May 2015.

4th May: It was a gorgeous day today so I decided to do the extended 22 this afternoon. It was all going well until I was going through Knowsley Industrial Park and noticed the display had frozen on my Garmin Edge 200. Not to worry I thought, I'll reset it when I get home and use the default mileage from when I drew the route in MMR. But no, my faithful companion of around 4,000 miles is no more, no combination of warming it up or factory resetting it can bring it back to life. So, an expensive start to May but 23.6 miles to kick off with.

7th May: Another gorgeous (but windy) day so I dragged myself out after a gruelling day at work and did the extended 22. It was rush hour which restricts overtaking ability somewhat so I did get stuck behind a couple of other cyclists for a while but generally a very pleasant ride and 23.6 more miles for May. 

16th May: Another gorgeous but extremely windy day today and I nearly turned around after getting hit by the first roaring gust but I'm struggling with miles this month so I went for a wander.

It wasn't very long but the route has a few decent hills so definitely better that nothing! Anyhow, 12.1 more miles for May.

23rd May: Did the extended 22 today on the new Hunt wheels which were awesome. It was windy but the first day of the year when I thought 'Wow, it's hot' when I stopped at traffic lights so maybe summer really is on the way? 23.6 more miles for May.

25th May: It was very windy today so, true to form, I went exploring again. I've been having very bad pain on the outside edge of my knee on the last few rides so I did a bit of Googling and found it was probably something call IBT syndrome or 'runner's knee'.

I've suspected that the saddle on the Giant was a bit high so I lowered it exactly 3/8" before the ride. I basically just went wandering deciding whether to turn left or right as I arrived at each junction I came to. Despite the wind and a fair hangover, it was a very enjoyable ride and I felt pretty strong and I didn't have a any knee twinges at all. I suspect a combination of a better bike set-up and the lighter Hunt wheels certainly contributed to a very enjoyable ride and exactly 19.0 miles in the bag.

26th May: Did the extended 22 tonight, it was beautifully sunny but the wind was roaring down the bypass so on the way back I got off the bypass and cut through the industrial estate and onto the shared use path through the middle of the village. I'm pretty sure I've got the setup of the Giant spot on now because despite the wind I felt really strong all the way around and I'm getting no knee pain at all any more which is a big relief. 24.1 more miles.

28th May: Did the extended 22 again. Like Tuesday it was gloriously sunny but the wind was howling down the bypass so I cut along the shared-use path on the way back. 24.2 more miles. Only 50 to go with 2 days left...

30th May: I really need the miles at the moment so I did the extended 22 and kept on to the end of the by-pass and back at the end of the ride. It was sunny but very windy and my IBT came back with a vengeance which was a total bummer but it was a much needed 30.0 miles.

31st May: Today was the windiest day of the year so far and I'd far rather have had a rest day but I was determined not to miss a second month so I headed out exploring.

I moved my saddle forward 1/4" in the hope of finally finding a position that doesn't aggrevate my knee and set off for a wander. Despite my knee being very twingey and the incredible wind it was actually quite an enjoyable ride. I slightly mis-remembered the mileage I needed to hit 200 and ended up with 199.3 for the month, close enough!