Lockdown lifting but still riding solo!

Another week of these bizarre times has passed and it seems we may be able to meet friends and family a bit more from tomorrow. This week for me though has been much like last week. I have been for a run on my own, been out on my bike alone, had another ride with Sam and we've had another Corby Capers quiz.

Things are also progressing at home as the Queen of Cakes continues to use her 12 weeks of enforced shielding to work on the house. The garden is her latest project and this is my favourite addition so far!

Nothing unusual about this route, it's my regular morning spin. However I'm quite please with a 17.6 mph average. It might not be fast for some but for me it's a sign that my fitness is starting to get there.



The next day I went for my standard 5k run. Unlike my ride the day before this was a slow run for me. I'm really not sure what happened but I have  theory to test next week. I tend to run fasted in the morning. I'm going to experiment with a small breakfast to see if that gives me more spring in my step because I'd never dream of doing parkrun without eating.

On Friday evening Sam asked to go for another ride with me and as he thinks my standard route is fun we did that again!!!

It was lovely to be out on a bike with him and this shows the last ride wasn't a one off. Just need to keep this going. Hilariously Sam just wanted a chilled ride and no KOMs were under threat!

I was a very lucky boy in other ways on Friday. My box of Belgian beers arrived including the stunning Wipers Times. I also had an early Father's Day present; my new barbecue. I have already bought high quality Pipewell charcoal and we will fire it up later today.

Saturday was about exploring and working out what else was possible in terms of off road routes.The ground is now rock hard and I was glad I chose my MTB and not a CX bike.

Lovely Day!

I wanted to work out where I'd gone wrong from Pipewell a few weeks ago and...Failed miserably! This lovely gravel road is not the bridleway and apparently not a public right of way! A farmer kindly pointed out where I'd gone wrong. A shame because this was a nice bit of gravel riding.

Back on track and I once again enjoyed the bridleway through to Cottingham and then onto the Jurassic Way that runs at the bottom of East Carlton Park.

The horses were getting a lot of attention from the many visitors to the park and I had to take it easy through this bit.

I found the bridleway to Ashley and in these conditions it was a real treat. It's mostly ploughed field without ridges so it rode well. However I would not want to attempt this on soft ground.

The bridleway out of Ashley is okay but quite rutted. Again CX wheels would have struggled. It was good riding though and very hilly!

Often on rides like this it's difficult to be confident on trails you don't know. If only there was a sign like this more often! I followed the sign for Brampton Ash and it wasn't the easiest to ride on. After a few ploughed hills and steep hills which were too bumpy to enjoy it opened up into some parkland. I was hoping to find a way from the  A427 across to Desborough airfield. However I couldn't make out the track and there were lots of cows in the fields...I've mentioned before I don't trust them! So I just took the A427 to Stoke Albany and the road back to Desborough. A quick spin through the woods and then home via Shotwell Mill Lane. It was hot, dry, dusty and that's the most tired I have felt from a 20 mile bike ride in a very long time! It was good though. Next time I might go a different way at that 5 way sign.

In the evening we had the Capers quiz hosted by me. I was actually quite nervous because I wanted people to enjoy the quiz. If anyone else would like  go here's the link to the My Quiz web page https://myQuiz.org/q/13ede017-a039-44bc-a243-dfc2d11ccef3. It's a mixture of Tour de France, Giro, CX, Tour of Britain, Women's Tour, Hill Climbing and virtual rides during Covid. Everyone said they enjoyed it and they're not the sort of blokes to say it if they don't mean it. What struck me is that the good folk of Capers have amazing knowledge and even more than that have ridden alongside a lot top riders. It makes me wish I'd taken cycling seriously as a younger man.

Today I was looking for a few hours on the road and once again Brixworth Velo provided me with the perfect route. I hope they carry on creating routes that pass close to Rothwell! This time I decided to go clockwise. I wanted to head to Brixworth first as a kind of psychological trick. Weird things go through your head cycling. For me, if I'd ridden the other way it would feel like a second bike ride home when I got to Brixworth. Judging by the amount of BXV riders I saw, most of them did the route the other way. No idea who gave me the thumbs up from a car or who said hello way back at Foxhall, I'm hoping to find that out at some point!

With the wind behind me and possibly the flatter part of the route I made it through to Cottersbrooke in no time. Then it changed a little. As I approached Haselbech hill my legs tightened and half way up I was not enjoying the climb. However, as is often the case, once I'd done it I felt great and got back to enjoying the ride. 

I love the road from Naseby to Sibbertoft and today it was as nice as usual. After Sibbertoft I usually head to Theddingworth down that very steep hill. As my speed record is 52mph down there, it's probably a good thing I went the other way to Marston Trussell. 

On the hill out of Lubenham I saw these contraptions

Stunning views

Weston-on-Welland

Dingley water tower

There was a real test of the legs at the end of the ride for me. From Sutton Bassett it was uphill to Dingley, then uphill again to Braybrooke and then two more good hills through to Harrington! This would be another good hill training section. As I started that last hill I could see what looked like a recumbent in the distance with something else. I caught them at the top of the hill to find it was a lady on a hand bike and a child on a small horse. No idea who the lady was but I guess she has to be local. Kudos to her on that hill on a hand bike!

I really enjoyed that route and may do that again if I want something that's around 3 hours. 

So next week we can start riding in small groups again although the 2m rule remains so no tight bunches! I have enjoyed the solo rides but I'm also really missing cycling mates. Maybe next weekend it will start to get a little better for us lycra loonies.

Happy Pedalling

Runs, the end of free Strava, a Father's pride and a windy ride!

Having said I wouldn't blog this week it appears I have more than enough to write about! So this week it will be the usual bits on my running, some thoughts on the changes to Strava, the apparent return of Dad and lad rides and the big ride of the week!

It's the standard 5k to kick things off. Another good run but really not much else to say other than it pushed me to one run from completing the May marathon.

On Wednesday Sam Lindsley made my day! He asked if we could go for a ride together after work. In the morning I took the turbo tyre off my trusty Forme Longcliffe and made sure everything was shipshape for our ride. I put the seat back down, which was silly because it's now back at the height I had it. This is 'currently,' the right height for Sam which we all know means, he's nearly as tall as me and no doubt will soon be taller! I knew I had to be careful on the route choice. Long enough to worth it but not tool long to put Sam off. So we went for my standard 17 mile morning loop. Sam loved it! I loved being out for a ride with Sam. 

The next day Sam was telling his big brother Joe all about it. He was also keen to show Joe my strava, especially how many miles I've ridden over the years. Oh my god he actually sounded proud of his Dad!

I'm hoping this is a turning point and Sam will get back into cycling in a big way. I know not to push too hard. I definitely won't mention CX unless he does. This feels great - I don't want to ruin it!

On Thursday it was time for another run. Standard 5k route but I ran it in reverse. Earlier in the week I had bumped into Sharon from junior parkrun. This time I saw Gordon. It really gives me a boost to see people that I haven't sen for a while due to Covid19. I also completed the Covid marathon. When I looked on Strava though I realised that the changes to the free version meant I couldn't see my monthly total!

In response to that I decided to give the 60 day trial a go. So what's going on with Strava? Well they've decided that they need to focus on the paid version of the app and if possible make that the 'norm,' for Strava. My first thought was that this was a mistake. However I can see their point. The most popular tracking app available is not profitable. It appears we've all had it too good for too long. By moving to the paid app, not only have I got the features I'm used to back but also the premium features are now available. I know I would miss my training log and Strava without segments doesn't feel right at all. The extra stuff like the advanced fitness analysis and the live segments have already grabbed my attention. So...it looks like I might have become a subscriber after all!

On Saturday night we had another Corby Capers quiz. This week Sean hosted a superb quiz. It was back to my turn to be a techno dunce as for some reason Zoom would not work on my ipad. I'm going to host the quiz next week and I think it might be time to use the laptop! Sean struggled with kahoot so we went old school and held up cards from A-D with our multi-guess answers. It was great fun. Cheers to all and I hoe you enjoy next week!

This morning my good friend and work colleague, Amanda, agreed to hold the on call phone for a few hours so I could get a ride in. That's top 'looking after each other,' as far as I'm concerned and I am very grateful that my workmates understand how important cycling is to me.

I'd seen the route on the Brixworth Velo facebook page and it was ideal for me, passing close to home and providing a nice 50 mile loop. The direction was optional with the hope of seeing other riders out and about whilst maintaining social distancing! I opted to head towards Catthorpe into a strong headwind. It was horrible. However there was method to my madness. Much like a rugby team that opts to play into the wind in the first half to get the benefit in the second half, I was hoping the ride home would be much better than the ride out!

After 5 miles I felt like turning around and coming back. However I pushed on and eventually got to Catthorpe...sometimes pedalling hard downhill!

The ride back was well worth the ride there! As I turned eastwards it was like I was getting a big push in the back. There's a flat bit before you get to Yelvertoft and without much effort I was cruising at respectable speed. 

Out of Yelvertoft it gets a bit hilly for a while but I have to say I didn't really notice. Cheers tailwind! I'd gone from suffering to singing. Today's earworm was the Killers - Mr Brightside. It stayed like that all the way to Holdenby where the route creators had clearly planned a sting in the tail. Two decent hills in a very short space of time took me back to Brixworth. It was then only about ten miles home via Scaldwell, Old and Harrington. What a great ride!

That's it for this week.

Happy Pedalling

Marcus Birds' virtual peaks ride, sporteering, quizing and the odd run!

Another great week to blog about. The highlight has to be Marcus Bird's superb virtual peaks ride but lots if other good stuff too!

As ever my cycling blog starts with a run! Not much to see here, just another standard 5k to add to my May Covid marathon challenge.

Not wanting to risk my escape artist wahoo from getting lost I stayed home and did rollers on Wednesday. As I got off I discovered the postie had been and my new bracket and tether had arrived. Thanks to Mark for the advice on getting a tether, things should be a lot less risky from now on.

safe as houses

On Friday I went for my usual run again. I was planning to do 10k but the queen of cakes questioned the wisdom of this. She stated that 10k followed by riding all weekend would not be  wise! So I listened!!!

This is the main event of today's blog. C&D Cycles CC had planned to have a day out in the peaks this weekend. Because we couldn't (I think we can now,) do that Marcus Bird prepared this monster of a route to get a similar amount of climbing into a local ride. The whole ride is actually more than I did but I started out from home and just hoped to complete the 100km needed for a fondo.

Comparatively two rides from my past come to mind. The first is peaks ride I have done with C&D and the second is last year's Dartmoor classic.

There's the peaks ride. 6217ft in just over 52 miles!




Dartmoor classic, very very hilly ride. 6338ft in 71 miles!

With those two reference points in mind I think Marcus absolutely nailed his quest to find a comparatively hilly route starting and finishing in Kettering!

Some people are not coping with Covid...too much time on their hands in Braybrooke!

Who is that in the distance...it's Mike Corbett!

Hello mate...social distancing observed

Straight out of the blocks it was obvious how Marcus had created this ride. We went up and down every hill possible. I'm really not much of a climber but thanks to Newton, what goes up must come down. The downhills were glorious! Heading from Braybrooke to Dingley I spotted a blue C&D jersey in the distance. So I caught up with and greeted Mike Corbett. After a quick chat I went on and Mike followed from a safe distance.

Church at Sutton Bassett

I'm a bit obsessed with churches at the moment. Not in a religious way I'm just intrigued. We have all these magnificent buildings that were constructed centuries ago...sometimes they've been added to over the centuries. How did they get there without power tools or cranes? Who built them? Who decided on the designs. I know things like the floor layout is a cross. Why have some got a spire and others a tower? Was there like a top church designer that everyone wanted? More research required I think! Anyway whilst I took a picture of this Mike came back past me. I then overtook Mike again in Weston on Welland.

At a cross roads my Wahoo clearly indicated I was to go straight on. The road was called field road! Wahoo indeed! It was great to do a bit of Paris-Roubaix/Rutland Cicle/CX style riding, I was just grateful to be running tubeless on strong wheels!

I made it into Medbourne in one piece following the off road fun. The church obsession continues and I just love the bridge to get there! Again, who thought...we need a lovely bridge? Then it was up the monster that is Neville Holt for the first time! As usual I had an earworm and this reflects how much fun I was having. Stereophonics - I wouldn't believe your radio!

Covid conditions on a beautiful day for riding!

Stunning view across the Welland Valley

The duck pond at Hallaton

Steve Minney

After Hallaton I bumped into Steve Minney. He'd decided to do the route in reverse so he would see more club mates! I heard that Andy pendred was out on the route and I told Steve that Mike was behind me. "Oh no he isn't," said Steve, he's about a mile in front of you! This was most confusing. Steve warned me it was proper hilly ahead...he did not lie. At Launde Abbey I caught up with Mike again! He revealed that he had opted out of field road so had got to Medbourne by a more direct route! I don't blame him at all and no shame in that he would do more miles than me from Kettering anyway. It was glorious down the hill towards the Abbey and then there was indeed a lot more uphill. We did a loop around and back past the Abbey and of course back up the hill. On the following descent I saw Pete Rowbotham and then I though Hans van Nierop but it turns out it wasn't him and most likely it was Rob Moore (They look similar in Welland CC kit!) Descent of the day for me was down to Eyebrook reservoir. The place was packed. Lockdown easing has led to countryside recreation en masse! I knew what Marcus had planned though...we were heading back round to Drayton and another climb up Neville Holt. I was ruined by this point and the urge to walk was massive...but I did resist and pedalled all the way up it. 

I've mentioned before that drag from Ashley to Desborough is top quality hill training...it wasn't what I needed after 50 ish miles of a lot of hills! In Stoke Albany I got cramp for the first time so after that I was a bit tentative! On the route went and I made it round to Harrington...cue another church picture. At the Tollemarche Arms the official route took a right. However as I was on target for 100km I turned left and headed home to Rothwell. 

Harrington Church

I have to thank Marcus for this wonderous creation of a route. I very much doubt I shall make it a 'regular,' as one C&D regular, John Mackay, declared. Even more impressive was that Andy Pendred turned this into a 100 miler! It was a day for big rides as another good cycling mate, Chris Perry from Brixworth MTB did a 9 hour epic off road 100 miler. Kudos to all!!!

Recovery food by the Queen of Cakes! 

On Saturday evening we had another Corby Capers cycling quiz. This time our host was Dean Barnett. After the usual technical issues we had a great time. Despite some inhibiting Ribena the Wilsons' father and son team spanked all our butts with their superior knowledge. Dean very kindly chucked in a Sven Nys question (well Thibau but anyway his Dad was in the picture.) Then the last question was: "can you name this popular rider?" Dean had obscured the face. I looked at it and thought...no idea...so I answered Sven Nys! Then I saw the hint of Kettering CC down the side of the jersey and a glimpse of lime green Kasc helmet. It was me!!! Only one person got it right because no one can spell Lindsley. A lovely touch...thank you Dean. Sean is doing the quiz next week. I can't wait. This is becoming a highlight of lockdown. I will take my turn as quizmaster but not next week due to work stuff.

On Sunday I decided that my stiff legs from the day before needed to do some more sporteering. This one starts and finishes on the Market Square in Rothwell so is ideal for me. I'd done some planning this time and tried to programme a route into my Wahoo. The route I planned was ridiculous and I realised it wasn't possible for me to cover the distance off road and do the stop and start control point hunting. Here's the ridiculous route below...it would be a great off road group ride...especially now I know where I went wrong!

Once again, sporteering was good fun. I did learn some good new bridleways and single track. The bridleway between Ashley and Wilbarston is particularly good. On that...I missed control point 11 because I was having too much fun on a lovely downhill section! I'd already had to double back twice for similar mistakes. I also had to use the road around Corby because I completely lost the bridleway from Pipewell to Middleton. Not many pictures because I was focused on the challenge. However here's one where I clearly went wrong in Rushton!

I was right that I had no chance of getting all 24 control points in three hours. I can only see an absolute legend of cycling fitness and navigation getting this done in the time limit. I made it back to the start ten minutes over. It really isn't worth going over time because you lose a point a minute and a control point is worth 10-40 points. The bottom of my score sheet is below. You get this by email. 

Okay that's it for another week. I probably won't blog next week because I know I can't ride much over the bank holiday weekend. Unlike the song stuck in my head; you can't actually have it all!!!

Happy Pedalling!

Wahoo, Lezyne, Winter, Sven, Pauline and Sporteering!

What a week it's been! Lockdown weirdness persists and we're all making the best of it. This week I got out for a couple of runs, 3 rides, did Parkrun quiz and the excellent Corby Capers cycling quiz! So this blog is all about that, some technical issues and some hero worship.




Tuesday was my standard 5k run. It's more miles for the May Covid Marathon challenge. As per usual I saw a Red Kite and this is my best attempt at a picture. I recorded on my Wahoo Element Bolt because I don't trust the Lezyne watch and it appears a cycling specific computer also isn't that great at recording runs!!!

On Wednesday morning I was being a bit of a wettty and very nearly did rollers on a beautiful but cold morning. In the end I had a word with myself put all my winter kit on and got out for my usual 17 mile loop. I'm really glad I did because nothing beats the great oudoors!

In Arthingworth there was a clattering noise and I looked down to see my Wahoo was gone! Ever since I snapped this by falling off my MTB it's been held together by superglue and a zip tie. I always planned to buy a new mount but it was doing so well I'd not got round to it!!! Luckily I found the Wahoo in one piece and a new mount has been ordered!

On Thursday I decided it was time to get my 10k run for May done. I've worked out if I fiddle with the GPS settings that pesky Lezyne watch, it actually works!!! So on a beautiful morning it was a pleasure go for a run!

Always need a bird picture

Friday was Bank Holiday Monday or something like that! Thanks to Dean Barnet's post on facebook I've discovered sporteering. It's a bit like orienteering using an app link to sporteering app There are two routes to try  near me so I headed to the Harrington airfield war memorial to have a go at 'carpetbaggers.'

On the way I bumped into Ashley

War Memorial

Cows in fields...

Lovely tree

Bear that sign in mind for later!

I had a good ride but messed up the start for sporteering and if you get the start wrong nothing works! So I doubled back and did a quick test run. Once I knew what to do, I headed home with plans to try another day.

On the ride I noticed that my bike felt wrong at the front. So on Saturday I stripped down the headset and removed the forks. The problem was very simple to diagnose. The bottom fork bearing was corroded and very crunchy! Normally I'd take this sort of job to Andy at C&D but in these troubled times I'm trying to be more self sufficient. New part ordered and lets see how I get on!

On Saturday evening we had yet another Corby Capers quiz. Having scored a pathetic 8/15 in the parkrun quiz earlier in the day I was confident that I'd do better in this quiz. I was additionally reassured by Hans, this weeks quizmaster, as he promised lots of Sven Nys questions! Once again I memorised the great man's wikipedia page. I knew all about his 2005 and 2013 world cx championship victories. I knew about the world cup, superprestige, controversies etc I even knew he was born on 17th June 1976! This was all in vain though because there was two questions...two Hans (or should I say Josh who put the questions together.) I managed to get 50% of them wrong due to a team name trick question. Then we had a question which had a picture which I got right before I saw the picture. The answer was Pauline Ferrand-Prevot! Possibly the most beautiful cyclist on the planet. I follow her on instagram because she's an awesome cyclist and not just because she's very easy on the eye. All social media savvy cyclists should follow Pauline, she is the ultimate all rounder being the only person in history to hold the World title for road, mountain bike and cyclocross at the same time. She is also an amazing role model having overcome serious injuries and always recovering to compete at the top level. More here Back to the quiz...we used a great quiz app this week. You got bonus points for fast answers and I came 5th out of 9 mostly due to some lucky quick guesses!!! Next week Dean is going to be the quiz master, as someone who REALLY knows his cycling I'm looking forward to a low scoring but educational evening.

This morning I decided to have another crack at the sporteering thing. The organiser had actually contacted me to ask if I was goign to try again after Friday's test run. He also let on that someone on an e-bike had achieved a perfect score of registering all 30 contact points within the four hour time limit. With my MTB out of action I decided to tackle this on my Forme Calver CX bike. The change in weather to windy, colder and drizzly led me to put on a winter jersey - it was the right choice!

I didn't get all 30 contact points. Mostly because I kept going the wrong way. There must be a better way to do this than my method of just follow the phone app. I think this course is achievable with proper planning and good awareness. However if you enjoy a downhill in the wrong direction or forget to stop to scan GPS...then there's a lot of going back up the hill! However I have been down some new tracks today which was very enjoyable and I have found myself on bridleways I've ridden past and wondered about. So it was definitely worth it.

The bridge/ford on the Lamport to Haselbech bridleway

Remember the beware of the bull sign from earlier...well today the bull and his lady cows were gathered around the gate I needed to get through. However I outwitted them. Feeling smug I then completely missed a contact point...This is the field that a few years ago I was riding through with Fireman Pat and the herd at the time actually chased us out of the field. It was a scary experience and I have been wary of moo beasts ever since.

Lumpy field lovely old tree

Hang on where's my Wahoo!!!

Heading from Loddington to Great Cransley I was having a lovely time. I rediscovered some tracks I'd used before and then looked down to see my Wahoo wasn't there! You could not make this up. I specifically purchased a nukeproof stem cap mount so that I wouldn't snap an aero mount on an offroad ride again. It's really secure so how on earth had this fallen off? I was not a happy bunny.

I retraced my route and found the expensive bit of kit just sitting in the grass. I was mightily relieved. I put it back on and tried really hard to knock it off by accident. It's not possible. Who knows what happened here!!!

Time was running out so I felt I could get one more contact point in before heading back to the finish point at the war memorial. The picture above is a lovely downhill. It's less pleasant when you get to the bottom and discover you went the wrong way again and need to go back up! I made it to point 30 with seconds to spare and then back to the finish 14 minutes over time which I now know just incurs a time penalty. So if you're not going to make it in time your choices are; miss points (which was my plan,) or do it all and be late. Either way you lose points. 

Sporteering is definitely a lot of fun. I wouldn't want to ride this way every day as it's a bit stop/start. Looking at my elapsed time and riding time and factoring that I didn't take any breaks...I pretty much lost an hour to stopping and working out which way to go next.

That's it for another week. Tune in next time for more tales of GPS units trying to escape...

Happy Pedalling