I was expecting in my second week of leave to get a lot of cycling done. Sometimes it doesn't work like that. A couple of runs and one group ride are all I have to show for the last 7 days. We did get some decorating done, walk the dogs loads and had a trip to the seaside!
I was really pleased on Monday that Niamh asked to go for a run with me. She was once a talented athlete but a combination of bad luck and injuries that in her esrly teens. I'm sure with encouragement, Niamh, who still has pace and an impressive cartwheel, can become a good runner.
On Monday night we should have had cyclones but the weather forecast for the week was for heavy rain and thunderstorms. So we cancelled! Then the weather made fools of us all. Other places had storms and flooding, Kettering stayed dry until much later that night.
On Tuesday I was fitting my new brake blocks. Hooray no more loud brakes!!!
old...
New!
However I also spotted a tyre issue. My rear tubeless Hutchinson Fusion 5, a tyre I've been totally impressed with looked wrong. There was a bulge and a build up dried sealant on the side wall. It looked wrong and I wouldn't feel confident riding on it. When I peeled off the sealant it didn't reveal a puncture it looked as though the sidewall was worn down to the webbing!
As we wanted to ride the Rocko TT the next day I ordered a new tyre on next day delivery. Normally I'd order 2 but the front was still in very good. As it happens the tyre didn't arrive in time but Sam was far from keen on a miserable Wednesday evening. One of the things I like about Hutchinson tyres is that they just work. The trusty lemonade bottle tubeless tyre inflator worked on the second go. The rim popped in, I inflated to 80psi and it hasn't lost a molecule of air since!
On Thursday we went to Wells Next the Sea for the day. It was the best weather of the week and Wells is very nice. The dogs had a good swim and we had proper seaside fish and chips. The only issue was that the place was packed due to the nice weather and people were ignoring the one way system and social distancing. This made Mrs L who has been shielding uncomfortable and therefore we didn't make it to the main beach.
On Friday I went for another run at Desborough airfield. With Niamh on Monday I realised that its just over a 5k flat loop and perfect for setting a notparkrun time. Well it would have been. The wind was horrendous and after a couple of km with a tailwind I turned into the headwind. Wow it was tough! Nevertheless that's my best time in ages and it answers my question about my times on my regular hilly route.
On Saturday I was playing it by ear. High winds and group rides are not a clever combination. However the wind had reduced to a strong breeze so I headed out to join the group at Kettering swimming pool car park. We split into 3 groups and I headed out in group one with Graham, Steve Minney, Ian, Mike and we picked Mark Skinner up in Loddington.
The other side of Loddington I felt like I'd picked the wrong group as Graham set the pace. Thankfully they slowed down a bit but I felt it was a notch too fast all ride. That's more about me though, two weeks of indulgence never helps my cycling pace!
We headed up a road I'd never even noticed before after Kelmarsh. The route tried to send us across a field. I'm planning to explore that on a different bike but for this ride we had a detour before picking the route back up in Naesby!
This ride got seriously lumpy after that! The hills into Guilsborough, the glorious descent into Hollowell, up to Creaton and then the daddy hill of the day at Haselbech (still no idea how to pronounce this.) This has been used as a QOM in the Ladies tour and still has paint on the road from supporters. As we headed back through Rothwell I gave the cafe stop a miss...mostly because I'd already been up Bunker Hill once that day. I didn't want to tax my legs twice! The only disadvantage was that I didn't see anyone from the other groups.
Whilst we've been off Mrs L has decorated the man room. My trusty Giant has a new home. I'm still deciding on getting a bracket or leaving it on the worktop.
Back to work tomorrow but still lots of riding to look forward to.
Happy Pedalling
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