1st October: Having had quite a poor September mileage-wise, I have a feeling October will be better. It's taken me a while to find my 'it's not warm and sunny anymore' mojo but I think it's back. It was overcast but bright today and quite windy so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I didn't do anything fancy, just three ups and downs of the farm path but it was an enjoyable ride despite the wind. Following on from my recent post about cycling products often being overpriced and reading a review of a ridiculously expensive rucksack, I decided to look at rucksacks on-line.
I currently use a Deuter something or other of around 15 litres that I used to use at work but something a bit smaller would be more ideal. A bit of Googling quickly found the Mountain Warehouse 10 litre Esprit rucksack reduced from £25.99 to £9.99! It arrived and got it's first ride today; it's fantastic, just as well made as much more expensive brands and the perfect size for a day pack! 25.1 miles to start October off.
6th October: The weather was pleasant enough for a change today but it was chilly, the BBC website said 12 °C. I could definitely feel the chill on my legs when I set out and my new Castelli jacket finally feels more suited to the weather. Anyhow, I took Awesom-O out and did three ups and downs of the farm path. My legs felt pretty good and it was an enjoyable ride overall and 25.0 more miles.
9th October: Another very pleasant day today. It was overcast but bright with very little wind so I took Awesom-O out and did three ups and downs of the farm path. It was an uneventful ride until I nearly got run over 100 yards from home! There was a big car badly parked on my side of the road and I saw him start to pull into the road. I assumed he'd see me and stop, especially as I now run a Knog Blinder Mini Chippy on the front in blink mode, but he kept pulling out and only stopped at the last second. I know the car, the owner lives about 200 yards from me, and the driver is very elderly. Two incidents with cars in over 11,000 miles and both very elderly drivers... Anyhow, another 25.4 miles.
11th October: It was absolutely pouring with rain and windy today but I had a couple of tests to so so it proved a very rule #9 ride! Firstly, I'm going to stop using the Morgan Blue Syn Lube on Awesom-O's chain, it's great at staying on and lubing the chain but the build-up of crud on the jockeys wheels had to be seen to be believed. I cleaned the chain and re-lubed it with Morgan Blue Race Oil because I want to see what the chain's like in the morning after an hour and a half in the rain. Secondly, I wanted to see how the Castelli Alpha performs in the rain. The main body was ok but the sleeves let the rain right through so 'not brilliantly' was the answer to that question. Lastly, I wanted to wear my new Castelli Velocissimo long bib shorts for the first time, so... They're brilliant! Perfectly skintight, the straps are the perfect length for me and the pad protects you but just disappears, I'm probably going to pick up a set of Castelli shorts in the spring to replace my Lussos. Oh, and note to self, start wearing your overshoes again when it's wet; cycling shoes fill with water in about 0.3 seconds when you're riding through three inches of water at speed... Anyhow, a wet and windy ride but another 25.0 miles in the bank.
13th October: Following yesterdays test ride, the chain had gone slightly rusty on the inside of the links so I topped it up and left it. What followed was a rather unusual ride. The weather was unseasonably warm, around 19 c, with the occasional glimpse of blue in the sky but very windy so it was the first ride in a while where I wore my bib shorts and Altura short sleeved top. Anyhow, I took Awesom-O out and did three and a half up and downs of the farm track. Despite the wind, which was very strong heading out on the track, it proved to be quite a zen ride. Even though I was spinning along into the wind struggling to maintain 16 mph it was a very enjoyable, relaxing ride. Anyhow, a fun ride and another 27.3 miles.
15th October: Strangely, it was another unseasonably warm day with lots of blue sky today so the Strael got another trip out. Having ridden Awesom-O for a while the first thing I noticed was that the seat was low so I raised it about 3/8" and it felt even better. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, just the usual three ups and downs of the farm track, but I did see the Kestrel I saw recently again on the section I call insect alley so I suspect it has a nest somewhere nearby which is cool. It wasn't a perfect ride, it was fairly windy and I got properly close passed by some tool in a Ford MPV on the way back, but an enjoyable ride overall. 25.1 more miles.
20th October: I booked a day off from my new job today because I didn't have anything to do (shortly before being given a large list of jobs, oops...) so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. It was overcast but bright and not too windy for a change so it was quite an enjoyable ride. There were still huge muddy puddles on the farm path though so Awesom-O needed a really good wash when we got back but I'm used to that by now! On a different note, I saw what I thought was the kestrel again but I'm starting to have doubts. I'll try and memorise it more exactly if I see it again and work out what it is... Anyhow, 25.4 more miles.
26th October: It turned out to be the first night ride of the year tonight. I took Awesom-O out for the three ups and downs of the farm track and by the end of the second up it was pretty much dark. Weather-wise it was dry and breezy and fairly damp and chilly at around 10 °C but this gave me an opportunity to test my new anti-winter secret weapon, a Stolen Goat 'Climb and Conquer' winter jacket.
The jacket is designed to be extremely warm and waterproof ie the perfect jacket to get you out of the house on a freezing winter night. I wore it with my new Castelli Velocissimo long bibs and it was definitely warm! I ended up riding with unzipped about six inches which was definitely odd given he time of year but definitely bodes well when the weather turns really cold! A pleasant ride and another 25.1 miles.
29th October: Having decided that Morgan Blue Syn lube is too thick but their Race Oil isn't winter-proof enough, I decided to have a crack at making my own recipe lube. I knew about EP90 from when my dad and I had a series 3 Land Rover, it's a gear oil commonly used in older vehicles. Being a gear oil, it's designed to provide protection against metal-on-metal wear so it ought to be perfect in a chain lube so I mixed one third EP90 with two thirds Syn Lube. I degreased Awesom-O's chain, dried it, and applied one drip per link and headed out to do three ups and downs of the farm track.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day, clear blue skies and not too much wind, so I wore my new Castelli Alpha top over my white Nike running top and my long Castelli bibs. It turned out to be fairly warm so the the running top probably wasn't necessary but it was a very enjoyable ride anyway. In typical British fashion, the warm weather brought out a lot of cyclists and I even saw a late middle aged couple jogging on the farm path which was unusual. 25.1 more miles.
Well, I didn't manage to get out again so October goes by with a not too shabby total of 228.5 miles on the clock.
