5th November: I took Awesom-O out this afternoon to do the local 27. It was pretty cold but I was plenty warm enough with a t-shirt under my new Aldi Pro cycling jacket. As I got onto the bypass I was cheesed off to find it was pretty windy and, equally annoying, for some reason my legs took ages to kick in. I was about eight or nine miles out before my legs woke up properly. Anyhow, it stayed dry and it was an enjoyable enough ride for winter with a not so cool average of 15.9 miles. 27.4 more winter miles.
8th November: Well tonights ride was an interesting one! It had rained all day and was still chucking it down when I headed out after work to do the local 21 knowing it was going to be a very Rule #9 ride. I was wearing my Aldi cycling top over my new Rapha base layer with my Planet X long bibs and the new overshoes in the hope of staying warm and dry. It was pretty successful, too, My clothes were absolutely soaked when I got in but the Rapha was still pretty dry (apart from the pits - sorry!) and my legs were warm so I guess they make a pretty successful ensemble (although I've got my eye on a Parentini Mossa 2 for Christmas).
I had a close shave coming back down the Lancs though, I was cruising along at about 16 mph just thinking how poor the visibility on the path was because of the glare from oncoming traffic when I looked up and two neds on mountain bikes with no lights whatsoever shot past me on my left at a combined approach speed of a good 30 mph. Luckily we didn't crash but I can do without meeting dickheads like that on my rides. Despite my legs feeling awesome, my average speed proved to be the same as on my previous ride so it proves, one again, that cyling can be a strange sport sometimes. Anyhow, it was 21.2 more miles.
12th November: I took Aweson-O out this afternoon to do the local 27. The weather was ok, overcast and maybe around 10c so I wore my new Aldi cycling jacket over a t-shirt and ended up unzipping the jacket because I was melting. It was breezy rather than windy so it was quite an enjoyable ride overall and my average was 16.3 mph which was better than the last couple of rides. There was tons of standing water everywhere because of all the rain we've had recently but my overshoes kept my feet dry blasting through the puddles which was very cool. 27.2 more miles.
13th November: More fucktardary on the roads... I wanted to get out on Awesom-O tonight to clear my head a bit before the start of another week down't pit so I chucked on the Rapha and the Aldi and headed out. It was extremely mild, maybe 12c and not windy so it was ideal weather for a night pootle. I decided to risk the mud and fallen leaves and give the Old Coach Road (the OCR from now on) a go and it was all going normally until I turned left off the roundabout and headed up Ormskirk road. There in front of me pedalling along the main road were two lads on mountain bikes in dark clothes and no lights! Darwin would be tutting in his grave. Anyhow, I carried on and survived the Old Coach Road although I did have a dicey moment near the end when I hit a narrow muddy section at about 16 mph and the front and rear wheels started sliding around independently of each other. Anyhow, I escaped unscathed and it was another 15.5 miles for November.
15th November: I managed to get out after work this evening so I took Awesom-O out to do the OCR again. I necked a mug of Whittard's Bourbon Espresso made in my Aeropress before I set out and I don't know if this was why but my legs have never felt so good!
From the second I left the house my legs felt awesome. Ironically I forgot to press start on the Garmin so I didn't actually record the ride but I suspect it was a great time. The weather was dry and pretty mild so an extremely enjoyable ride and another 15.6 miles.
17th November: I officially hate the puncture fairy! I decided to push my luck tonight and do the OCR ride again as I wanted to test my new Exposure support cell with my Diablo front light. It's a supplementary battery pack that connects to the light via the charging port and effectively doubles the run time. Because I need the light on full blast for 20 minutes it takes to do the road, I find myself switching between high, low and pulsing a lot on the ride to ensure it gets me home. The added runtime means I can stop worrying about the light getting me home and enjoy the ride more. Anyhow, the puncture fairy... I got a few hundred yards down the road when I felt my front rim bouncing on the ground with each pedal stroke. It was dark and very blowy but I managed to find a splinter of glass in the tyre, remove it, and fit a new tube and inflate it with a CO2 cartridge and be on my way. I was cycling along the Lancs, almost at Windle Island, when I felt my rear rim bounding along the ground! Not to worry I thought, I have another tube and CO2 cartridge so, all thoughts of an early night rapidly fading, I replaced the tube. I couldn't feel anything stuck in the tyre so I inflated it and headed across Windle Island to the bypass. By this point however the tyre was as flat as a pancake again so I ended up with a 40 minute walk back to my house. An eventful ride and 14.7 miles.
19th November: Awesom-O's in bits at he moment as I get his tyres sorted out so I took the Giant out to do the local 21 this afternoon. It wasn't too cold and the wind was pretty light so it was quite a fun ride, my legs ached a bit though but I guess that's because my legs are getting accustomed to Awesom-O's geometry. I got close passed on the East Lancs by a minicab driver in a Mondeo estate which was pretty annoying but I've often thought people only become minicab drivers because they're too stupid to be criminals. Anyhow, the Giant wasn't too mucky when I got in but I gave him a good wash anyway and it was another 21.5 miles for November.
20th November: I took Awesom-O out this evening for another pre-working week head clearer. It was a fun ride, not too cold and not much wind and I still haven't come off on the wet leaves which is always good. After the double puncture the other day I've ordered new tyres for Awesom-O so this might have been my last ride on the Conti 4 Seasons, they've done roughly 2,200 miles which isn't a lot but I don't trust them any more and they weren't amazingly puncture resistant in the first place. Another 15.7 miles for November.
24th November: Awesom-O has new shoes! I've officially retired the 4 Seasons partly because they were getting a bit long in the tooth and partly because I just fancied a change! Michelin have just brought out a new range of tyres, the 'Power' series. There's a light weight racing tyre, an endurance model and a tough winter model. I chose the middle one called 'Endurance'. Michelin have spent two years developing the tyres using some of their technology from road and motorbike tyres and they claim lower rolling resistance, better puncture protection and more grip.
The Endurance is billed as an all-rounder with extra puncture protection and lower rolling resistance which is why I chose them for Awesom-O. I only did the local 21 miler tonight but I'm very impressed, they're definitely a lot faster rolling than the 4 Seasons. I felt they felt slightly harsh but I may have over inflated them a bit so I'll report back. I did have an amusing encounter coming back down the Lancs though. I could see a young couple about forty yards ahead jogging together. As the bloke spotted me, he moved to one side so I could pass and the girl suddenly grabbed him shrieking "F*cking hell, I nearly sh*t myself then. I thought he was a car and was going to get me!". The Exposure Diablo strikes again! It was a cold but calm night and another 21.9 miles. This was quite a significant ride because the overdraft is gone, I'm at 2,202 miles for 2016 and I've got another few days to build up a surplus!
27th November: I escaped this afternoon and ended up doing a bit of a hybrid route. It was a lot warmer than it has been recently with a fair amount of blue sky so quite a nice ride overall. I ran the new tyres at 75 and 80 psi and they still felt quite solid which I guess is because there's plenty of rubber in them, they are an endurance tyre after all, but they are noticeably faster rolling than the old Conti's. I did a lap around the fishing pond at Sidings Lane and then what would have been the local 27 but, instead of heading up Sineacre Lane after the farm path towards Kirkby, I carried on down and did the OCR. As I came out of the farm path and carried on down the main road I was reminded that one of the many downsides of winter is getting gritted by passing gritting lorries (I got gritted on Thursday as well going down the Lancs). I don't what's in grit these days but I didn't hear any salt pinging off Awesom-O but the wagon did leave a very strong smell of fertiliser in the road after it has passed which was odd. Anyhow, an enjoyable ride and another 22.4 miles.
30th November: Well, the final ride of November was fun and uneventful. I took Awesom-O out after work to do the OCR again. It wasn't too cold or windy but it was quite misty and damp so felt colder than it probably was. Anyhow, I soon warmed up and enjoyed the ride, my legs felt good as well which is always nice and Awesom-O was nice and muddy when we got back which is par for the course for this time of year. I will clean him but it can wait until the weekend this time, it's too cold! The final total for November was 241.2 which is pretty good around 160 miles to do in December...
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