Poor start to the year

Subject says it all really.  The last two weeks have been pretty poor miles wise.  I was down in Bristol again the week before last.  I was supposed to be there Tuesday to Thursday, with the intention of getting back for the Thursday pub run.  In the end I didn’t get back til Friday and even then was too late for the Friday beer with Karl.  Then last week I was down there again for a couple of days and Thursday was our belated Christmas do.

There were a couple of highlights though.  We got out and did some miles on the tandem.  Sunday before last Jayne and I went out on our own and did a loop through the lanes in the morning, then went out in the wind and rain and cold with Karl and Alison to Bonds for a tea cake and cup of tea.  30 miles in all.

Then on Saturday, we rode out to Barton Grange.  Unfortunately we got there too late for bacon butties, but had a nice bowl of soup instead.  It was quite cold though.  27 mile.

On Sunday we tried to go out again but there had been a light dusting of snow.  We gave it a go but after seeing a car sliding towards us out of control, we decided to go home. 1 mile

Annual total – 206

Cheers

Tim

First proper ride

Alison texted me last night asking if I wanted to go for a ride today.  I had planned to go out with Jayne on the tandem, but she said to go on what would undoubtedly be a longer ride.

This morning was damp but with watery sunshine.  Four of the regular crew turned up.  Alison’s bike computer was not working so she asked me to keep an eye on the speed, reign in Joe’s speedy tendencies.  Then she and Joe shot off at massive speed, with the rest of us hanging in.  The run out across the flat area was fairly easy.  All the ice from the last week or two had gone.  It was a pleasant ride out over familiar roads, the quick route to Beacon Fell.

On the run up to Carwags had some small patches of ice, but most had gone.  Then as we turned into Carwags Lane, ice was everywhere.  We ended up running in the clear car tracks on either side of an icy central lump.  We were OK until the very top of the 1 in 4 climb, then ice spread across the entire lane and we unbeknown to me, the others walked and I risked a very dodgy traverse across the ice.

Then we got to the visitor’s centre/cafe and it was closed!  We soon realised why when we set off to Scorton.  The road down was sheet ice, unwalkable.  We struggled down on the frozen grass verges.  Eventually we got back onto rideable roads and it was probably the slowest ever descent to Wadecar.

There were loads of people out.  The Priory was mobbed and we passed at least one large group coming away.  Everyone wanted to be out after a couple of weeks of enforced staying in.

A tough ride back through Nateby and Our Rawcliffe was hard but eventually we made it back.

46 miles, hard.

65 for the week

110 for the year

Cheers

Tim

Winter is still here

We are still in the grasp of some pretty chilly weather, well at least for round here.  I rode in on Monday.  It was pretty cold, below zero, but fairly dry.  Tuesday brought snow.  we never get snow here, certainly not 3 or 4 inches that fell on Tuesday morning.  Jayne’s school was closed, Jamie’s college bus didn’t come.  I worked from homer til they were home then rode in on my mountain bike.  On the fresh snow, it wasn’t too slippy and I got in with only a few scares.  I left early to get home before it got too dark.  Wasn’t too bad on the way home, appart from overtaking cars blasting me with slush and the hail/sleet flurry just before I got in.

I stayed at home on Wednesday, but intended to go in Thursday.  Unfortunately, my car wouldn’t start.  I put the battery on charge and stayed at home.  Karl rang to see if we were still on for our usual Thursday night ride.  We’ve not been since the week before Christmas, so I said yes, despite the snow.  We decided that Ian and Karl would drive round to my house and we’d ride out from here, just round some of the quieter lanes.  The roads were like glass, but on the off-roads tracks it was great.  Ian took a tumble on a particularly icy bit, going down quite hard.  We got onto some quieter roads that had seen less traffic and therefore had less ice and more snow.  It was brilliant.  Then we got to the pub and it was closed because their heating had failed.  We went off-road to get home, Ian taking another tumble, trying to get his foot unclipped on another icy bit.  The last section was down through snowy fields and was great.  Apart from a stile where I slipped as I was lifting my bike over and broke my light bracket.  For the rest of the way, I had to hold the light and steer one handed.  A great night out, finished off with beer and bacon butties at home.

Friday I chickened out again and went in the car.  I drove out to our usual Friday swift pint at the Villa, and was roundly condemned by the regulars for not riding.

It is still icy and set to be cold for a week or so more.

Weekly miles – 36

Total miles – 45

Cheers

Tim

First Ride

We got our first ride of the year in today.  Temperatures have been hovering at about 0C for a few weeks now.  The snow that fell before Christmas is largely gone, but there are still thick patches of ice here and there where it hasn’t melted.  This morning was dry, bright and sunny, but still cold.  We decided to go out on the tandem.

There was a tricky patch getting out to the main road, where ice still covered almost all the road, but once past that it was OK until we got up to the Derby Arms.  Our side of the road, which was mostly in the sun, was OKish but the other side was a combination of unmelted thick ice with black ice in between.  In a few places this spread over both sides of the road.  It was a bit scary.  On a tandem you have responsibility for someone else and you tend to go down much harder and quicker than on a solo.  We decided not to do our normal route but to loop back to the main road, which should be ice free.  This was not without its problems as it meant riding into the low sun.  The sunlight glared off the road and you couldn’t tell what was wet and what was ice.  We got to the main road and decided to stop for a coffee to settle my frayed nerves.  After that it was a quick dash back down the main road and home.

9 miles in all.  Not a lot, but enough in this weather.

3991 miles to go!

Cheers

Tim

In Summary

I don’t think I’ll make it to 3500 miles for the year.  I’ve pretty much stalled at 3300.  Snow, ice and laziness have got in the way.  Despite that, it is still my best biking year for ages.  I’ve even done a couple of mountain biking trips.

Christmas was good.  My sister and my Mum and dad came up.  My Dad hasn’t been up for years, so it was good to see him.  I got a Washburn Rover travel guitar.  Hopefully it will encourage me to play more, the idea is that I will take it away with me when I go to Bristol.

We still have a couple of inches of ice on our road.  It snowed the weekend before Christmas and it still hasn’t gone away.  This is pretty unusual for round here, any snow at all is fairly rare.

I went out last week and did 40 minutes or so in the snow on my mountain bike.  Hard work but great fun.  Not been out since, too icy.

Not sure if I’ll get any more miles in this year, maybe a few to work and back on Thursday, but other than that, I doubt it.  So 3300+ will be my 2009 total.  I will have to set a higher target for next year, 4000 maybe.  And do some more mountain biking.

Cheers

Tim

Winter is Here

Winter has definitely arrived.  Monday was proper icy.  Only where the road was muddy or where water had been splashed from roadside puddles, but still real ice. And cold. 

I was down in Bristol til Friday, but again it was pretty cold and icy.  And foggy.  Coming back from the pub on Friday night, the visibility was down to a dozen feet, made worse by the condensation on my glasses.

I had arranged to go mountain biking on Saturday with Karl and co.  The plan was for Karl and Alison to pick me up at 8AM and drive up to Grizedale for a 9:45 start.  If I’d had my mobile with me when the alarm went off at 7, I would have rung Karl and cancelled. 

I’m glad I didn’t.  It was glorious.  As we drove round Windermere, the clouds and the mountains were reflected in the water.  It was picture perfect.  We met up with the others a bit late and exchanged the usual pleasantries and insults, before hitting the trail.  The day was a nice mix of fire road climbs, fast loose descents and swervy singletrack.  I was bitterly cold, not getting above freezing all day, but bright sunshine and no wind.  The only real problem was that the short stretch of road we had to do was covered with black ice.  Joe took a tumble when his bike just slid out from underneath him.  Highlight of the day was Tony loosing his mobile, then finding it again.  Lowlight of the day was right at the end.  There is a short loop of the North Face Trail we could do before going back to the car.  Alison didn’t want to do it, so headed back to the car park, while the rest of us hit the first of several short ice covered boardwalks.  Not only were they unrideable, they were also largely unwalkable. At one point we were crabbing along sideways with our heals hooked over the edge in order to avoid sliding down.  By the time we’d got past this and onto some rideable tracks, Alison rang to say she was lost.  We retraced our steps, she retraced hers and by the time we found each other it was too dark and we had to head back to the cars.  All in all it was a brilliant day.

Cheers

Tim

Pride before a Fall

Not a literal fall, although I came close.  Just two poor mileage weeks.  Again work has got in the way.

Last week I was in London and didn’t get out too much.  I only managed one and a half days of commuting and didn’t feel up to our usual Thursday ride as I didn’t get back from London til late ish.  I had stayed in a really crappy hotel and didn't sleep particularly well, I never do.

The week before, I only did the Thursday ride and a short MTB ride on Sunday.  I was knackered at the beginning of the week after the mammoth exertions of the previous week.  The Thursday night was hard work, with strong winds and heavy rain again.

Sunday we went up to the South Lakes for a leisurely mountain bike ride.  Forecast was for rain, wind, cold, sleet and generally poor.  On the whole, it was OK.  Very wet but not too cold.  At one stage I was sliding sideways down the face of a rocky outcrop, while the trail went forwards.  Not exactly out of control, but not in control either.  But I survived.  My second MTB ride in as many weeks, and in as many years!

Hopefully, I can still do the 3500 for the year, but it does mean doing 100+ miles every week from now on.  And I’m in Bristol for 3 days next week.

Wish me luck

Tim