7th March: I took Awesom-O out tonight after work, just as it was getting dark. It was quite a pleasant evening, dry and not too cold and the wind was blowy rather than strong. I came back and did a full length of the bypass to add a few miles and then stopped at the chippy in the village for 3 mini spring rolls. An uneventful but enjoyable ride and 21.9 more miles.
10th March: A significant ride today, it was the first ride of the year in my Lusso bib shorts! The BBC website said 10c but it felt warmer. I did the farm track then two laps of a loop I created in Map my Ride to add a bit of distance. For some reason, as I was about to set off, I turned on my Garmin and it was almost dead - bugger! Anyhow, I knew the distance from drawing the ride so I set off and it proved to be a very enjoyable ride although there were a couple of oddities.
Firstly, as I was heading down Hall Lane I passed a girl on a full carbon fatbike coming the other way which was very odd and secondly, I am starting to get chain slip on the bike where the you hear a 'ching, ching' as you are cycling and the cranks spin forward before engaging again - very iritating. The chain and cassette have got less than 500 miles on them so it can't be that. I'll have to have a good look at the freehub body and front chainring when I get the chance. Anyhow, 24.9 more miles.
12th March: I managed to get out this evening to try and burn off a rather nice pub lunch. It was dark soon after I set off and I ended up having one of those 'zen' rides that reminded why I love cycling so much, flying down deserted roads without a care in the world. I did the end of the farm track and back and then two laps of my new mini course before heading in. It was warmish and not too windy and a thoroughly enjoyable ride for 22.2 more miles.
15th March: I had the day off today to try and use up some leave at work and, as usual, I really dropped on with the weather! It was warm and sunny with barely a cloud in the sky and hardly any wind so I took the Giant out for the afternoon. I did to the end of the farm track and back, then did a couple of laps of the loop and then headed back via the Old Coach Road. I did have another of my firsts on the ride however. As I was cycling along Barrow Nook Lane, I slowed right down to pass two horses when the lady on the outside said "Could you slow down please love and ring your bell?". Given that I was only doing about 4 mph and don't have a bell because it isn't 1943, I was somewhat surprised by this request. Anyhow, our world has militant cyclists so I don't see why there shouldn't be militant horsists as well! A very sunny 27.4 miles and, incidentally, the ride that took me past the 9,000 mile mark.
18th March: The BBC were predicting some seriously wet weather today so I'd initially decided not to bother with a ride. As it turned out, it was raining but it wasn't cold or particularly windy so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I did to the end of the farm track and back and then two of my recently created loops. One thing I discovered on the ride is that my new Bluemel mudguards works very well, it rained constantly for the entire ride. Anyhow, my legs felt good, apart from a weird pain I was getting behind my left knee at the top of the calf, and it was an enjoyable ride although I did wring about half a pint of water out of my hat and gloves when I got in! 22.1 more miles.
19th March: I can't remember much about this ride because it was nearly a week ago. I took Awesom-O out in the evening and did the farm track plus a couple of laps of my new loop. The back of my knee was quite sore so I Googled it execting to find some obvious cycling cause but I couldn't. Some people suggested it could be caused by pulling up too hard straining the tendons. Anyhow, I'm going to have a few days off the bike and see how I get on. 22.1 more miles.
25th March: The BBC were predicting gorgeous sunny weather today so I took the Giant out for a pootle. The BBC were right and it was a gorgeous sunny day with virtually no wind. I set off and decided to take it easy because of my knee keeping my cadence high and using my right leg whenever I needed to accelerate. I did the original local 21 and only had one minor incident. As I was cycling through the industrial park, I went to accelerate past three young lads doing wheelies on mountain bikes when one of them nearly fell off to his left effing and jeffing a lot. I jinked right to go around and he looked distinctly startled as I shot past him which was quite amusing. My knee was fine, which was promising, and it was an extremely pleasant ride and 20.9 miles.
26th March: It was another gorgeous sunny day today albeit with more wind. I took the Giant out again and went the back way to Ormskirk, past Warbrecks nursery and then did the farm track on the way back. Apart from getting stuck behind a couple of other cyclists occasionally (spin people, don't grind. As Durianrider would say "Cadence, CADENCE!") it was a fun ride and also the first ride of the year wearing just a t-shirt which was awesome! Anyhow, another 21.0 miles.
29th March: I had another day off work today to use up annual leave. I took Awesom-O for what turned out to be a rather rule #9 ride. I did the farm path, 2 of my new loops and came back around the back of the village to add a bit of distance. It wasn't the most fun ride ever because it was quite wet and windy but it was another 23.6 giving a total for March of 227.1 which is pretty decent for the time of year.
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