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Whether it's five miles or five hundred miles, riding a bicycle is more fun than anyone ever told me! My New Year's Resolution to cycle 10 miles a day or 40 minutes on a spin bike has meant that by the end of May I have cycled 2,600 miles! Because of my cycling wardrobe the weather has not stopped me from cycling (unless it really is -5 degrees or with wind gusts of 25 mph). Cycling in style and in comfort is really important to me as I don't really want to be covered in logos looking like a Ninja as I buy groceries or attend meetings. I have found some things that work for me but am always looking for new pieces. For me, Evans Cycles and Cycle Surgery for the basics. My two favourite brands for my wardrobe are www.velorution.com and www.velovixen.com but I am always looking for new pieces. I would love to know what works for you and why. Happy cycling!

Sunday 7 April 2013

Mice Star Date Log 97 A Pootley Sunday London Ride








Sunday 7th April 19.97 miles in 1hr 49 mins. 10.9mph average speed with 22.3 max on the Marin. 

What is it about these rides?  Is it that they really are a pootle? No particular mileage to be covered.  No real destination until someone at the start comes up with an idea? Cycling at conversational pace towards a nearby location for coffees and a chat?  And in fine company?  
Today was no exception.  Except one thing. A friend of mine arrived on his "Is it a Bird? Is it a Bike?" "No. It's a Velomobile."  This is really a recumbent trike in a carbon fibre shell.  It looks like something out of The Wacky Races. (If you are under 28 years old you may have to google that! The Hanna Barbera version). It goes like a rocket with very little effort and supersonically so once its owner gets going.  Unbelievable.



It also causes a bit of a stare.  Members of the public come up and ask to take photos and questions.   It's more of a Velo Celebe than a Velomobeel!

Once autographs had been metaphorically signed (by the VM not by the owner) we decided to head towards Borough. Even on the move people stare.  There was a particularly classic moment when a chap was about to take a photo of his girlfriend who had struck a pose in front of Buckingham Palace.  As the Velomobeel went by the lens left the girlfriend and followed the wheels instead!

Down Birdcage Walk, Parliament Square and onto the Embankment.  Cycling in London on a sunny Sunday is a joy. Total joy.  Along to Blackfriars Bridge and onto Borough. Down to a cafe in Burgess Park, Camberwell.  It was a reality check against Look Mum No Hands which quite frankly has fallen into the outrageous pricing category.  






Coffees and catchups with a few more Velomobeel moments and we were off to Peckham.  TJ Alexander was in charge, apparently he wasn't sure of the route but of course I didn't care. We were on our bikes.  We found our way to another cafe, this one on Peckham Common. Excellent food and drinks. The VM and Andy headed for home whilst TJ and I sat in the sunshine putting the world to rights (metaphorically speaking at least!)





We headed North and went our separate ways.  Over 100 miles cycled in a weekend.  That will do for me!  I love riding my bike!

Euston to Banbury 84 miles. Max Speed 32.5!


Mice Log Star Date 96. (No detailed stats as the Cateye computer is only showing as it happens and not keeping logs!)

What a great day! I never imagined when I woke up and discovered the temperature was zero degrees that I was going to have so much fun. This was the perfect ride to start my 2013 cycling with my Boardman which hasn't been outside since November!

This was the ride of the railways. An opportunity to see the proposed HS2 route from Euston to Banbury in Oxfordshire. A friend, Adam, was in charge and being the fabulous cyclist, bike mechanic, ride leader and all round good egg that he is, I knew it was going to be a good day. He had reassured me earlier in the week that this would be my perfect inaugural 2013 ride on my roadbike as there were so many bail out points.

Bikes are funny things! They are so different. Four months of riding the steel framed Brompton and the aluminium Marin - both with racks meant that with one pedal push on the Boardman I was half way down the street - I laughed out loud! 

The weather was a bit alarming, zero is zero and as I knew it would be colder in the countryside I stuffed some spare kit into my Carradice saddle bag. As it turned out I could have dressed three cyclists with the amount of extra clobber I was carrying!

At Euston I met up with nine others. Unfortunately the 10th man was in Brixton fixing air loss in a wheel (I daren't use the p word!) This 10th man goes by the name of Tim and he is a bike mechanic and cyclist supremo on a par with Adam so we knew he would be on his way pretty speedily. We did take advantage of cappuccinos from cafe Nero and stood in the sunshine trying to stay warm (did I say it was zero degrees?)! All the while rail travellers were looking at us out of the corner of their eyes probably trying to work out the point of Lycra! 
One of our numbers was showing off his legs.  Zero degrees and bare legged below the knee.  He is 'ard!  Another great cyclist and the perfect All Up Call Up man on a night ride! In no time at all Tim was with us and we were off! As a very kind treat Adam had routed the route inside Regents Park so we could cycle past the Giraffe House! Fantastic! And all three giraffes were outside!! 

We weaved our way north and west. St Johns Wood where we could have posed on the Beatles crossing, on to Wembley, Park Royal and Eastcote (obviously I didn't have clue where I was, I was reading road signs)!!  It wasnt my favourite route - London drivers can be so unpleasant - but we were following HS2 so no choice! One of our number, Bob who was on a King recumbent, made me laugh when we cycled passed a yellow warning sign. "Ha!" he said "I thought that said Warning - Pootles" (it said Warning Potholes!!  20 somewhat traffic heavy urban miles from Euston we were in the countryside. Huzzah!!

And then the pothole avenues of the north. Shocking. It was ridiculous. It became a selection process deciding which ones to end up in. The cold weather and lack of funding has done done real damage.

We did some hills. Long, short, sharp, OMG Seriously - they were all there. As I was busy berating Adam later he said it was 3,800 feet of climbing which is higher than Bury Hill  - on the way to Felpham - that they rode last week! 3,800 feet! Horror! But apparently it was all detailed in the blurb about the ride if only I had paid attention to what 3,800 feet actually meant!

 Once in the countryside we saw lots of signs protesting about the HS2. It's one of those things that it's potentially great for everyone who doesn't live near the route.  We saw many of the farms and houses that are going to be completely obliterated. But not for many years so the current owners are stuffed. I don't know what the solution is but I think it could have been handled much, much better.


37 miles from Euston and when my energy levels were depleted found as at Lunch. The Full Moon in Little Kingshill, Buckinghamshire http://thefullmoon.info/location.html The Full Moon in Little Kingshill, Bucks HP16 0EE.  What a pub! Delicious food, excellent service and a really great time. The food was so good that puddings came and rather rapidly went!!


Our numbers changed like a sort of knitting pattern - drop four gain one and our numbers were now 8.  The first part of the afternoon ride was a descent. Stunning! The recumbent flew by at a wapping 40 mph and we met up at the bottom!

We cycled past the gates to Chequers and caught the attention of the security cameras. I started waving and the camera waved its windscreen wipers!!  

The rest of the ride was completely stunning. Gentle, gentle little climbs I hardly noticed. Sitting in a bowl with hills on the horizon which quite frankly is the best place for them! The sun was out and it was warm but there were still daffs in snow!  

We made a minor diversion to look at a steam railway - the sort of thing that W H Auden might have seen to inspire Thomas.  A classic example of how many things you see from your bicycle that you wouldn't see any other way. 
 


Somehow my fitness level was hanging on in there, no bail out options yet needed and I started to wonder if I might actually make the distance. Often in rides of longer distances not cycled its the very end of the ride when things go wrong. 

Every ounce of energy, adrenalin, stamina and strength has left and you just make it to the station only to discover that the station is closed or the wrong one or something. And you have nothing in the tank. I mentioned to Tim that if we happened to see a tea shop about 10 miles before the end - that would be great. 
 
Eight miles later, 12 miles from the end of the ride we found The Butchers Arms Fringford. Marvellous  The Butchers Arms, Fringford, Nr Bicester Oxfordshire OX27 8EB Pints of beer and pints of tea - with biscuits! (Tea is really good for dehydration - not sure I can wholeheartedly say the same about beer..!)  But a really welcoming place. We sat in the sunshine and learned about nearby filming for Lark rise to Candleford.  Definitely a place to go back to!


Refreshed and revitalised we headed on to Banbury.  35 minutes to wait, a glance at the steam train we'd seen earlier (which had apparently started a fire a couple of hours earlier so had been replaced by a diesel) and we were heading for London.  We asked the Guard whether there were refreshments on the train and he nearly fell over. "Refreshments? On the train to London? Absolutely not. Nothing. Not a hope."!!


The train was packed - with Police! Transport Police and Football fans. They let us squeeze our bikes on.  Still somewhat affronted by the 3,800 feet of climbing I tried to have Adam arrested for lying!! Absolutely hilarious! The policeman was fab - and hopefully will be looking at taking up cycling! And no he didn't arrest Adam!

We managed to survive the shoppers and their bags from Bicester and an hour later we were cycling through Hyde Park. Tim's light was fantastically bright and guided us to Hyde Park Corner where we said our Goodbyes. 40 minutes later I was in bed and about a minute later I was fast asleep - feeling rather chuffed that I had cycled approximately 90 miles.  If someone had said to me three years ago you will cycle to Oxfordshire I would have said they were nuts.  It's amazing how much fun it is on a bicycle whether nine minutes, nine miles or the whole day.


Some say its all about the bike. I say it's all about the peeps. Thank you guys, that was fab!