Back on the bike

Like buses! I'm using my week off to get out on the bike as much as possible (with out over doing it and getting injured). The sun has it's hat on, and that is good enough for me. A local couple of rides to kick the week off. After a rest day due to tiredness and a twinging knee from the IoW ride, I hit the road on Tuesday on the cross bike to cycle to Combe Gibbet. The objective was to ride along the ancient highway called the Wayfarers Walk to White Hill at Kingsclere, about 12 miles east along a route that offers stunning views as it generally sticks to the highest points of a hilltop ridge that runs for miles, ultimately ending, or beginning at Emsworth near the south coast. As kids, my folks took us out on walks most Sunday afternoons etc. and there isn't much of the route we hadn't covered, locally. For a few years in the 90's we lived in Inkpen, I could see the Gibbet from my bedroom window. I would often nipped up there on the mountain bike, usually hea...

Sunday 06 May - The Isle of Wight Randonee Being on my list of things I wanted to do this year, it was a 'no brainer' when I heard there was an organised AND FREE event on the island where riders followed the 'round the island' cycle route. This is a very well signposted route, but the bonus of doing it this weekend was that there would be Feed Stations at various points and many other cyclists I could tag along with. Safety in numbers and all that. A free event and as a foot passenger it only cost £16.80 'return ticket' on the ferry. Why hadn't I done this before? The weather was absolutely stunning. The views enhanced by wall to wall sunshine, no clouds and 25 degrees. This year we followed the clockwise signposts, I have read that this is the easier option, the hills are kinder and I suspected that to be the case as I dropped down the occasional 20% incline.   Only one way to find out, I plan to return in a few weeks or so and try it the other way ar...

A bit late with the blog post, but a fortnight ago I notched up the first 'tick' on my year of challenges. Well, three quarters of a tick at least... The 'challenge' I'd declared was to ride from Newbury to Devizes and back along the Kennet & Avon canal towpath. A trip of 35 miles each way, 70 in total. I have ridden along the Newbury / Hungerford stretch many times, so extending my knowledge sounded like a good thing to do, and towpath miles aren't the easiest. I'd picked a quiet Saturday at what turned out to be the end of a freakish Spring heatwave. Two days before I'd requested a half day at work and snuck out for a cheeky 50 miler on the road in 26 degree heat. These were going to be 'sunbathing on the bike' rides.  No checking data, worrying about average speeds or heart rates, just trundling and tanning..  Yeah, I'm vain. Relatively fresh from the Thursday ride, I set off, solo, from Newbury at around 9:45 a.m. - I wanted to...