No not daft puppetry pigs a description of tonights commute home. It was clear as a bell today and lung burningly cold, when I finished work I wondered what the chances were of me making it home before darkness proper.
A clear run down fleet street and the attempt was good to go a large gear pushed, and gaps and lights pushed all the way through hackney, more than my fair share of amber gambling and tight squeezes and just one kerb hop to escape trouble saw me reach Leabridge road.
From then on it was just head down big ring punishment in the bike lane all the way along to my turn off, a rat run up a hill and through the village to the flat as I turned to look west the last vestiges of pink and orange were still visible, success, the elation of the nights pulling out was short lived as the exertions began to tell.
Into the warmth and everything seems just right the first really hard commute of the year with perhaps the biggest reward, what a brilliant end to a day at work, bikes are really truly marvelous things. Read the rest of the entry...
I had quiate an early start yesterday and went out for ride with Lea Valley CC, it wasthe slow group all very friendly, but it's actually confirmed that despite almost a month off my bike due to snow and bitterly cold weather I'm still a lot fitter than I actully give myself credit for.
A really nice group of people though and I also learnt a nice way out to the back roads I like to use in Essex for solo rides, which is both easy to remember and not as nasty as some of the other ways I've gone. We called in at the excellent Hoghill Circuit, it's about 40 minutes away from home so just the right distance for me to get too for any cx races next season which is excellent, good cheap coffee as well, well filter and 70p a cup nice cake too although I didn't indulge. We minced about so long outside that my legs turned blue so after a bit of a pootle I shot off of the front to head home.
I got lots of nice cheese in the groceries this week so after a shower I headed out to grab a baguette and ... Read the rest of the entry...
Four days worth of commuting and a club run albeit a short one planned for Saturday, that's sounding a bit like the Family Fortunes "bing" to that question. I'm also feeling less like a fatty as well which is nice, oh and I don't feel quite so unwell when I start pushing the big gear on the way in to work.
I've had a proper trip to the dentists as well this week some tooth hacking surgery required soon, that's going to smart no doubt. Interestingly my new dentist has loads of fancy high tech bits like a digital X Ray machine, which is proper cool, you can see exactly how knackered your teeth are which isn't quite so much fun. Read the rest of the entry...
After a failure to ride yet again at the weekend, no thanks to rain and power links that aren't actually power links in 10speed chains...
The live internet feed for the cyclocross race in Belgium wasn't working either, still I did get to have a look at th ehouse we're buying again, I have plans already made for bike storage hopefully this is just a few weeks away now.
I finally managed to ride to work and back again today, it was dry and warmish, this morning's ride was a bit of a loosener, test my reactions, my lungs and my legs all felt alright and seemed to work which was a pleasant suprise if I'm honest.
A fairly uneventfull day followed.
Getting out of work teh basement was freezing getting outside was warmer and it struck me that the sky was a light purple, the first time I've left this year not in the black, totally black by the time I got home, but the first glimmer of light of the new year was a real treat. Read the rest of the entry...
So no riding this weekend either, too cold wet icy etc...
My one justification is that a broken collarbone from a fall at this tim eof the year will see the rest of the year go up in smoke, I can afford to wait a little bit before taking to two wheels again.
To make matters worse there was a lack of pastries at the bakery on Saturday morning when I went in, shocking!
Still the internet came to my rescue yesterday, a live feed from the Belgian cyclocross champs was ace made me feel that I was kind of still a cyclist, sort of.
First club run of the year on Saturday specifically for new members a short run, just 25 miles at a modest speed still it'll see me riding bikes again, which can only be good. Read the rest of the entry...
I can again it's fabulous.
The cold weath has had be bouncing off the limits of my usual Salubutamol, Symbicort cocktail Asthma medication.
I picked up a prescription for a Beta Antagonist (Singulair) yesterday, first dose last night, regular drugs back down to summer level oxygen debt headache and bad mood gone, plus I can breathe in cold air without taking ten minutes to get my breath back.
Now I just need the ice to thaw a bit and I can think about riding bikes again! Read the rest of the entry...
Am I the only person who hates it?
I want our regular 7 degree damp cold January days back so I can ride my road bike to and from work to get rid of the Christmas lard.
This winter is the motivation I need to save up for a training camp somewher next January to go and ride bikes in double figure temperatures drink proper coffee and eat pastries. Read the rest of the entry...
I rode a bike today only to work and back it was cold but fun nonetheless, dry and sunny though which was nice, still relatively quiet as well, schools can't be back yet?
I'm commuting just between dawn and sunrise proper for the next few days at least so I should try and get some pictures of the Marshes really, they're lovely this time of year especially with a dusting of frost.
Hopefully the last part to build my Mercian should arrive tommorrow and I can send a big box of bling off to Alvaston for the chaps to build it up when the frames built, all very exciting. Read the rest of the entry...