So I came up with a route that would loop round Cotes, Hoton and Sutty Bonner after Zouch.
I set off at about 1310. I took a wrong turn at Hoton and ended up going down to Burton on the Wolds, partly via a little road called Old Parsonage Lane that I don’t think I’ve been along before. And I just sort of made it up after that, through Walton to Paudy Cross Roads then along Paudy Lane, back at Cotes and back the same way.
Saw a squirrel with a mouse in its teeth near Stanford, just at the edge of the woods! I had no idea they were predators but apparently they ambush mice from time to time.
Back on 66.99km.
I notice that on the Strava map, the old Zouch bridge (now gone in real life) is still in place, whereas the new bridge is absent. On the RideWithGPS map, the new bridge is present and the old bridge is gone. Ditto Google Maps, up to date now.
Listened to 5 Live.
The pic was taken along Ashby Road, 13km from home. The bridge in the distance carries the M1; I must have pedalled under it hundreds of times. It’s an odd thought that I often drove over it in my 20s, long before I lived in the East Midlands, going between Hartlepool and Northampton. I wonder if I ever glanced down and noticed the B road running underneath?
]]>I’m likely to have done about 70 this year so that’s a pretty linear increase. Being retired helps. My knee injury occurred in 2018.
Including 2026, I’ve done 317 since January 2015.
]]>I hoped to get up at about 0700, to set off at 0800 or thereabouts. But I woke up at about 0500. I pondered getting up there and then. But I changed my mind. Decided to revert to Plan A and get up at 0700. Unfortunately I then overslept, and didn’t get up until 0800. But I was away by 0850-ish.
Cool for the first couple of hours. I wrapped up warm. Stashed my tunic, fleece and tights in the camo bag in the undergrowth at the East Midlands Electricity Board installation after about 34km.
I pressed on eastward until a few km past Manthorpe, a few km short of Kate’s Bridge, and turned back. I didn’t really need to go any further. I had enough stuff without needing to visit the petrol station on the bridge. I wasn’t on my preferred long distance bike. And I’d got up later than I intended.
Before I set off I looked at my spreadsheet and noticed that the “this time last year” figure had taken a big jump. Turns out I did the same ride exactly the same year ago, coincidentally in much the same conditions – a light tailwind in both directions. I went further a year ago. But that’s fine, I went all the way to Foul Anchor a few weeks ago.
My usual food strategy is sausage rolls, cheese & onion pasties, pork pies, yoghurt or Muller Rice sometimes, flapjacks, chocolate brownies. I ran it past an AI and it was very critical. Take jam sandwiches instead, it said. Much easier to digest while you’re exercising. Didn’t fancy that much but I did try cold white bread toast with honey from a plastic travel squeeze container. I spread it on with my spork. That seemed to work very well! Cheap and easy too.
Noticed an alarming WHEEEE sound coming from the front wheel near Castle Bytham. Stopped and noticed a small stone caught in the recess at the top of the fork arch, where a bolt goes up into the steerer tube. It was rubbing against the tyre. That’s the trouble with big tyres, not much clearance. But it was easy to dislodge, didn’t have to remove the wheel.
Went out the shorter way through the middle of Loughborough, back the usual way over the new bridge at Zouch. Back about 25 minutes before sunset.
Listened to the rest of the Reacher novel. It’s not one of the worst, but it’s not good.
Back on 176.26km.
]]>The trick is to use lengths of cable liner – it’s a lot easier to thread through than the cable is, then you can thread the cable through the liner. I’ve left both bits in place.
The other thing is: always buy a cable with a tipped end so it can’t fray on the way through. I bought a Clarks.
Still haven’t set up the tension but it shouldn’t be too hard.
]]>I went over the bridge at Walton on Trent, ignoring the sign requesting cyclists to dismount and use the pedestrian walkway. I continued on through Barton-under-Needwood, then turned back just east of Yoxall. I’d done about 34km by this time.
Nice to reacquaint myself with that particular route again. Nothing much wrong with it, really. I should mix it up a bit more.
Really nice out there, cool in the morning, nice and warm by afternoon. Picked up a few spots of rain on the way back but nothing aggravating. Mostly sunny.
Listened to a few more hours of the Reacher novel which is still trundling along in a slightly underwhelming fashion but at least coherent. And a bit of 5 Live.
I took Boardman II because I wanted to see if the hub is still sticking occasionally; it isn’t. Might have been a heat related thing. Not saying it’s normal for it to stick at 35C but if it’s fine at more usual temperatures I’ll forget about it for now.
Church Flatts Farm is sometimes nominated as the precise furthest point from the sea in the UK. There’s a piece about it from 2003 on the BBC News site here. But the actual point is about 350m to the east of the farm building and pleasingly, it’s only 18m from a quiet little lane. Will go along there next time, just for the distinction of being the person in the country furthest from the sea.
Back on 66.19.
]]>I made a modification though, with a detour through Wilson south of Melbourne both ways. I’ve come back down that way before a couple of times but never (I think) going north. A more compact detour than Isley Walton. A bit climby. But better than facing Rotter’s Rise on the way back.
Went all the way west to Doveridge, which I haven’t done for a year or two. A slight cockup on the way there – I took the wrong exit on a roundabout and ended up going on the A50, instead of the parallel (quiet) road through Sudbury. Fortunately the next roundabout, where I rejoined the intended route, wasn’t far. Only 2km of terror.
When you get to Doveridge, you sort of run out of runway. You’ve either got to go on the A50 or take a road that degenerates into a badly surfaced, gritty country lane. Fortunately because I was doing the Wilson detour both ways I was able to get to the requisite half-fondo distance just by pootling around the new houses for a bit.
Very nice out there. Listened to more Reacher, LBC and some of the Community Shield game.
Back on 100.46.
]]>The wind was coming from the east. I don’t usually set off with a tailwind expecting to return into a headwind, but I did today. I wanted to go east. I thought I might do 150+ km and there aren’t really any good options for that westward.
I set off at 0555. I did a fairly usual version of the eastbound, but only as far as Eastwell. The Roubaix is not changing properly at the back, or not reliably. It wasn’t a problem to ride but I have a suspicion that the cable is frayed. If it snapped or snagged permanently that would certainly be a problem on a long ride, so I decided to keep it short.
I suppose I’ll buy a new cable for it. Was going to change the chain anyway. Suppose it’s nice to have something to keep you busy when you’re retired.
Came back through Wymeswold, where I took the pic. The River Mantle is looking very soupy at the moment, but it hasn’t dried up.
I expected to have to detour through Sutty Bonner, to avoid the works for the new railway bridge along Rempstone Road. But in fact it’s complete now and the road’s open, so I went straight over to have a look. To make up for that I took the next turn to Sutty and detoured through Kegworth. Finally – back the long way through Diseworth and down Top Brand.
Felt a bit odd to be returning from a long ride in the middle of the day. But I didn’t want to risk it with the rear disraeli playing up. Saved myself a fair bit of discomfort from the afternoon heat, anyway. Back on 114.81km.
Saw a grass snake on the road along Narrow Lane, near Wymeswold. I believe that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a live snake in the UK. Had to brake to avoid running it over. I stopped to have a look and it did that snakey movement back into the grass at the side of the road.
Listened to LBC, including live coverage of the Farage vs Bin declaration not long after I set off. Also 5 Live and a few more hours of the Reacher novel which is decent, but a bit underwhelming so far.
]]>Secondly, I’d bypass Earl Shilton on the way back up, using a route through Barwell. I have done that before, but not by the exact method I planned today, and not for years.
I ignored a “road closed” sign at Kirkby Mallory and caused the folks operating a digger a bit of inconvenience when they stopped operating to let me past safely. Felt a bit bad about that, but I thanked them.
Apart from that all went fine until I took the wrong road out of Countesthorpe on the way back, going south instead of west. I may have done that once before, as well. I don’t really mind that sort of thing usually; makes for a bit of an adventure. But this was a very hot day, and I didn’t want to extend the ride too much. At Peatling Magna, I plotted a new route to Dunton Bassett, on the usual route. Even that didn’t quite work out. After Ashby Magna I was met by a bad case of gravel resurfacing (or “dressing”, as I believe some call it) so I detoured and met the usual route a bit further south.
I performed the detour via Barwell successfully, but to avoid going along Kirkby Lane again I came home using the A447 nearly all the way. Not pleasant, but at least it was quiet.
Really too warm for cycling after the first two or three hours but I think I’m acclimatising to it.
I stopped at the bench opposite the village shop at Gilmorton and noticed a fit old bird there, probably a couple of years younger than me to be fair, with an old steel bike. She came over for a chat. Wanted to know the way to Lutterworth. Told her I didn’t know, but would be happy to invoke Google Maps. She said not to bother, she could do that herself. Chatted about vintage bikes, downtube shifters (she’d had hers replaced with indexed Shimanos) and Leicestershire County Council.
Some terrific views of glider tow planes circling the flying club at Sibbertoft.
Listened to another hour or two of the Reacher novel and 5 Live.
Back on 111.14. 466 this month, 6999 this year.
]]>Apart from going via Packington and Gallows Lane I did the standard route for the first 42km, then on a whim decided to take a left along a road called Stonyford Lane. I thought I’d be heading to the back of nowhere but ended up, after a couple of turns, in Rugeley. I knew my way back from there along the busy A road past the old power station, past the site of the now-demolished cooling towers.
When I got back to Kings Bromley I went south along the main road past the wharf for a bit. Then on another exploration impulse I took a left along a road called Wood End Lane. My sense of direction told me this was taking me homeward. I did think of trying to orienteer my way home. But I bottled it and turned back to Kings Bromley, then came home the usual way.
I listened to Times Radio and 5 Live, then started the next Reacher novel, The Midnight Line.
Certainly was uncomfortably warm from 1300 or so but the intermittent cloud cover and shade from trees where available helped.
Noticed what I thought were phantom gear changes at the back a couple of times (Boardman II) then I remembered that I’d experienced a very similar thing on the Planet X a few years ago and it was caused by the freehub sticking momentarily. Just one thing after another!
Back on 103.54. This years’s 50th fondo and 70th ride.
]]>Anyway I set off at 1030 to do a Twycrosser, hoping that the roadworks on the way down to Twycross had been completed. But they hadn’t. So I turned off at Snarestone. Down to Bosworth by the way I usually come up.
Then I tried to go west along Station Road toward Sheepy, but turned back on encountering dusty gravel all over the road. Back to Bosworth again then, a loop round Sutton Cheney at the bottom via Sutton Cheney and Shenton Lane, back to Bosworth and home the longish way to the east via Nailstone, Ellistown, Ibstock.
A bit random and annoying really. 55.37 km.
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