the thought of stopping, warming up, and then having to get back on the bike and out into the cold again!

Cycling time: 1:01:46
Distance: 14.95 miles
Avs: 14.5 mph
ODO: 2947 miles

I didn’t realise how muddy I was until I parked up the bike and looked down to see if I should clean it.  I cleaned it.  I didn’t realise how wet I was until I started taking sodden layers off.  Straight into the washing machine with those.  I didn’t realise how cold I was until the warm shower actually made bits of me hurt by waking them up.  Oddly – not my feet, but the fronts of my thighs, which had been cold enough to be painful on the ride.  I even developed a minor case of ice-cream head as I came into Cheddar, having discovered an interesting bitter wind in Draycott.  I could have cycled longer, but I’m glad I didn’t have to 🙂

Still, it’s all good training, and I need to be doing some of that 🙂

I’m a couple of rides behind, so had best catch up.  What can I say, I’ve been busy!

On Saturday I went out with GW for a couple of hours.  We did my bog standard loop, which, coming as it did after the start of the season of over-indulgence, seemed like hard work.  Then again, the pressure to keep up and not slack off probably didn’t help.  It was good to be out, the weather was nice enough but…still oddly not that enjoyable.  I was happier once I’d stopped for sure!  I was also colder than I’d realised…it took a while to get my core temperature back up to normal.

Cycling time: 2:20:07
Distance: 33.28 miles
Avs: 14.2 mph
ODO: 2822 miles

Yesterday I was unfortunately carless, which meant that unless I fancied walking home from the gym, it was the bike or nothing.  So I ventured out on my own.  Feeling undermotivated, I picked the flattest route I could come up with.

Cycling time: 1:59:07
Distance: 32.22 miles
Avs: 16.1 mph
ODO: 2855 miles

Yes.  It was very flat.  Like that’s a bad thing! 😉  But I wasn’t pushing – I was deliberately going at whatever speed felt right to me at the time.  Pleasing only myself, as it were.  It was overcast, grey, and inevitably intermittently wet.  So it wasn’t the greatest ride ever, but it turns out to have been fairly fast for me.  And it was more enjoyable.  It’s so odd how mental attitude influences how a ride feels and how it actually goes.

And both times, when I got back home, I cleaned the bike.  Go me! *grin*