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
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