Christmas Eve Cracker!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...well not really for cycling but hey we soldier on through the winter. Today we got to ride on Christmas Eve and dressing up was compulsory! I decked Clive out with antlers, tinsel and a couple of baubles. I also strapped on some helmet antlers too!

Someone commented that my bike had testicles and one of our group today actually said "I love your balls Rich!" I won't embarrass her by revealing who said that!!! I'm amazed they didn't fall off or smash because they were swinging around and banging together all ride long.

The route today was the Oundle classic. Not a tough route and one so well ridden that many people know the way without GPS assistance. As I arrived at the shop it was clear that some big efforts had been made. We had santa hats, tinsel, antlers, other headgear etc.

Steve with his tiny balls and strap on Santa

Samta Pendred who got pretty hot!

We set off in one group on damp heavy roads with a tailwind. Steve suffered a puncture but otherwise our spin through to Oundle was uneventful. Whilst waiting in Brigstock a lady banged on her window and wished me Merry Christmas. I was taken aback then remembered I was on a bike with Tinsel, Baubles and Antlers!!! I'd like to say I got used to that but the following was a recurrent thought process...First voice in my head: what they looking at? Second voice: You , yer pillock, you're on a bike that looks like someone sicked Christmas all over it...First voice: Oh yeah...

Dirty Santa

It was lovely to ride with Louis Spence today

The ride through to Aldwinkle from Oundle was much tougher as the wind took effect. I always struggle in the wind as a bigger rider because I'm about as aero as a brick! Also increasing drag was my overall Christmassyness! Antlers create drag and the balls out back were acting like an anchor! Not even jelly babies or my special drink (Big Dave's Blue Product,) could pep me up. Whilst I'm making excuses, anyone who heard my coughing in the shop after the ride will know I wasn't 100%. Also of note in Oundle was the clear winner of the Andy Pendred jogger of the day. She greeted us with enthusiasm then ran off smartly when it became apparent how cheeky we are.

At Aldwinkle, near the non-historic church, despicable Neil took a tumble, whilst stationary. You can just see him getting back up in the background. Serves him right for making no Christmas effort. As you can imagine there was a complete lack of sympathy or any offer to help! So the Mark Baird Cockwomble of the ride award goes to Neil. 

Alison on the other hand did make an effort and I particularly liked her Santa Homer socks! Alison was struggling even more than me today and it is to her credit she kept going. We did adhere to rule #1 even after she begged us to stop waiting for her and an arrangement was made, some of the lads just wouldn't leave her behind.

Sam Pendred was amazing in his Santa suit. Samta was clearly very hot in the onesie. Andy, his almost funny, treacherous Dad, had told him to wear shorts underneath which was clearly reverse psychology to guarantee Sam put on full length bib tights for added toastiness!

Back at the shop the banter continued to flow. Some of it repeatable but I can't remember that bit! Mince pies were provided by Andre's wife. Nat was over enthusiastically hugged by everyone before it was manly handshakes and Merry Christmases all round!

There's lots of riding planned over the Christmas break for those fortunate enough to get the time off. I'm looking forward to getting some quality miles in and hopefully an off road trip to Cannock Chase. If I'm lucky I'll get out for an hour tomorrow too.

Whilst my inexpert training on rollers continue, I enjoyed the GCN Christmas special the decorations people have made from bike parts is truly amazing. So if you want to, check it out here!

Okay that's it. If everything goes to plan the New Years Eve blog will be an absolute smasher. I'll be establishing my New Years Cycling Resolutions as well as all the usual nonsense.

Merry Happy Pedaling Christmas

More filthy fun in the mud!

So this week I've done a bit more on the rollers but my only ride of note was today's off road mud bashing. Before I could leave Harvey tried to trap me in the house by kidnapping my feet. I managed to get away from my friendly Labrador and the plan was to meet those C&Ders hardy enough for an off road ride at Weekly Woods.

The plan worked a treat and that leads me to the even bigger plan which was to try the route from a few weeks back but in the other, far more sensible direction! Our team today was Andy P, Ken, (Mark,) Sparky, (Mark,) Bairdy and me. A spin through Weekly Woods and the Weekly Hall wood appeared to be going well until our resident womble got a puncture. Much hilarity and taunting ensued. Mark is apparently well practised at puncture repair and you really could hardly tell. His pumping technique was sound though. I pointed at the large bubble on my front wheel where my tubeless tyre was behaving well and sealing itself nicely. 

From there we headed into the Medieval capital of England that is Geddington and onto Geddington Chase with some trepidation. We knew from a few weeks ago it would be pretty boggy. However the most enjoyable bit was pretty firm and we enjoyed the downhill run towards the badger sets. Then as predicted it got boggy and also as predicted Bairdy was the first to come off. He over confidently passed other group members before discovering the source of their caution! It was hard work but definitely passable. I think this might be the last time it's worth riding until it dries again in the Spring. The womble's tumble then set the president for the rest of the ride as waiting for Mark became the norm.

The pic above is Mark finally reaching the end of the Chase. He admitted that this off road lark was harder than he'd thought. Now to be fair to him, Bairdy is one of the most improved riders in our club. He easily keeps pace with the fast group on road rides and it's not all down to his Chinese knock off Bianci/Campagnola products.

This is me showing Bairdy how it's done!

Next off we had some road through Brigstock and then onto the trail that had taken us to Lieveden New Bield last time out. That uphill section was brutal last time out and it was no surprise to find it was easier downhill but actually still work rather than just coasting. I blogged about Lieveden last time so I won't tell you all about this National Trust site again. Needless to say it's not improved by a bunch of dirty MAMILs. Great picture again Andy.

Not far from Lievden we met a bunch of shooters with dogs. They were friendly enough but advised us we shouldn't be on bikes there. So, given they had big guns, we walked for a bit and then as we were sure they were wrong and it was a bridleway, got back on. Well, well, well...the sign below shows we were right. It was indeed a bridleway. Discretion is still the better part of valour though, especially when the people you could argue with have 12 bores!

Riding the other way we'd really struggled on the bridleway from Aldwinkle. This time round it was nicer downhill but a little bit on the slippy slidy hairy side. Andy P expertly led the way. Bairdy took another tumble...

You can see from this picture that we were dealing with tricky conditions. But hey this is what makes these rides so much fun. I really can't imagine enjoying these tracks half as much on a dry sweaty Summer day.

Mark continued with his struggles but then we've had a few weeks practise at this and it is different to road rides so it's no surprise. He did however have no problem catching up with us when sheep were present...

We had a lovely ride by the river with some interesting bridge crossings as we made our way to Thrapston. Andy P found us some great little trails and also a great deal of mud! Mark was struggling more and more and I have to say I think his unusual QR lever positioning really needs a mention! To be fair I was knackered once again. These rides are a real test of strength and stamina.

Finally we popped back onto the road near Woodford. We had some more off road options but decided that was enough for one day and headed back on the roads. Up through Twywell was hard work. Then we headed on a familiar road route back to Warkton, Andy P set the pace and teh rest of us sat on his wheel. He said he wondered why no one else took a turn at the front but in truth we were all doing everything we could just to keep his wheel. I really hope these rides are helping my fitness because they feel like they should! The last bit of the ride home for me was just keeping the pedals turning.

As I arrived home I realised we'd done nearly 40 miles. No mean feat in those conditions. I also realised I had exactly ten minutes to get showered and changed and in the car for our family Christmas lunch! I downed a pint of milk so fast it gave me brain freeze before we went to the Hare at Loddington. It was a lovely meal out and I got a most appropriate secret Santa gift!

Five things I like almost as much as riding my bike. It's good but inaccurate. It should be five things I like as much as riding my BIKES! Also bacon is good but it does not come before cleaning my bike or going to the bike shop! On cleaning my bike. I had to do it in the dark and it was a really big effort!

Final word of the day goes to Mark who is pictured here in all his filth back at our headquarters C&D Cycles. He looks shattered doesn't he? Well we ragged Mark mercilessly on the ride and I've carried on in the blog. However Mark is a man with a good sense of humour and he takes it all as we very well, Good job really it won't stop anytime soon!

Final thoughts today go to congratulating those KCC cyclones who made the trip to Berkhamsted. I was really jealous of their course today with a tricky looking bridge. It was however too far for us with the family lunch to attend. 

My video recommendation this week comes from the legend that is Guy Martin. Our tea drinking, lorry mechanic, motorbike racer, record breaker has clocked up 11,000 miles cycling this year. He has just aborted a round Britain record attempt because, well you know, he's a bit broken. Nothing more tea won't fix! Anyway if you haven't seen it, check out "Our Guy in China," available on All 4. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/our-guy-in-china

Okay I'm done and just like last week I'm going to sleep very well!!!

Happy Pedaling

Cycling week ends in utter filth!

It's been another great week of cycling with a surprise CX session, rollers, a failed club ride, some exceptional service from Andy and finally a super muddy Sunday ride.

Let's start at the beginning, it is after all a very good place to start. On Monday we were invited to join in the kids CX session at Prologis Park by Mark Evans, the KCC Cyclones coach, I couldn't get there fast enough! It was a thoroughly enjoyable fitness session on the course we'd used a few weeks back in the Central CX league.

My learning curve with rollers continues. I'm still at the 'getting used,' to them stage so it's not full fitness sessions yet. I am still in the corridor and would probably have fallen off a couple of times without those walls to save me! It's all good though.

Flat!

On Saturday I set off to meet the club riders who, luckily for me, were coming through Rothwell once again. I got as far as the Kettering Road when a loud bang ended my ride abruptly. I'd had a rear wheel blow out wrecking a tyre that was only a few weeks old. So what do you do in these circumstances? Well you just stick it on social media and then Andy from C&D Cycles comes to your rescue. I was able to pop to the shop well before the quick group got back so Andy sorted me out with a new tyre, he fitted that plus re-doing my troublesome rim tape. Like I said great service. We had some extra time for a good chat and catch up and Andy was keen to explore ways we can continue to promote the club as a community.

To today! I set out for the shop on a lovely bright morning for another of our 'dirty banter,' rides. I rrived in good time for a change to discover what can only be described as disorganised chaos...

Where we going Steve? The plan was to go to Loddington and through to Draughton turn left on the Brampton Valley Way and go to Pitsford. Hmmm...no tunnels then? Oh maybe not, Then Andy suggested...Finedon as a way of sort getting to Pitsford. I'm still pondering his slim grasp of local geography. So I suggested I knew an interesting route and before I knew it I was leading the ride. I can't help thinking there was a collective monkey's breakfast here to trick me into leading. Possibly even more crazy was that one of our group, Marcus, was on a road bike!

I love a good shadow pic!

You might be fooled by the pics that we mostly rode the roads anyway. I didn't take many pics in the muddy bits because the camera was splattered. Shortly after this pic we headed into the back of Weekly Woods and then onto Glendon. Chris and I wanted to show the others the Prologis CX course and it was at this point that Marcus road tyres started to struggle. From there we took the track from Glendon through to Rushton where a picture with the Llamas was necessary. Chris's made up fact of the day is a Llama is the product of mating a sheep with a camel.

Next stop was Desborough and on the way it became clear to me that someone's rear cassette was way to shiny. Click on the picture and get a good look. It's just not right on a CX bike, don't worry though. It doesn't look like that now!

From Desborough the old road to Harrington has been turned into a bridleway so we headed semi off road down it. Marcus road tyres let him down again as he narrowly missed a bush on the bend. We also encountered a dog walker carrying a Pheasant! It all goes on around here. That's a lovely little spin until you realise it ends at the bottom of Harrington hill and we had a grind back up to Desborough Road Drop. One of my favourite bits of downhill but on a 29r my PR was never at risk. It was also questioned at this point whether we would ever get to the Brampton Valley Way and if we'd gone to Finedon would we be on it now? The answer was, we'd be on it soon and for the love of God shut up about Finedon!

We took the gated road/farm track from Arthingworth to Oxendon and hey presto we were on the Brampton Valley Way. At this point we were totally filthy and I don't mean Steve's mouth! I'm not sure how I was seeing out my glasses because they were covered in spots of mud. The BVW didn't improve this because it was pretty much one long mud track!

Ken decided to roll a quick fag...

Here's our dirty half dozen at the Brixworth/Spratton crossing. You'll not I was wearing shorts. It is unseasonably mild and frankly shorts weather. The others in their full winter kit must have been boiling (oh okay us larger riders are less susceptible to the cold!) I was knackered by now and kind of cursing my lack of fitness. I tried some positive self talk earlier and it worked great but by this point my inner dialogue was telling my positivism to get lost as frankly it was quite happy feeling tired!

From here we made our way to Merry Tom Lane which being a Northamptonian I know all about and the others didn't. It's a good climb up to Brixworth and onto the track around Pitsford reservoir. Before we went off road yet again Marcus wisely decided to leave us! I should also mention that Andy Pendred could not award his jogger of the day because he missed his opportunity by being nice to me about what a fun route I'd blagged together.

After the reservoir I was completely hanging. We took a road route through Holcot, Walgrave, the green Lane to Mawsley and I left the group at the Loddington turning. I worked out if I took the next turn to Orton I could get home without any further uphill misery.

As I pulled up shattered at Lindsley Home Sweet Home I stopped Strava and was amazed to see we'd mostly mudbashed for nearly 50 miles! No wonder my legs are sore right now. My bike pictured below was in quite a state and is still drying outside.

Filthy Franz

Foamy Franz

I was in a totally filthy state too! I have to say I'm particularly impressed by the state I was in and I think the highlight for this sockwomble is the tide mark left by the socks I supposedly don't wear!!!

You'll see Harvey was unimpressed by my state and soon after I got in I was nagged into taking him for a walk. My legs objected but Harvey wasn't listening. Still he is an effective footwarmer whilst I'm blogging.

Note the clean legs and it's still shorts weather!

Right I need to go and help Sam with his homework!

Happy Pedaling 

Pitsford Classic and a touch of Frost!

Another week another splendid Saturday clubride with my good friends at C&D Cycles CC. Again there was plenty on offer with standard rides and if you wanted it, a Gran Fondo ride. I opted the standard route banter bunch which followed the route we know as the Pitsford Classic.

This is another route which comes through Rothwell so I had time for an extra cup of tea and waited for the group on the market square. It was then onto Harrington, a lovely little village which ticks all the boxes and is home to the Warner Edwards gin distillery.

The ride itself was particularly uneventful which doesn't make for interesting reading. It was fun, challenging in parts and as ever the banter flowed. We ended up back at C&D Cycles for coffee and cake. That's about that really!

My intention today was to go on the KCC Sunday ride but we awoke this morning to a sharp frost. I learned about the dangers of icy roads the hard way a couple of years ago. It was an expensive lesson with broken rear mechs and an aborted sportive. So my rule of thumb is, if the roof of the house, the shed and the car are covered in frost; I don't ride. That may sound soft but I know of people who went out on their bikes today and they had tumbles. 

The upside was that my Labrador Harvey was pleased because he got an extra long walk and didn't have to wait until I got back from a ride for once! I also had time for jobs so I brewed some beer, chopped some wood and gave the bikes a good clean. On that, I have a new favourite cleaning product in Fenwicks foaming chain cleaner. This stuff is superb and is very little effort for very good results. 

The other thing to report is my progress on the rollers. My goodness it's hard! I really like the workout you get on rollers. The need to concentrate on balance makes if way more challenging than a turbo trainer. I've been experimenting with taking one hand off the bars and shifting around the handlebars but I'm nowhere near going hands free yet. I also learned on the first day that 30 minutes of total concentration is not so kind on a gentleman's tender areas! I was completely numb downstairs after my first roller session and since then I've made a conscious effort to move around in the saddle to protect my plums! Anyway the video below shows how a professional does it, I'm a few weeks away from doing this!

That's all for now.

Happy Pedaling

Another splendid weekend of cycling!

There's no doubt about it, my life is truly enriched by cycling. This weekend I had two very different rides and some excellent service from my LBS C&D Cycles.

Hair? Some of us get more aero as we get older!

Before I talk about this weekend's rides I need to tell you about the rollers above. I purchased these with my birthday money because I've always wanted rollers. Having tried them I can already understand how they're a better indoor workout than a turbo. I'm also pleased we have a narrow corridor to practise in! Because I like to support my LBS as much as possible I asked Andy at C&D Cycles what his best price was given that I'd seen these on offer from an internet retailer. Well Andy pulled out all the stops and got me a matched price. It's a no brainer then isn't it. LBS gets my cash. At the same time I had both my Giant Propel and Sam's CX bike serviced. Very good service indeed! 

On Saturday I opted for the C&D Cycles CC banter ride. I was a bit slow to start having had another challenging week and was thankful that the ride was coming past my house, giving me another half an hour and an extra cup of tea! The route is a beauty. We've done it a few times so I don't even need to look to know where we're going. As far as road rides go this has everything Northamptonshire is good at with a lot of up and down's, beautiful rolling countryside, quiet roads (well mostly, more to come on that,) history and picture postcard villages.

The wide verges on most of our country roads are for very good historic and economic reasons. Whilst the principle industry of Northants was shoe making, there was a great need to get livestock to their final destination. Today they go by lorry but in the past they were 'driven,' along these drovers lanes. These days it just makes it a bit more comfortable for all forms of traffic.

The weather was dry on the day but at this time of year the roads are always damp. For that reason I've put my 'best' bike away (well relegated it to indoor use.) It was good to be on my trusty Forme again. 'Clive,' may lack the stiffness, lightness and all round elegance of my Propel but he's still a good bike and a trusted bit of kit.

Those are the typical views you get on this route. Also at this point we were really shifting down the hill away from Naesby. Did I mention history? Well I've blogged about Naesby before but hey it's as simple as this. The parliamentary system we have today is directly influenced  by the decisive battle that happened on our doorstep hundreds of years ago! I'm not sure what Cromwell would make of our current situation but as he banned Christmas and Dancing you have to wonder if politicians have always been a bit "special!"

Another strong feature of this route is the climb into Brixworth which has featured on the Women's Tour. There's no massive climbs around here, just regular slopes that take your breath away! The other thing that leaves me breathless is the high quality banter during our rides.

As we neared the end of the ride two things happened. Firstly the normally quiet Mawsley Road was absolutely rammed with cars due to the closure of the A43 and then we had an incident with a dog. The hapless pooch ran around in the road and was narrowly missed by several cars. Luckily we located the owner and they were able to get the canine character home safely. That was enough for me though. I headed home at Loddington rather than getting stuck in more cars. I'm not sure what was so important, shopping I guess, probably for Christmas...maybe Cromwell wasn't so bad!

This Sunday we opted for a ride with a difference and went off road. Six intrepid riders on a mix of CX and MTB's headed out on Steve and Andy's mystery tour whcih took us places I've never been. The ride was another ten miles on yesterday but the hard work through the mud made it feel like another 50! I can honestly say I've been less tired finishing an Epic Sportive than I was today.

We had a first little bit of trail rather than road past the superb skate park in Kettering. Ken wanted to break in and have a spin around, luckily its a good lock!

You might think we're being irresponsible by riding three abreast but this isn't a road with cars on. It's a farm track which may or may not be a right of way. We were not chased 'orf my land,' by a shot gun toting farmer so I'm guessing ti was okay.

The track emerged near the Roundhouse at Finedon built to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo. A bit of road before we found  another nice bit of track.

After Little Addington we had to jump a gate before another of Steve's factual gems. We were near a former prisoner of war camp Hill Farm Estate, Irthlingborough Road, Little Addington.  Apparently this camp was for Italians!

Then we arrived at Stanwick Lakes where Chris and I couldn't resist a play on the death slide! Soon after that we found ourselves in the middle of a charity Santa run, As it's still November I refused to take pictures, oh really really now I agree with Cromwell!

We found a hobbit house at Stanwick but Frank was not at home. Chris wondered if he could ride in, round the centre post and back out again. The answer was yes. Yes he could! From there it was a good track through to Islip.

Upto that point the tracks had been fairly dry. It was however about to get more challenging. The field past the trout fishery at Aldwinkle was a challenge. It was nothing compared to the track out of Aldwinkle as we headed to lyveden new bield

This is the last picture my Garmin Virb managed before it ran out of charge. It was a lovely piece of off road. Steve and Andy had put together a very good route. As we arrived at Lyvden we pressed an unsuspecting couple into taking our picture. I'm still bemused as to why they used their own camera first! They took one on my mobile which is pants because unbeknown to me at the time, I'd smashed my lens cover!

Rubbish isn't it. Anyway the place has a great history that is not remotely enhanced by a gang of lycra louts descending on the place. Some great skills from Graham though as he traversed the dry moat! From there we had brief respite on the road before a grueling trek along a bridleway towards Brigstock.

Then to Brigstock. The track from Brigstock to Geddington, through the chase is frankly the best bit of downhill in Northants when it's dry. Well it wasn't dry and we were going uphill not down! Great fun though. Quite a few tumbles in the tricky ruts and fall of the day goes to Rob. Somehow, mostly rising slowly, I managed to stay upright through the boggy bits but my legs were gone. The others made it to Geddington way before me. When I got there, Rob had a puncture to add to his Mr Tumble woes.

A swift inner tube swap was followed by a woefully inadequate pump. Chris lent him something more powerful and there was some impressive handling of the longer shaft. As you can imagine that really was the tamest thing we said about the situation! I was done and said goodbye to the lads and headed home through Weekly Woods. It was tough turning the peddles but the thought of the last apple cake of the year kept me going!

I arrived home absolutely filthy and incredibly tired but really quite pleased with myself. I didn't feel like riding today but forced myself. It was well worth it. Pure cycling therapy with fantastic company. Cheers to Andy, Steve, Ken, Graham, Rob and Chris.The Queen of Cakes apple cake did indeed aid recovery but I'll still sleep well tonight!

Okay that's enough for now.

Happy Pedaling