Not the ride I wanted but still good to get out...

I knew I wasn't 100% but hoped getting out on the bike would sort me out. The man flu I'd had two weekends ago has left me with a bit of a productive cough which is more irritating than debilitating. I hadn't been out on a club ride for ages so I thought stuff it I NEED TO RIDE! Unfortunately my best Bob Fleming impression came back and it became clear that a trip to Neville Holt was unwise. So I bailed and came home. It was nice to see everyone though. I've missed those guys!

Those of you who don't know Bob Fleming please see here...

riders gather

Steve has a new sponsor...don't tell Andy

So this is how my ride went. I'd swapped the road tyre back on to "Whanau," my beautiful Giant Propel, yesterday, determined that all this winter bike nonsense can be forgotten again until November. It felt great as I zipped down the hill and then bunker hill didn't feel too bad so I thought I'd be OK. I left the shop with the banter bunch and we hadn't left Kettering before Neil's tyre went bang! The poor chap didn't think it was a good idea to continue and I don't blame him, that would have been a disaster on a descent and at least he wasn't too far from home.

Obligatory mechanical shot

1. Rule #49//

   Keep the rubber side down.
   It is completely unacceptable to intentionally turn one’s steed upside down for any reason under any circumstances. Besides the risk of scratching the saddle, levers and stem, it is unprofessional and a disgrace to your loyal steed. The risk of the bike falling over is increased, wheel removal/replacement is made more difficult and your bidons will leak. The only reason a bicycle should ever be in an upside down position is during mid-rotation while crashing. This Rule also applies to upside down saddle-mount roof bars.23

   

Lovely gloves Neil

Leaving Kettering we encountered some curious driving practices before the first minor slope at Rushton. At this point I started to doubt myself. Then going into Desborough, which is not the north face of the Eiger my lungs felt on fire. I was completely shattered, so soon after that I called it a day and limped home. Pathetic I know! Also it denied my hero Pete Squires his mention in the blog. Hard luck Pete.

1. Rule #5//

   Harden The Fuck Up. 2,20

With very little cycling of my own to talk about it's time to discuss the exploits of others. At the height of my manflu Cav and Wiggo were rounding off a great Track World Championship for Great Britain. The road season is in full flow with the Spring Classics and a big win for 'G' and team Sky last weekend. Even better though was the exploits for Sport Relief last night. There's stuff we haven't seen yet though and I'm looking forward to seeing how James Cracknell got on in his Raleigh Chopper hour record challenge.



His inspiration is this other crazy geezer who did Mont Ventoux on his chopper and holds the current hour record.



Via the 'Selfie on a bike,' twitter feed I found out about a very inspirational man. Ernest Gagnon was over 500lbs had type two diabetes and was losing circulation in his legs. What did he do? He got on his bike. He's lost over 200 lbs and has participated in 25 cyclocross races. Check out his blog here: http://ernestgagnon.blogspot.co.uk/


Finally if you're into road bikes and you've never watched it, check out the GCN show. It's  great watch.



I'm hoping for some happier pedaling. Until then, at least there's always recovery cake.