More like my ride yesterday actually.
Out on the Linear at 2:15 pm hoping to get back home before school emptying time. Mainly a test run for the bar end gear shifters and new B/B. All layered up with thermal underwear, woolly hat, hiking socks and ski gloves. It was cloudy and cold, but not as bitter as the previous few days.
Once more a crisis of confidence as I haven’t ridden this bike for nearly a month what with working on it, domestic things to sort out and ‘orrible weather. I visualised the chain falling off, gears crunching, stiff bottom bracket etc.
Despite my qualms the unfamiliar gear levers worked easily, and despite the right hand one being non indexed it was smooth and easy. (It's a vintage Sun Tour Bar Con).The left hand one, a Sturmey Archer bar end shifter, worked as well as the trigger shifter it had replaced. Once launched, everything fell into place.
What I couldn’t get used to though was the intensity of traffic. Compared to the first lockdown there were cars everywhere, and the amount of tyre noise made it hard to detect where they were all coming from, particularly on lift off from between parked cars.
Up our back lane, stopping to adjust mirrors, then left into Swanlow lane, straight on through the uphill traffic lights, along Swanlow Lane to the A54 roundabout, left down the long hill on Oakmere Road to the roundabout at the bottom, straight on then a sharp right onto the mixed use cycleway past the Cheshire Police HQ. Here I stopped for adjustments as there was a daydreamer with headphones dawdling all over the path ahead and a woman walking a dog so it gave them a chance to get clear too.
Just as I caught up again my phone bleeped so I stopped to answer it as I was expecting a call, then laboriously texted a reply with rapidly cooling digits once my gloves were off. I delude myself that I’m up with the tech now, innit.
By the time I’d sent it off the other path users had turned off somewhere so I had a clear if slow ride to where the path ends, and turned left up Littler Lane.
A bit muddy with a scattering of puddles and potholes, but quite rideable and with the advantage of no traffic. A surprising number of walkers about, two groups coming my way, one with a bristling spiky off white terrier type thing being held on a short lead. A bit further on a rather elegant woman with long blonde hair and a smart coat passed by on her own. She said hello and I replied. I wondered what she was doing walking up this muddy lane in her nice gear, still, she was probably wondering why I was riding about on that thing.
Next a T junction with a slightly larger lane, Blakeden Lane, turned left, mostly downhill, muddy and wet, following a lot of foot traffic. Ten runners going the same way at 8 or 9 mph not socially distancing, followed by a dog walker so I kept well back until the road widened enough to pass. This didn’t happen until two more dog walkers had come the other way, then a white van came up from behind filling the lane so I slowed down into a field access on the left while he passed without me having to stop. The lane turned sharp left into Woodford Lane West and widened but was filled with a rank of minibuses down one side waiting for pupils from the Hebden Green Neuromuscular Centre. What I’d hoped was going to be a pleasant trundle down an empty lane had turned into a convoy following a rent-a-crowd. There were trucks and vans parked further along the lane but eventually there was enough social distance to pass everybody. I came up to a T junction, turned right through an estate and headed for home. Too many schoolkids about, too much attention, bad timing really.
So many cars! So many people! Don’t they know there’s a lockdown!
Certainly feeling a bit underpowered today, but the bike had performed as anticipated. Where have my recumbent legs gone? Distance a mere 4.7 miles though it felt a lot more. Max speed 17 mph, average 9.0 mph. Speed on the flat not so inspiring but I found the uphills easier, if slower, than expected. Must get out more and get the miles in, and avoid the people.
First ride (ridelet!) out on a bike this year and it’s the recumbent. Starting as I mean to go on, hopefully. Next time, there will be a better timed out of town route.
On close inspection I'm pretty sure it's just a cosmetic defect...... but to be safe took the tyres off again and swapped front to back.
so dropped down the gears and spun up the rest of the climb . Round the back of Markfield to Thornton dropped down to the reservoir and climbed back out to Markfield ,Newtown and home in a new fastest time if 48 mins 10 secs .13.9 miles at 17.4mph with 1000ft of upness . Despite setting a new record time I collected no Strava prs . Saw no other cyclists out which considering the weather was odd
! I didn’t even have time to brake, literally having to swerve to avoid him. I told him to try looking next time......
