Storm Francis, lights, winter jersey...is summer over?

Its not unusual for the UK weather to let us all down and bank holidays it seems are often a disappointment. But on August 29th...I have lit the log burner!!!

Despite this, there have been breaks in the rain and the wind has dropped to 'safe to ride,' even if it remains hard work. My cycling week has been a really good mix.

On Monday we decided to run a cyclones coaching session. The week before we cancelled, based on the weather forecast and a fine evening made a fool of us all. The forecast was dodgy again this week but we risked it and once again it was a fine evening. I love coaching these kids. I also had some off road fun of my own. On the way home I needed my lights for the first time in a long time. Winter is coming!

On Wednesday, my son Sam and I headed to the Rockingham Forest Wheelers clubhouse for the short course TT dash. This is a real fun event from Ashley back to Middleton. With an easy course to navigate, Sam allowed me to also take part. We both did our best but having not practised this it was difficult to know how to approach it. I just rode as fast as I could until I ran out of steam. Then I eased off for a bit before going all out again for the finish. Sam held back for a planned sprint finish and then didn't realise where the finish was! Every day is a school day!!!

I only managed one run this week. My slow splashy effort on Friday was strangely therapeutic. Sometimes all you need to do is find a rhythm.

I woke up on Saturday morning to a damp, cold and breezy day. This was not summer at all. It was more like November. Has August 2020 just given up? I opted for a winter jersey and didn't regret it once! 

A smaller group than usual met at the swimming pool and we opted for one group of 6 plus some! Our first destination was St. Mary's Road where Kettering Borough Council have installed a bike lane. Frankly I think its a half arsed token gesture. The road is also a lumpy bumpy mess! What do these bollards that apparently cost £20k achieve? To me they say to cars...just pass us with one bollard width to spare and don't worry we'll ride in the gutter! Muppets.

My bike was rattling like crazy and I couldn't figure out why. Then I saw my stem cap jump and I realised the bolt was very loose. Well that was a relief, like most cyclists I obsess about squeaks and rattles and then panic that an expensive repair is required!

As ever Graham set a good pace on the front and we all tried to hang on. If we thought we were going fast Bairdy, Neil Hickford and the rest of Veloelite came past at an impressive pace.

The ride seemed to go quite quickly despite a testing wind. I felt great at 30 miles but was starting to fade at 40. As we headed towards the coffee stop in Woodford we started to notice wool decorations everywhere.

I stopped to enquire what was going on and a local lady told me: "we should've done this at feast time but because of the 'carry on,' we decided to do it now!" Only in Northants would someone describing a global pandemic as a 'carry on.'

I have no idea when feast time is but this seems like a lovely local tradition. Thankfully they don't appear to feast on inquisitive cyclists.

At the coffee stop it was the usual banter. Mark has some unusual advice for getting rid of wasps. His poxy plan is to clap at them...we tried, it didn't seem to work. 

Today's venue was the Grain store coffee house. I can't resist a dirty chai little and decided I'd earned a bumper breakfast sandwich. I didn't think of taking a picture until too late!

As we set off I felt completely rubbish. I'm never as good after a break and wonder if I should start giving the cafe stop a miss. At this stage I realised that I didn't have my glasses! I put the group out of its misery of waiting for me by heading home via Grafton Underwood. Justin came with me to the crossroads and then I headed on solo to Geddington. Because I could I took the offroad shortcut through Weekly Woods.

Mrs L and I headed back to the Grain Store Coffee House where we found my glasses in the bush that my bike had fallen over in. I treated the queen of cakes to a cream tea and because it would be rude not to, I had another dirty chai. Then we went for another look at those wonderful wooly creations.

On Sunday morning I needed a light ride and that's what I got. In aid of Cransley Hospice the KCC Cyclones held a cycling treasure hunt. We started at Kettering Rugby Club and the first obstacle was a locked gate. It was sorted after a few phone calls. The clues were provided by club chairman Roger Reed. Some great features such as the Grafton Underwood Church stained glass window, the war memorial nearby and the Eleanor Cross at Geddington. All things that have featured in this blog before.

I took my Forme Calver cyclocross bike out for the first time in ages and initially it felt weird. Knobbly tyres at 30psi are very different to my road set up. However I wanted to mix it up a bit with some off road fun thrown in. As I got used to it again I remembered what a fun bike it is!

It was a great little loop for the kids and then I was free for some off road fun back through Weekly Glebe, Weekly woods and the track to Rushton. 

Today (Bank holiday Monday,) it was time for another group ride with the Cyclasylum. Due to everyone's commitments we decided on an early start time of 7.30am. Some of the group have been doing this anyway in an 'early birds,' ride. Today Steve Minney met us at the swimming pool but had already done his ride, making him an 'early, early bird!' Anything goes, we are a tolerant bunch. In fact the only thing we won't tolerate is intolerance and probably baggy shorts on a road bike. Also I was the first to arrive, which is a first and very unnerving! I wondered if a secret message group had arranged a different ride. Eventually Andy, Mark, Marcus, Ian and Mike arrived. We picked Pete up at the top of the hill on Arthingworth Road.

At this stage I should mention the weather. It was cold! I had my winter jersey on again. However we also had the lightest winds I can remember for a ride. 

As we left Kettering I got ahead of the group on the downhill and was determined not to get passed by everyone as I headed towards Loddington. As I headed up the hill I was feeling good as no one passed me. Then I looked over my shoulder and no one was there! I looked down at my Wahoo and I was off route! What a prize plum. I cut across from Thorpe Malsor and then up the bumps to Loddington where everyone was waiting for me and as you can imagine, much mockery occurred! 

This is the downside of having a GPS device. I've stopped checking out the route. Someone posts it, I download it and then I follow it! Before I'd memorise the route and know where I was going!!! 

This was an Andy P special. We sought out every hill and after an hour I'd done 17 miles over 1000ft and I was only 2 miles from home!

At Welford, Marcus left us and Heather joined us at the exact same junction. This seamless substitution was completely unplanned. It was great to see Heather though!

For bits of this ride I managed to get on the front. That's because in between the hills Andy had put in some fast flat bits. I especially enjoyed the stretch from Naseby through Sibbertoft and onto Welford and then again into Long Buckby before the hill!

There was a nice fast rolling section again to Holdenby before significant climbs up to Spratton and again to Brixworth.

At Brixworth we were rewarded with a coffee break at The Workhouse. I enjoyed a lovely golden chai latte and some Twix tiffin. 

From there I stayed with the group until Old and made my own way home via Harrington.

Northamptonshire does not have the stunning scenery of other areas. However our rolling hills are very pleasant. This route showcased that perfectly.

In other news I need to give a big shout out to my cycling friend Clint Boodhist. After an already epic year, Clint and fellow superhuman Emily Campbell, completed a 24 hour 300 mile ride! Chapeau you two!!!

It's also great to see the Tour de France 🇫🇷 has started. So far its been a thoroughly enjoyable race. In weird old 2020 it feels like this is the most open race ever.

Well that was a great week.

Happy Pedalling 

Blown away

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.

I rewarded myself with some quality ales from Wine Time. This will have to stop for a few weeks as I have a post holiday health kick. Live like a monk, train like a ninja!!! (Not the type of monk that makes the ales above!)

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 

Lazy leave week with a busy end!

2020 has been the most bizarre of years. Instead of currently being in Australia we're on a fortnight staycation. The plan is to make the best of things whilst getting some needed R&R.

On Monday I  set out for Kettering to coach those great kids at KCC Cyclones. I was a bit lethargic before hopping on my bike and as usual a few minutes in I was feeling great again. I've also been working on the best off road route to Ise Lodge. Its been a few years since I tried the trails around the back of Brambleside and into Weekley Glebe. What I discovered was a lovely surprise of fun single track!

Coaching itself was a joy. I only had a rough plan as you can't be sure of the groups at this time of year. We had a blast making use of natural features such as trees to practise cornering and gears. 

I had a great fun ride home back through the single track, across Weekley Woods and down the track to Rushton.

On Tuesday I was lucky enough to spend some time fishing at Andy P's House. It was lovely to sit by the river. Not much action on a bright sunny day but very relaxing and as usual the hosts were exceptional!

On Wednesday I had a delivery I'd been waiting for. All of my bikes had bar tape that was frankly embarrassing. On my CX and one of the road bikes I'd previously put some glowing grey camo tape on. This looked spectacular to start with but now looked shabby.

Much better!

For my Giant Propel, the white saddle, pedals, bottle cage and bar tape had looked great when they were new. Now I'm on a mission to replace the lot with black.

This Giant branded tape came with Giant plug ends and I'm way happier with how this looks. As for my taping skills...well after 3 bikes in a week I have achieved "acceptable!"

I have alao solved a mystery. Every week I was getting a brownish red mark on my neck from my chin strap.

The culprit was the hook I hang my helmet on is going rusty! I'm guessing the corrosion is due to my sweaty helmet!!! So I've solved that problem with some insulation tape!

Sam and I were due to go to Rocko TT again on Wednesday evening and a lot of that taping was about making the bikes more presentable for racing. However it was a blistering hot day and Sam was not impressed by the idea. A reduced field did pin on a number. Kudos to them but I was thankful that Sam wanted to leave it for another day!

Friday was supposed to be a big rest day for me because I knew Saturday was going to be tough! Mrs L and I had free tickets to Althorp House grounds courtesy of being NHS staff. 

The house isn't open to the public right now but the grounds alone are worth the visit. The tribute to Diana is very well maintained. I loved the quote on her memorial.

Making a day of it we also had a wander around Coton Manor House Gardens. Not a freebie but you can see where the £8 entry fee is spent. We were a bit younger than the average visitor. I had neither dressed in socks and sandals in solid octogenarian beige or elected for full himalayan hiking kit. So we felt young and trendy for the first time in a long time. (Trendy...there's a word that ages me!)

After some quality time with Mrs L I thought I could get my feet up and relax watching the 🏏 cricket. That was going to plan nicely until her friend arrived and I ended up a ladder picking apples...no worries I sat back down again to relax...then I was asked how many bricks we had left in the garden...coming dear! I counted 248 and was told not to be stupid...Mrs L then also counted 248. She then told me her cousin was on the way round with a van as she needed the bricks!!! Operation wheelbarrow went into full swing and before long I was sweating cobs on my rest day...no matter after a dog walk I did get some rest! I also stuck to alcohol free beer that night!

Saturday morning started with a run! Matthew Peleszok had kindly enlisted my help as part of the Desborough Runners virtual relay team. My slot was at 7am so I'd still be able to go for a group ride. I did my best for my alloted 30 minutes but I was not on top running form. I'm not sure if I was putting myself under pressure or just holding back because I was going out on my bike.

When I got home I seriously doubted I wanted to go for a bike ride. However Matt messaged me and wished me a good ride. So then I felt obligated to go! 

As in previous week a group of us met at Kettering Swimming Pool. We set off in three groups. I joined Neil, Steve Duke and 'Big Richard,' in group 2.

The planned route was about 43 miles heading out to Raunds, round the back of Rushden, through Grendon, up Earls Barton hill and into Orlingbury for coffee via that gloriously quick Sywell straight.

After my run I was not feeling it at all. However the answer to almost every problem is cycling. Well, that and banter. As ever we laughed almost as much as we pedalled and by 20 miles I started to really enjoy it. Big thanks here to Mr Duke for ensuring his Strava profile picture has a full view of the scenery from his recent Cornish holiday. Thank goodness for the man's bare faced cheek. Also thanks to Neil for his suggested banana 🍌 break where group 3 caught up with us.

We rode together from there with no worries about social distancing as Bruce and Amy left us all in their wake. We had no choice but to stop in Wollaston for the traditional inbetweeners picture.

On the way out of Mears Ashby we encountered a car driver who needs the sign above for his personalised number plate. This utter twit tried to overtake us on a narrow road with another car heading towards us. His solution was to pull into the middle of the group, beeping angrily. Luckily the car headed towards us had better sense and stopped. I'm not especially proud of our angry response, the driver knows in uncertain terms how we felt! However the most bewildering thing was he pointed at his dash cam. I really hope the misguided moron takes his footage to the police. 

Rant over. On the whole cyclist v motorist debate I have always felt there needs to be tolerance on both sides. On a 58 miles four hour ride, this was the only issue. That means for most of the time there isn't a problem. However one pillock can spoil the day...or to quote the Sterophonics...it only takes one match to burn a thousand trees.

Once the drama was passed we got onto the quick road to Harrowden. Having all lied about taking it easy we organised into a chain resulting in a sprint. I tried to match Amy but saw my heart rate go through 180bpm and thought better of it. Wobbly legs then took me up the hill into Orlingbury.

The cafe already had about £30k of carbon sat outside when we arrived. Its no wonder this is a popular stop. Even though they have the BEST sausage rolls I opted for a bacon, sausage and egg bap.

I think everyone had milkshake envy when Mark's drink arrived! Richard G helpfully asked them to refer to him as "big Richard," so our drinks didn't get mixed up. 

After the cafe stop Bruce joined me as we tried to find the flattest route home. I was now shattered and wobbling along at about 13mph. Bruce stayed with me until Orton and then headed off for even more miles! I was close to 100k fondo distance but just couldn't be bothered to do four more miles. 58 is and odd number to stop on, even weirder as its 95ish km but I was glad to get home. I'd taken the magic magnesium after my run otherwise I'm sure this would have been a crampy last few miles!

I rewarded my self with some quality Belgian and German beers. 

Today I'm having a recovery day, with plans for more big rides next week. All I've done is a damp and muddy dog walk. 

This afternoon the recovery nutrition will be maintained with Mum's Sunday lunch and Dad's cider before we settle down as a family to watch Saints v Wasps. My Nan is the biggest fan and the telly will get quite a telling off if the Saints don't play well!!!

Big shout out to Steve Coombs who continues his epic ride unsupported xthrough France on the French Divide 2020

The only other thing to mention is the Dauphine is in full spin and I'm enjoying the traditional warm up to the Tour de France. Right now Roglic looks firm favourite for the TdF and Ineos look in decline. However this is 2020...who knows what will happen! (UPDATE Roglic retired from race!)

Happy Pedalling