As it turned out, it goes down the other side of Crank and you end up back on the road I'd come in on 10 minutes earlier so I ended up climbing the hill to the Red Cat twice - DOH! It ended up drizzling through most of the ride and my clothes were fairly wet but, once again, the Aldi cycling top with my Rapha merino underlayer meant I never felt less than warm and comfortable on the ride. I don't know how it works buy merino never seems to get wet, it seems to evaporate moisture so you only ever have nice warm steam next to your skin. A dreich but strangely enjoyable start to the year and 18.6 miles on the clock.
January 10th: I really couldn't be bothered going anywhere this evening but I really needed to get some miles in. With this in mind, I dragged Awesom-O out and decided to just plug up and down the bypass a few times and clock up a few miles. The weather was pleasant enough, breezy and not too cold, and I was soon bombing along happily enough on the cycle path.
As it turned out, I had the coolest wild life encounter of my cycling career so far! As I was cycling towards the end of the bypass, something made me look to my left and as I did, and hovering maybe 9 feet in front of me between two scrubby trees was a barn owl looking down at the ground, presumably for a mouse or vole to pounce on. A very cool experience on an otherwise uneventful ride and 14.7 more miles.
January 14th: It was a cold, breezy day today and I was determined to get a few miles in. Once again, I couldn't be arsed going anywhere so I just did three up and downs of the bypass. With the breeze it was definitely fast one way and hard work the other but I averaged 16.4 mph which isn't bad for a winter ride. 20.1 more miles.
January 16th: January is turning out to have rather an ornithological bent so far. I set out in the drizzle this afternoon to get a few miles in and headed out along the farm track. There is a part of the track where it turns a sharp right and there's a house on the corner who have just put posts around their perimeter as part of planting a new beech hedge.
I started cycling past the new hedge and looked to my left and not five feet in front of me was a huge buzzard perching on one of the fence posts. Amazingly, it didn't fly off but just watched me warily as I cycled past. A cool encounter and another 22.1 miles.
Jan 19th: Determined to get some miles in after work today, but unable to wait for the traffic to die down, I took Awesom-O out to do a bit of bypass bashing. It was pretty mild without much wind so whilst not being a particularly interesting ride, it wasn't too much of a chore and my legs felt good once they'd kicked in. Another 16.9 miles.
Jan 21st: It was cold today but the wind was pretty light for a change so I headed out to grab a few miles on Awesom-O. I ended up just doing the farm track and back taking in the full length of the bypass. One odd thing I encountered was four or five groups of about a dozen kids aged ten to twelvish each accompanied by a couple of adults, some of whom looked to be carrying maps. I'm not sure which organisation or school they were from buy when I thanked one group of them for letting me pass, I was thanked in turn by a very polite, well spoken young lad! Anyhow, 20.2 more miles.
Jan 24th: I took Awesom-O out tonight and ended up having the best ride for ages. I go to my parents after work on Tuesdays because my niece (and her best mate Erin) and nephew spend the evening there before being picked up by my brother or his wife. Anyhow, I usually mop up any spare food when the girls have had their tea because it saves me cooking when I get in. The haul this time was two yorkshire puddings and 5 M&S mini profiteroles and, I have to say, it worked; I genuinely can't remember a ride where my legs felt so good for so long! Anyhow, I did the farm track and then plugged up and down the bypass a couple of times and ended up coming back through the village where I stopped at the chippy for four mini spring rolls. Exactly 24.0 miles.
Jan 28th: It was cold and windy today but I was determined to get a few miles in. I couldn't be bothered going anywhere so I did a bit more bypass bashing. It starting raining more or less as I set out so I knew it wasn't going to be a long ride. I like cycling in the rain when it's warm but when it's cold and windy I'm not so keen. The rain dropped off and some blue sky appeared halfway through the ride but I was wet so I headed home for a not so awesome 14.8 miles.
Jan 29th: The weather was lot more clement today, warmer and very little wind, so I took Awesom-O out for a pootle. I did the farm track and back and then did a few lengths of the bypass, including a bit of exploring. My legs felt pretty good and it was a quite a pleasant ride overall and another 18.5 miles for January.
Jan 31st: It was fairly rainy and drizzly after work tonight but it wasn't particularly cold or windy so I took Awesom-O out to get a few miles in. With all lights fully charged I decided to do the farm track and then head back in through the village and grab some tea from the chippy on my way past. It turned out to be a very enjoyable ride and my legs felt great all the way around, possibly due to the stove-top coffee I had to wake myself before I set off. I blotted my copy book slightly by stopping for a donner kebab on the way back instead of something healthier but it was a very enjoyable 16.5 miles to finish January off and a 'not too bad for January' total of 185.5 miles.
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