June 2015.

9th June: I gave my knee a good 8 day break to make sure it was definitely rested properly and went out to do the extended 22 tonight. My knee started twinging at about the 17 mile mark, which I guess is some kind of progress, but still gutted it hasn't gone away completely. I'm going to lower my saddle another 1/4" and do the ride again tomorrow. Anyhow, 23.5 miles to kick June off.

16th June: I did the extended 22 again tonight with the slightly lowered seat. The weather was warm and breezy so quite pleasant and my knee twinged a bit but didn't flare up at all so it's looking vaguely promising in that department. 24.1 more miles for June. 

20th June: Did the extended 22 today. It was very windy but very hot and I got a pretty decent average speed of 16.9 mph so not bad. The knee twinged a bit but didn't flare up and it was another 24.1 miles for June. 

22nd June: I did the extended 22 again this evening for 24.0 miles. It was all going fine until I was heading back along the East Lancs road and my knee really flared up badly. It went down a bit and I got home with no issues but I am abandoning June and sorting my knee out. I'm not a great believer in doctors and have no idea who my GP actually is but I've made an appointment with him next Wednesday in the hope of being referred for a scan.

It's the Great Manchester Cycle on Sunday so I'm not cycling at all until then to let my knee heal and I've dusted off the Dave Yates in the hopes the more upright position will let me complete the ride successfully.

28th June: Well, I believe Manchester started warm and rainy but it was drying off nicely as it approached quarter to midday when the 26 miler was due to start. I was on the Dave Yates because I suspect something about the Giant is aggravating my knee; I suspect the Dave Yates weighs three times what the Giant weighs but it's been stuck in the house for ages so it deserved a day out. It was hot but very windy at times but overall a very enjoyable ride.

My official time was 1h 27m 58s so faster than 2013 but not quite as fast as last year; not bad really considering the howling wind! My knee did start twinging a bit over the last few miles but it didn't flare up which was a bonus, hopefully the doc will point me in the right direction on Wednesday. Anyhow, 26.1 more miles for June.

Well, June ended with a paltry 121.8 on the clock. Not good but having a 'new' dodgy knee doesn't help. The doctor examined it and said it may well be IBT syndrome and to come back if it gets any worse - thanks, I could have diagnosed that myself...