Review: Disco Brakes Triple compound road bike brake pads.

I thought I'd start this winter season with new brake pads for Awesom-O as the Swissstops have done two seasons and were looking a bit tired. I was somewhat dismayed to see the Swissstop green pads seem to have been discontinued so I decided to try a different, cheaper option. I've used Clark triple compound pads before and been very impressed so I took a chance and ordered these pads from the Disco brakes website. They cost £12.24 for four packs of two ie two complete sets which is a lot cheaper than the Swissstop pads. Anyhow, I got them fitted and have done a lot of dry riding and one wet one and have been quite impressed overall. In the dry they lack the immediacy of the Swissstop pads but there's no shortage of stopping power.

If you need to, and grab a handful of brake lever, you can stop from 20 mph is under 20 feet perfectly easily. It's also worth mentioning that these pads never, ever make a noise. They stay silent in all conditions which can only be a good thing. In the wet they work just as well. I did notice a lot more grey sludge (which is a mixture of microscopic rubber and aluminium particles) on the rims after the ride than you get with the Swissstop pads but I guess it's the research at Swissstop around making pads efficient but rim friendly at the same time that makes their pads much more expensive than these ones. Anyway, overall? I'd say these are way better than stock Tektro pads, slightly better than stock Shimano pads but not as good as the superb Swissstop product. A solid four stars!

December 2018.

1st December: My neck's feeling a lot better now so I decided to take Awesom-O out for a spin. It wasn't too cold, around 10 °C with very little wind, but it was threatening to rain which at least meant I'd be able to do the brake block review I've been waiting ages to do. I did the usual, three ups and downs of the farm track, and ended up really enjoying the ride. It didn't rain but there was a constant heavy drizzle so the brake blocks finally got a test in the rain. I was wearing my Climb and Conquer jacket and Sealskinz windproof gloves so I was perfectly warm although the gloves do make your hands very sweaty. Anyhow, it was great to finally get a ride in and 25.3 miles to start December.

4th December: It was the first properly cold night of the year tonight, 4 dropping to 3 °C, so I girded my loins and took Awesom-O out for a spin. I was going to do three ups and downs of the track as usual but, although the rest of me was warm, my toes were absolutely freezing so I did two and headed back in via the kebab shop, ahem... I'm going to look into ways of keeping my toes warm in this sort of weather. My toes get so cold they actually go dead, numb and grey and need a good ten minutes in a hot bath to come back to life.

I believe kitchen foil comes into the equation somewhere so that's a handy research project if it's quiet at work tomorrow. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I was cycling along Outlet Lane on the first 'up' when a barn owl that must have been perched on the barbed wire a couple of feet to my left took off and flew along in front of me for a few yards before jinking right and disappearing into the trees which was pretty cool! A rather enjoyable 19.6 miles.

9th December: We've had a few days of strong winds and heavy rain but the weather wasn't too bad today, windy but dry, so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. Because my toes got so cold the other night, I'd ordered some merino socks from Tredz. I wore them today and also wrapped the front of my shoes with foil to keep the wind out. It wasn't cold today, around 10 °C, but my toes definitely stayed warm, it'll be interesting to see if my toes stay warm when it gets really cold. Anyhow, I was on my first down when I saw a couple of horsists up ahead so I diverted to Holt Green and back and then did a last up and down before heading home. Following all the recent rain the second puddle is starting to form again so Awesom-O was filthy when I got in but it was a windy ride but enjoyable overall and another 24.6 miles.

16th December: We've had some really crappy weather recently, including storm Deirdre yesterday, but the weather was relatively pleasant today so I took a 'filthy from the last ride' Awesom-O out for a spin. I didn't do anything interesting, just a lap of the fishing pond and the usual three ups and downs of the farm path, but it was a pleasant enough ride despite getting close passed by some tool in an Evoque on the way back through the village. The wind wasn't too bad and it was around 7 °C which was no challenge to my stolen goat jacket. One issue I haven't solved is getting frozen toes. I tried wrapping the end of my shoes with foil before I put my overshoes on but it didn't make a lot of difference. I suspect I need new overshoes, the Sealskinz ones I have now are thin and open bottomed. The basic thick neoprene ones I had previously from Wiggle were much better. Anyhow, another 25.9 miles.

23rd December: It was raining constantly today but I'm short of mileage for the month and there was hardly any wind so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I was going to do the fishing pond and the usual three ups and downs of the farm path but on the second 'up' I saw at least four girls on horses on the path ahead so I turned around and decided to do the 27 instead. In a bid to keep my toes warm I was wearing merino socks, foil over the end of my shoes and my new DHB overshoes but alas, this was not to be a ride of warm feet... As I was heading down barrow Nook Lane, I noticed that the whole left hand lane was under water right up to the white line. Me being me, I decided to cycle through it but hadn't realised it was a good four inches deep and my right shoe immediately filled up with water! Anyhow, it wasn't particularly cold, around 7 °C, so my feet were actually OK and it was quite an enjoyable ride overall and another 26.9 miles.

26th December: The area of high pressure is still sitting over the UK at the moment so although it was overcast and misty, there was little wind and the temperature was around 6 °C. I took Awesom-O out to do the usual and had quite an enjoyable ride burning off some of the festive season excesses. I wasn't the only one either, there were quite a few roadies out which was good to see.

There were no horsists out this time but I am getting rather bored of doing the farm track so I did two ups and downs and then the road to Holt Green and back for 25.2 miles. I did notice the day after this ride that the chain was really rusty and barely turned. I think that what happens is that as the chain dries, all the crushed grit and silt in the chain dries and wicks all the oil out of the links. Anyhow, easy enough to apply more lube.

28th December: I'm still feeling a bit jaded with doing the farm track all the time so I did something a bit different today. I carried on until the end of the bypass and decided to do part of the route towards Leisure Lakes but then changed my mind part of the way and ended up in Newburgh. I soon realised there was no circular route back because you basically end up in Skem so I turned around. It wasn't a particularly fun ride, I got close passed so many times I lost count, I really don't know how people commute with going postal occasionally. Also, although it wasn't warm, around 10 °C, I was absolutely boiling, even with my jacket open. Anyhow, I survived and it was another 23.6 more miles.

30th December: I don't need too many miles to complete the year so I decided to split it into two rides and just do a quickie today. It was overcast and around 10 °C so after boiling myself on the last ride I wore my castelli Alpha over my merino and took Awesom-O out for a spin. I set off up the bypass, did a lap of the fishing pond and then to the end of the farm track then added a mile or so by heading up Simonswood Lane and looping back via Back Lane and then home via Hall Lane through Bickerstaffe. It was quite a fun ride, I felt just right temperature-wise, and another 15.5 miles.

31st December: It's been dry for a couple of days now so I decided to take the Strael out and do the ride I did yesterday again. It was relatively warm and not too windy so it was quite a pleasant ride overall and the 13.8 miles meant I finished the year with a satisfying total of 2,404.8 miles.

November 2018.

4th November: It was overcast and quite warm today today with very little wind so I took Awesom-O out to do the usual. I've noticed on the last couple of rides that the Shockstop stem felt a bit soft so, as an experiment, I changed from 60/70 elastomers to 70/80. I did two ups and downs of the farm track and the road to Holt Green and then took the road to the stables and back followed by a lap of the fishing pond on the way home. The stem was much better over really clattery sections but had lost a lot of the compliance over regular bumps so I'm going to try and track down another 70 elastomer and run 70/70. Nothing too exciting then but a decent 26.8 miles to start November off.

10th November: We've had a few days of strong wind and rain over the last few day but today was looking OK so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I decided to do the fishing pond then a couple of ups and downs of the track and the road to Holt Green and back. It was pretty windy but it was blowing more or less across the track so it wasn't too bad most of the time. I saw a big older chap with a couple of dogs I've waved to a few times and, because one of the dogs was so engrossed in something, I ended up stopping and chatting for a couple of minutes.

He was nice and the dogs were lovely. I think they were labs, one black and one a really dark metallic tan colour that I haven't seen before. The house in Holt Green had the lights on again so I still haven't been able to take another look in the building society boxes but there was a fantastic rainbow on the way back. It faded away really quickly which I didn't know they did so I guess you do learn something new every day! Anyhow, a fairly windy ride but another 25.4 miles.

17th November: We've had a lot of windy weather and some rain recently plus it's been mad busy at work so I've had a lot of can't be bothered evenings recently but I finally managed to get out for a ride today. Before I left, I fitted another 70 elastomer to the new Shockstop stem. I wasn't going to bother as another set of elastomers was £15 plus another £5 for delivery from Amazon. I'm having a trial month of Prime at the moment and noticed that this drops the price to a tenner for some reason, and obviously no delivery charge, so I bought a set. The weather was gorgeous, pure blue skies and around 10 °C without too much wind so generally a very enjoyable ride. The stem is finally spot-on as well, seamlessly absorbing most of the abuse my wrists normally take. I did three ups and downs of the usual so another 25.3 miles.

20th November: I'd booked today off work to dodge a team day out but it was cancelled but I didn't cancel the ride because I'm short of miles this month. It was colder than it has been, around 7 °C, so I wore the Climb and Conquer jacket over my merino under-layer for first time this winter and took Awesome-O out for a spin. It was windy, I had cold fingers and it was spitting a bit so I wasn't in the mood initially so I decided to explore some of the farm lanes around the fishing pond at Siding Lane while my legs warmed up.

It was actually quite fun, we used to go for walks with my parents along these tracks when I was a kid so it was nice to see what they were like. They basically ran around the edge of, and between, fields so a lot of wheel spinning and mud involved but fun nonetheless. Once my legs warmed up my fingers followed suit so I cheered up and did two ups and downs of the track before heading in. I was toasty warm, despite the weather, so an enjoyable ride overall and 23.3 miles.

Well, another poor month on the mileage front. We've had a lot of wet, windy weather recently followed by my pulling a muscle in my neck (which I hate!) so I didn't manage to get out again and so November goes by with a less than ideal 100.8 miles. On the plus side, my neck's better and I'm looking forward to December!

Review: The Redshift Sports ShockStop stem.

I saw this product on Kickstarter a few months ago so when road.cc reviewed it recently, I knew my wallet was in for an imminent kicking. And here it is! It's basically a stem suspended at the steerer end on two cartridge bearings with the centre of the stem housing a pair of elastomers trapped inside with a wedge assembly. The net result is 10-20 mm of shock and buzz reducing travel with no loss of stiffness and a weight penalty of only around 100 grams over a normal stem. I removed the Cinelli Vai stem I had on Awesom-O and prepared to fit the new stem. The elastomers are fitted at the factory so the stem points upwards in the +6° position so this is how I decided to fit it figuring the stem would lower to a more conventional position when it activated and moved downwards. The bike looked a bit odd this way and felt too upright so I decided to swap it to the -6° position.

To do this, you remove the face plate, undo a long bolt that runs through the elastomer wedge and simply remove the elastomers and wedge assembly and refit it the other way up. The manual was very specific about not mis-threading the wedge retaining bolt and advises keeping the bolt head as low as you can and pushing down on the stem to align it optimally. I had no issues with this and the bolt screwed back in with no issues. I tightened this bolt to the recommended 1.5 ft/lbs and reassembled the bike. The faceplate and steerer clamp bolts were all done up to the recommended 5 ft/lbs and the job was a good'un. I haven't ridden it properly yet but I did do a few ups and downs of my rear drive way and I'm certainly intrigued. I'm not sure how it will reduce road buzz but it really removes the jarring you get when you go through a small dip and the bars really punch up into your wrists. I'll take it for a full ride over the weekend and finish this review.

Update and final opinion: We've had some fairly severe winds over the last few days but it's calmed down a bit so I managed to get out last night and test the stem with the 60/70 elastomer combination recommended by Redshift. I was initially going to do the usual but I actually ended up doing the most varied ride I've done for ages. It was a mixture of cycling through woods in the dark, the Old Coach Road which is horrendous, peeling chip seal, the undulations of the farm track and the road to Holt Green which is pretty rough in places. Partly because it was dark and partly because it was so windy, I didn't really notice the stem. I just realised occasionally that while I could feel the imperfections of the road slamming up through the saddle, my hands and wrists were taking virtually no abuse at all. I think this is the beauty of this stem, it does it's job unobtrusively until you get home after a hard ride and realise your hands and wrists don't feel like you've been out on a ride at all. I think if you have any kind of hand, wrist or shoulder ailment, you'd be absolutely mad not to fit one of these as soon as you can. It did feel a little soft just occasionally when hitting larger obstructions so I'd love to try it with 70/70 elastomers but for now? Top product.


The RRP for this product in the UK is £149.99 but I got mine from KIT RADAR who are selling them for £139.99.

October 2018.

3rd October: I forgot to write this ride up at the time but I remember it was fairly windy but dry and not too cold so the Strael got another autumn outing. To avoid the traffic, I didn't set out until half six so I got the first proper night ride of the year so I was running the Exposure Diablo at the front. I did have a rather unusual bird encounter on the second 'up', just as it was getting dark. I was riding along and a silent bird with a white underside came over the hedge to my right, swooped down in front of me and then flew back over the hedge and then did the same thing again. I haven't seen any on the ride before but I guess it was a barn owl. It was a fun ride and I stopped at the kebab shop on the way home for a doner but I haven't had one for ages, honest! Anyhow, 25.1 miles to start October off.

5th October: I took the day off work today so I could get out for a good afternoon ride. I particularly wanted to get out today because the BBC website said there was an 80% chance of rain and I wanted to test out some new brake blocks on Awesom-O. I did a quick lap of the fishing lake at Siding Lane and then did two ups and downs and the road to Holt Green. By the time I got to Holt Green I was dying for a pee so I parked Awesom-O against a tree and walked into the small plantation of huge pine trees I pass next to the weird old house. There were some random tress but the huge pines were definitely planted in a grid pattern, I guess the wood was planted in the 60's or 70's with the promise of being the farmer's retirement pot when the trees were harvested and turned into timber. Needless to say, it didn't rain so the brake block review will have to wait for another day. Anyhow, an enjoyable enough ride and 25.2 miles.

10th October: I was rather late getting out after work this evening because I couldn't find my Wahoo computer. I looked everywhere but it had disappeared so I eventually set off on Awesom-O without it figuring I know the mileage of most of my routes anyway. I ended up doing two ups and downs of the path and the road to Holt Green. I was going to have another look at the contents of the building society boxes in the outhouse but the lights were on in one room of the house which is odd because no one lives there! The weather was another oddity, I set off with my Castelli Alpha over the Stolen Goat jersey but I took the jacket off after the first 'up' because it was so warm, definitely the only time I can remember doing a night ride in summer gear! Anyhow, it was 24.5 miles and I found the Wahoo the next day, it was on my desk under a packet of SwissStop brake pads...

14th October: The Wahoo back on the bike, I decided to take Awesom-O out this afternoon because it's rained a lot recently and I still need to test the new brake blocks. It didn't actually rain but there were a few puddles about so at least the new blocks got a start bedding in with the grit on the rims. I started by doing a lap around the fishing pond and then intended to do the usual three ups and down as of the farm track. As it turned out, the horsists were out so I did one up and down of the track, two laps of the time triallers block and finished with another up and down of the track. On the 'down', I encountered the horsists again so I took the long way home going up to Bickerstaffe along Hall Lane. There were a couple of things to note about this ride; firstly, it was the first ride of the year in my Castelli longs. My bum was super comfortable which does suggest that my Lusso shorts, that have started giving me a numb bum,  are both pooched. Secondly, I kept encountering huge cloud of invisible midges that you only knew were there when you heard them pattering over the front of your jacket and going in your mouth - weird! Anyhow, It was less windy than it has been for absolutely ages so quite a fun ride overall and another 26.9 miles.

17th October: I took the day off work today because it's been fairly crummy recently and today was supposed to be OK, the leaves are finally beginning to turn on the trees so I figured it would be rather a nice day for a ride. Because there's been a bit of rain recently, I decided to take Awesom-O figuring it would be wet. As it turned out, it was actually pretty pleasant. Not too many puddles around and not too windy.

Before I left, I'd fitted Awesom-O with latex tubes so he was flying along as I did two ups and downs of the path. By that point however, I was dying for a wee and my usual handy spot was no good because there were a lot of cars and dog walkers on the track. I decided to head for the weird house at the end of the road to Holt Green where I had a pee in the conifer foundation. Feeling good again, I headed for home and a ride total of 27.6 miles. Update: I noticed as I was filling in my spreadsheet that this ride took my overall total past the 13,000 mile mark AND the annual total over 2,000 miles!

20th October: With the new Shockstop stem fitted to Awesom-O, I was dying to get out for a ride today. It was overcast but very bright with hardly any wind so it promised to be a fairly decent ride (I ended up taking my jacket off after the first up and just riding in long bibs and my stolen goat top). I was going to do three ups and downs of the farm path but as I was on the first 'down', three girls on horses pulled out of the road that goes to the horse farm. I couldn't be arsed dealing with horsists so I decided to do the local 27 instead as it has some truly terrible roads that would really give the new stem a good workout. I haven't done it for ages and I remembered it came up short of 27 because I don't come in via the Ormskirk road any more so I did a reverse loop of the time triallist loop to add a bit of distance and then headed off down Sineacre Lane towards Kirkby.

I don't know why but the ride felt great and I was holding a good speed, I think the new stem helped. I'm sure the elastomers I fitted were too hard (they recommend 60/70 for my weight but I tried 60/80) but the stem was still brilliant and I'm sure you go faster with it. It isn't really noticeable in use until you realise that nothing on the road gets transmitted into your wrists and arms, I got home and my hands and arms didn't feel like I'd just been out on a ride at all. I'll change the elastomers before I next head out but I'm an absolute convert and would recommend the Shockstop to anyone! 27.6 miles at an average speed of 16.5 mph.

24th October: We've had a lot of very windy weather recently but I was determined to test the new stem with the softer 60/70 elastomers in it so I took Awesom-O out for spin after work. There's an area of cold weather moving in and it felt a bit chilly so it was the first evening of the year wearing my Rapha underlayer under my Castelli jacket and my B'twin full finger gloves. Anyhow, I was going to do the usual but the idiot guard dogs were in the garden and I ended up doing a bit of an odd ride. I ended up doing one up and down of the lane, the road to Holt Green, the road to the horse farm, one lap of the time trialler's block and then a lap of the fishing pond through the woods followed by a kebab on the way home. It was windy but quite a fun ride and the new stem continues to impress! 24.0 more miles.

28th October: A large area of cold air has moved in from the north so today was the first fairly cold day of the year, around 9 °C according to the BBC weather website. Determined to get out and face it, I wore my longs, my merino jersey with the Castelli jacket and my new B'twin full gloves and took Awesom-O out to do the usual. It turned out to a gorgeous day, mainly blue sky and very sunny with the usual wind.

I did three ups and downs, as usual, but got there and back via Dairy Farm road and the Old Coach Road to test the new stem out. The stem was great, my hands and wrists don't feel like I've just done a ride, but I'm going to try and track down another 70 elastomer because it felt slightly soft at times. Anyway, a very enjoyable ride overall and 25.7 miles. On the down side, my toes were freezing when I got in so I guess it's overshoes season again.

31st October: I'd booked today off to visit my dad in hospital but he texted last night to say he was coming home soon anyhow and not to bother visiting so I got a bonus bike ride in today, double good news! It was overcast but with a lot of blue sky and not particularly windy so I took Awesom-O out to do the usual. I don't know why but I decided to carry on up Intake Lane and then turn left down Liverpool Road which eventually takes you to the end of the farm path, a road I used to cycle a lot when I first got Awesom-O. I was going to a couple of ups and downs at this point but realised that I was losing the light after one, I'd forgotten about the clocks going back - doh! Anyhow, as I headed home, I did a lap of the fishing pond at Siding Lane and then got home via the road around the village for a total of 22.7 miles and a not too shabby October total of 229.3 miles.

September 2018.

September 2nd: It was a near perfect day for cycling today, warm but not hot and not too much wind for a change. I took the Strael out to do the usual but was surprised how many other cyclists and walkers were out enjoying the end of the summer.

There also a lot of kids from the animal shelter walking the dogs on the path so I ended up doing a little bit of everything, deciding where to go as and when it popped into my head. A pretty enjoyable start to September and 25.3 miles.

September 15th: Finally! We've had a bit of rain recently and I embarked on a gardening adventure that, so far, has resulted in 19 black bags and 4 full car loads of vegetation going to the tip and 3 awesome fires so I've been neglecting my cycling a bit over the last couple of weeks. Anyhow, it was quite a nice day today, fairly warm and not to breezy, so I set off for a ride wondering what state my legs would be in. Because of all the recent rain, Awesom-O got his first trip of the autumn as I set off to do the usual. I did two full ups and downs of the farm path and then the back road to Holt Green where I decided to explore the strange old house there a bit.

I've looked into the main outhouse before and there are loads of metal boxes with names of obsolete building societies on them so I decided to take a pic and look in one of the boxes. It turns out the boxes are full of building society paperwork and book. I found one book that was a sign-in book for directors and it started in 1936 and the last entries were in 1971, all in beautiful fountain pen handwriting! Anyhow, my legs felt pretty OK and it was much needed 26.7 miles.

September 24th: Another Finally! I've been tidying the garden a lot recently and we've had a fair bit of wind recently but Awesom-O got his second trip out of the autumn today. It was warm and sunny but with quite a fresh wind, weather I've ridden before and it's rather conducive to a nice ride so, with the Castelli Alpha over the Stolen Goat, it was quite a fun ride. I had two cool wildlife encounters as well. I was heading along on my first 'up' When I noticed a buzzard flying long beside me about 15 feet away flying 10 feet over the ground level which made it level with me because the path is elevated, very cool! Also, as I was heading in on my last 'down' I looked up and there was a large kestrel sitting on top of a telephone pole. I was looking up at him, craning my neck somewhat, as I cycled past and it looked down, straight at me, also very cool. Anyhow, a rather pleasant 26.0 miles.

September 30th: It was sunny but very windy today but it's not rained for a while so I took the Strael out for a spin. I'm really short of mileage this month but I at least wanted to reach the 100 mile mark. To that end, I did two ups and downs of the track and a lap of the time trialler's loop. As I said, it was windy so it was a combination of cycling leaning 10° over against the wind and then cycling along at top speed in a vacuum so a mixed bag overall. I did experience one slightly weird thing on this ride that I almost forgot to mention. For most of the ride I could hear the 'Tsh, tsh, tsh' of what I thought was the rotor rubbing slightly on the front brake. The disc looked true and I could see daylight on either side of it so I didn't really give it much thought. It was only after I'd got back to the village, locked my bike up outside the Co-op, done a bit of shopping and was unlocking the bike afterwards when I noticed an 18" long dried stick wedged between the seat stays and the rear wheel... Doh! I feel like I've been neglecting my riding this month but I've had a lot of distractions to contend with. I've completely cleared the jungle end of my garden (acquiring a chainsaw along the way - great fun!) and painted my house (I did the back and out buildings and a house painter did the front and side) so a pretty productive month really in other ways. Anyhow, a monthly total of 101.3 miles and I'm still 74.4 miles in credit for the year.

August 2018.

1st August: It was very grey and overcast after work today but still fairly warm so I took the Strael out again for a spin. I had planned to take Awesom-O out for a spin when it was wet a few days ago so I did a little planned maintenance even though we ended up not going out. His rear wheel felt a tiny bit wobbly so I took the hub apart to see what bearings it needed. It turned out to be a 6901 and a 6001 (the wheels are Hunt Dura, their cheap winter wheels) so I ordered SKF replacements and replaced them. Anyhow, it was largely overcast but pretty warm so I did an uneventful three ups and downs of the farm path and stopped for a rather nice kebab on the way home. 25.1 miles to kick August off. 

4th August: It was warm, sunny day today so I took the Strael out not knowing I was going to have a rather unpleasant first. I was doing three ups and downs as usual and as I was cycling along Hurst's Lane, a wasp flew into me and got stuck between my lips. I managed to blow it off before it got a full sting in but it definitely started! It didn't hurt much but the middle of my upper lip swelled up quite badly and took about four hours to go down again. Other than that it was an uneventful ride.

It was warm though and, as usual, my back was soaked with sweat when I got in. I've decided to ditch the rucksack for this reason and I'm going to switch to a minimalist pannier rack with a bag strapped to the top. This will allow me to ditch the rucksack and carry more clothes and food etc on sportives. I ordered a Tortec Ultralite from Wiggle for about twenty quid but it doesn't fit because the Strael has hooded drop-outs. I've ordered a Blackburn Local Top deck anyhow and I'll send the Tortec back. 25.9 miles.

5th August: It was was very warm and quite sunny this afternoon so I took the Strael out for a later than usual spin. I did the two ups and downs of the farm path and the quiet back road to Holt Green. It was a pretty uneventful ride, no wasps this time, but I did find a really itchy bite on the back of my head when I got in - I blame the hot weather... Anyhow, another 24.7 miles.

11th August: It was my fifth sportive of the year today and it was a very long day! It was the Wiggle Steeple Chase setting off from Huntingdon race course in Cambridgeshire so I was up at 4 o'clock and on the road by half past. Three hours and 166 miles later I arrived and got parked up and signed in. The weather was absolutely perfect, sunny but not hot and we were off at half past eight. The countryside around Huntingdon is absolutely beautiful, perfect for a summer ride. I started off ganging up with various people and groups but couldn't really find anyone fast enough.

After the first food stop, one wee, one banana and two fig rolls, I cycled on my own for a while. I started eating a Veloforte bar and my legs were feeling great so a very enjoyable ride. After the second feed stop, I tagged along with four guys who sounded like they were from London and were setting a good pace. We were piling along at a steady 18-24 mph and when we got to within a couple of miles of the finish we were absolutely roaring along, I felt like were participants in a Rapha film or something, it was great fun. Anyhow, 62.9 miles at an average of 17.4 mph.

18th August: We've had a few days of wind and rain which is quite unusual for August but it was pleasant enough today so the Strael got a spin out. It was overcast but with plenty of blue sky between the clouds so it was quite a nice ride, I was very pleased to see the two massive puddles were still entirely absent. My legs felt good, probably because of the week off the bike,  so I started by doing a lap of the fishing pond at Siding's Lane and then did two full ups and downs of the farm path and the quiet lane to Holt Green and back. It felt like a fast ride and it turned out I averaged 17.0 mph over 27.8 miles which was good. It was probably the last ride on the Hunt Mason wheels as well, I've ordered some Hunt 30 Carbon Aero Disc wheels so I'm a bit like a kid at Christmas at the moment...

25th August: After another few days of wind and rain I finally managed to get out on the Strael and give my new wheels a try. It rained all morning but in the afternoon it stopped and brightened up a bit so I headed out. As soon as I set off I noticed the bike felt very fast. I don't know whether it was the lighter, more aerodynamic wheels, the fact that I haven't been out for a week or purely psychosomatic but I was absolutely flying. I decided to cut along Dairy Farm road and half the OCR to test how smooth the wheels are. 

Rim braked carbon wheels can be very stiff because of the resin used to resist the hot brake tracks under sustained braking but Hunt say that because that is unnecessary the wheels are made with a more forgiving resin. It clearly works because Dairy Farm road is horrendous but the ride was fast but lovely and smooth, a great upgrade! Anyhow, I did three ups and downs of the farm track and a lap of the fishing pond on the way back. An enjoyable ride and another 27.0 miles.

31st August: I've been off all week painting my house and trimming the neighbours trees that were taking over my back yard but I finally managed to take the Strael out for a spin this afternoon. The weather was gorgeous, largely blue skies with a few clouds and warm rather than hot. I started off with a lap of the pond at Siding Lane and then did two ups and downs of the farm track and then the road to Holt Green. It was pretty windy at times but an enjoyable ride overall. I Inflated both tyres a bit harder than last time, about 70 PSI at each end, and the bike felt superb, I'm really enjoying the new Hunt wheels. Anyhow, a nice round 222.0 miles to finish August off.

A lightweight upgrade for the Strael: A Hope carbon seatpost.

I was bored at work the other day and browsing the internet, as one does, and wound up reading about how carbon seatposts can really reduce road buzz on rough roads. I can't remember how but I stumbled across a Ritchey carbon seatpost that was light and got great reviews but the price was definitely in the 'If you have to ask...' category! A bit of further browsing found the Hope carbon seatpost that was designed, tested and made in Barnoldswick. It wasn't cheap either at £120 but at least buyers could console themselves with the thought that they support British industry and have no air- or ship miles.

I was pushed over the edge buy the thought it was pretty cool that I already have the Hope headset and seatclamp and that this would match so I bit the bullet and bought one. When it arrived, I Googled for ages to find the safest way of fitting a carbon post in a steel frame. I initially fitted it with grease but then read a lot of posts saying that it would almost certainly slip down. In the end, I fitted it with Finish Line fibre grip carbon gel and torqued the clamp bolt to 8 nm. I've not ridden it yet but I'm heading out soon. I'll take the torque wrench and hex bits in case it needs adjusting...

July 2018.

1st July: It was another hot day today and my third sportive of the year, the Sigma Sports West Coast classic. before I left I covered myself in factor 50 because I knew I'd be out in the sun for at least three hours. I got there at seven and by eight o'clock I got off in the third group and we were on the road. It was a fun ride, I spent most of the first thirty five miles to Lytham with two other guys and we made great pace, mostly riding around 20-22 mph, helped by the bag of jelly babies in my rear jersey pocket. I did have a gearing issue however, because I fitted some copper-greased M5 x 10 mm bolts to blank off the unused mudguard eyelets, the chain couldn't shift down onto the smallest cog without rubbing and I was stuck with 34 x 13 which meant I was spinning out at about 22 mph. I've ordered some M5 x 8mm bolts and I'll see if they fix the issue. Getting to Lytham was very disappointing however, the deal was that as part of the entry fee you got the option of free fish and chips by the seaside but the van only arrived after we'd arrived and the portaloos hadn't even been delivered. This was very like the last BHF Manchester to Blackpool night ride with the non-existent second feed station, the organisers aren't catering for faster riders. You can't charge large entry fees for events and then only cater for slower riders but, hey-ho, first world problems.

Anyhow, I filled my water bottle with water and electrolyte and set off for Preston College. I was on my own heading out of Lytham so not riding as fast as I do when riding in company but I carried on. I soon encountered an amusing incident on the way. I came around a bend in the road and there was a late middle aged farmer and his wife holding up the traffic while two friesian cows wandered around in the road. After an amusing few minutes, the cows were safely back in the farm yard and I carried on. At around the fifteen miles to go stage I started flagging a bit and I found the last ten miles a real challenge, I felt like I couldn't get much power down. In retrospect I suspect I was staring to dehydrate. I'd drunk a total of about 1.2 litres of electrolyte drink. In future I think I should really try and double that. Anyhow, it was a good ride to kick July off with a total of 56.5 miles in 3h 13m moving time.

4th July: I got out for a ride after work today but first I started with a couple of maintenance jobs. Firstly, the bolts have arrived so I replaced the M5 x 10 mm eyelet blanking bolts with the new M5 x 8 mm ones and the chain can now shift down onto the bottom cog. I tried to fit a pair of bolts to blank off the eyelets on the fork but they only screw halfway in. I suspect there's some paint or resin in the threads so I've ordered an M5 tap from CRC and will clean the threads out and fit the bolts when it arrives. Secondly, I replaced the inner gear cable for the front derailleur and set that up so I should now have front chainring shifting on the Strael again and am no longer restricted to 22 mph! It still makes some pretty strange noises in certain gears but I can have a proper look at that before I next head out. Anyhow, another hot sunny day so I did the usual for an uneventful 25.1 miles.

7th July: I started off today with another couple of maintenance jobs. The M5 x 0.8 mm tap arrived so I cleared the threads out on the fork and the bolts fitted perfectly. Secondly, I noticed the cogs on the Miche cassette were loose so I checked the lock-ring thinking it must be loose but it was fine. I could only conclude the cassette was unfittable without the original alloy lockring so I chalked it up to experience and refitted the 11-28 Shimano one. Anyhow, another hot and sunny day so I took the Strael out for a spin. I did two ups and downs of the farm track and then spotted two really nefarious looking guys on cheap MTBs picking through the fly tipped rubbish so I did the quiet road to Holt Green and back for a total of 26.8 miles. Incidentally, this was the ride that took the Strael over the 1,000 miles mark which was cool. One weird thing did happen on the way back. I felt something on my right leg and brushed it off but it hurt so I looked down and saw a spot of blood. I don't know what bit me, I suspect a horse fly, but it really hurt. It came up as a raised welt and even now, the day after, the area is still really red, hot and itchy. Anyhow, I'll pick some insect repellent up soon!

11th July: Well, the weather's finally cooled down a bit. It was still pretty warm but there was coolish breeze and it was overcast so I didn't get roasted by the sun. I took the Strael out to do the usual and, although it was pretty windy, it actually turned out to be an enjoyable ride. It was hard work to begin with but my legs eventually kicked in and soon felt as good as they have done for ages. I was planning to stop for a kebab on the way home but then I thought no, I'll stop at the chippy and get fried rice and curry sauce because it would be slightly healthier. As I reached the centre of the village however, I discovered the chippy was closed for a couple of days for some reason so I ended up getting a chicken Caesar wrap from the Co-op which I guess was even healthier! Anyhow, an enjoyable ride and another 25.1 miles on the clock.

14th July: It was a nice hot day today, around 25 °C with a few clouds, so I took the Strael with it's new carbon seat post out for a spin. I noticed the seat was a bit high initially so I stopped in Sidings Lane and lowered it around 3/16" (torquing it to 7 nm this time) and did a lap of the fishing pond. I think I might have had the seat a bit too far back up until now; the bike now feels slightly more upright and less stretched out and absolutely perfect, I won't be touching it again! Anyhow, I carried on and did the two ups and downs and the Holt Green road and I felt fantastic. The only thing I can think of is that I ate a NINE salted caramel seed bar before I left because I felt great the last time I rode after eating one. I don't particularly like this flavour so I think I'll check out some of the others to see if they have the same effect. Anyhow, since being bitten by the horsefly recently I bought some Jungle Formula No. 4 and have started using it so hopefully I won't get bitten again. Another 25.4 miles.

20th July: It rained all day today but I was determined to get out for a ride before Sunday's sportive so I used the rain as an excuse to take Awesom-O out for an unscheduled spin. I did the usual and remembered why Awesom-O is so much fun, he's heavy but he's like an old Bentley when you get him up to speed, smooth and fast.

I keep seeing adverts for Veloforte bars on Instagram recently so, with a sportive on the way, I decided to order some to test. I ordered three Classico and three Di Bosco flavour ones and I'll take one of each with me to try on Sunday's long ride. Anyway, there wasn't much wind for a change today so a very enjoyable ride and another 25.1 miles.

22nd July: It was a day of rather unseasonal weather today and the day of my fourth sportive of the year, the Evans Ride It Cheshire 100. It was dry when I arrived at Arley hall but soon started drizzling (and continued to do so until around the 37 mile mark). Anyhow, I got off in the second pack and we were on the road. As usual, I ended up as part of a mini peloton and then cycling with another rider and we were at the first feed station at 25 miles in no time. I had a couple of slices of cake, a banana and about a third of a Veloforte Classico bar and headed out. We got to the second feed station at 41 miles, just as the weather was getting noticably warmer and sunnier, where I had a couple of handfuls of jelly beans and a banana and set off, solo this time. I noticed I was tiring with about a dozen miles to go when I remembered the Veloforte bar in my jersey pocket. I ate it and within two or three minutes my legs felt brand new and I cruised the last dozen or so miles to the finish. I've only tried the Classico bar so far but I can't recommend them enough. Hand-made, full of natural ingredients, packed with calories and no rubbish and they taste amazing.

It's quite a firm texture and needs some chewing but the overall effect was like eating a really firm Christmas cake full of very crunchy nuts. At the finish we got the usual medal, a gift bag containing a High 5 water bottle, a Specialized inner tube, an Evans brand multi-tool and a voucher for a fantastic freshly barbecued burger with fresh salad. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, there was another cow related incident on the ride! I was cycling along in a pack of about ten cyclists when we were blocked by two farmers getting about eighty Friesian cows across the road. The farmers were very good natured and chatted with the lads at the front and one of the cows took a real interest in us cyclists. It stood by the gate just staring at us in an interested sort of way before going through the gate with it's mates. I thought at one point that it was going to wander over for a look at our bikes! A decent average of 17.1 mph and 62.5 miles.

25th July: I got another maintenance job out the way before today's ride and I'm rather glad I did. Because I'd lost most of my existing brake bleed kit, I'd ordered a new one from Amazon. When it turned up, I decided to give the brakes on the Strael a quick reverse bleed. This isn't a method I've read about anywhere else but was invaluable when installing the brakes initially. Basically, you attach the fluid pot to the lever and fill it with fresh brake fluid. You then attach a short length of tubing to a syringe and attach it to the bleed nipple on the caliper. You then put your thumb on the syringe body and use two fingers to pull the plunger out causing quite a strong vacuum in the syringe. I did that and then cracked the bleeder nipple and was quite satisfied to see a small but distinct stream of microscopic air bubble come out with the oil on both calipers. Anyhow, I took him out after work today for a post-bleed test ride. It was pretty warm, around 24-25 °C by my reckoning, so I did two ups and downs of the path and the quiet road to Holt Green and back. The brakes were excellent, better than when I installed them, really good lever feel and tons of power so I was very pleased with that and it was another 25.3 miles on the clock.

Well, due to a few days of rain, trying to get the outside of my house painted and sheer laziness, I didn't manage to get out again this month but finished with a pretty respectable 271.8 miles. I've got a rather nice upgrade for the Strael on the way and I'm entering a sportive in Cambridgeshire a week on Sunday so here's hoping for a decent August.

Review: Kuwahara Hirame pump head.

A few months ago I bought a Blackburn Piston 3 track pump because it has a huge dial which I really liked. When it turned up, the big dial was brilliant but the head that you attach to the valve was really awful. Whilst I was chilling with a glass of wine one evening, I happened upon an article on the Velominati website extolling the virtues of the Hirame pump head. As I'd had a few, I bit the bullet and ordered one from Track Supermarket in Osaka in Japan. It was just over £60 delivered but not being entirely sober helped (this is a recommended strategy in the Velominati article!). Anyhow, it finally arrived after paying a customs demand for another £22 (Grrr..).

I sliced the head off the Blackburn and pushed the spigot of the Hirame head into the tube where it was a nice, tight fit and tried it out. When you first use it, you tighten or loosen the collar so that when the lever is closed, it clamps onto the valve with just the right force. I did that and let some air out of a tire and tried it out. verdict? Absolutely superb! Valve cap off, unscrew core doodad, drop head onto valve, close lever, pump up tyre, open lever and lift off the head and the job's a goodun'. No drama, no fiddling, no fuss. Yes, £80 is a lot of money for a pump head but that's only the cost of a couple of tyres and this thing should last a lifetime.

June 2018.

3rd June: Summer at last! It was hot today but more overcast than it has been recently so the Strael got another outing. There was nothing much to report on this ride other than I saw more cyclists on the farm path than I normally do including a family of five which was unusual but it's always nice to see people out on bikes. A fairly sweaty ride and another 25.4 miles to kick June off.

9th June: It was another hot day today with a few clouds in the sky but mostly very sunny. I took the Strael out to do the usual but before I left I fitted a Miche Primato Light 12-30 cassette I bought recently because of the big climbs I encountered on a couple of recent sportives. The cassette fit well but the lock ring was junk. The threads were too shallow and, because it was aluminium, it stripped before it was even close to tight. Anyhow, the Shimano lock ring fit perfectly so we headed out. The new cassette was great and shifted perfectly and had one interesting side effect.

When I replaced the Brooks saddle with charge Scoop from Amazon a few rides ago, the bike developed a constant creak that stopped when I stopped pedalling. Since fitting the Miche, the creak has gone. I've never had, or heard of, a creaking cassette before but maybe I had one?! There wasn't much wind, for a change, so it was quite a nice ride overall. There were a lot of cyclists on the farm track so I did two ups and downs and then the road than goes cross country to Holt Green and back where I took a pic of a strange abandoned building. The new cassette shifted perfectly and I know I'm going to appreciate the lower gearing on my next sportive. 27.7 more miles.

13th June: It was an odd day today for June, still fairly warm but very overcast and windy so I dragged the Strael out for a ride after work. I did the usual and, despite fairly strong wind, I was able to maintain fairly decent speeds even into the wind. The only thing I can attribute this to is that I'd eaten a Nine salted caramel seed bar before I left the house (I'm doing another sportive on Saturday and I spied them in the kitchen when I was peckish). It wasn't amazingly nice but it seems to have had a positive effect as I averaged 17.3 mph despite the wind. A cooler than usual ride and another 25.1 miles.

19th June: It was another warm and mostly sunny today but also very, very windy. I took the Strael out to do the usual and going up the track was hard work into a howling wind. Coming back down the path was a lot more fun it was weird having that much wind when it's otherwise sunny and warm. One cool thing I saw as I was flying back down the path was a young buzzard facing into the wind and hovering maybe 20 feet above the path, I nearly got a crick in my neck looking up at it as I cycled past.

As I was heading back along Coach Road I was passed by a couple of the local TT'ers and then was just happily cycling along Ben Lane a couple of minutes later when I was passed by a guy on a rather nice carbon Cervelo who said in a loud voice "Well that was quite an unwelcome headwind, eh?" just as he came past me which pulled me out of my reverie somewhat! Anyhow, I averaged 17.2 mph which was very good for such a windy ride and another 25.0 miles on the clock.

23rd June: Before today's ride, I decided to swap the front and rear tyres on the Strael. I know they say you never do that but I think that refers to fitting a worn, flattened tyre on the front. The Strael tyres only have 800 miles on them and the rear doesn't have a flat profile yet so by swapping them, I gain 800 miles on the life of the pair. Anyhow, I ticked a ride off my ride on my cycling bucket list today. It was to ride a section of the Wirral Circular Trail and back. I drove through the Queensway tunnel to Wallasey, parked at the Perch Rock car park (which is free!) and headed off. The first few miles as you head south along the beach road are quite bumpy as the path is made from cast concrete sections but it wasn't too bad on 28 mm tyres. Towards the end of this first section, there was a section of rough gravel track a few hundred yards long but again, not too much of a challenge of 28s.

As you get towards the southern tip of the peninsular, you hit the trail proper. The ground was hard packed smooth earth with very fine gravel on it so was really nice to ride, very smooth and quite fast with usual caveats of slowing down when passing other people and groups because pedestrians have priority on shared use paths. The view was amazing as well, all the way along you could see right across the water to North Wales. Although I had the wind in my face on the southbound leg, it was a pretty good ride overall although the Strael was so dusty when I got back you'd think I'd just done the Dirty Kanza. The weather was hot and sunny so I think if I go for another ride tomorrow I'd better slather on the factor 50 to avoid turning up at work on Monday looking like a cooked lobster! Anyhow, another 34.2 miles.

24th June: It was another hot day today, around 24 °C, so I took the very dusty Strael out for a ride. Standing in my back yard getting ready there was no wind but, as usual, as soon as I got out onto the cycle path along the bypass it was actually fairly windy. Bradley Wiggins, who lives fairly nearby, said in a recent interview that it's always windy on the Lancashire plain and I guess he's not wrong. Anyhow, it was pretty uneventful ride and very hot, I covered my arms, face and neck in factor 50 before I set off because I got plenty of sun yesterday on the ride in Wallasey. One interesting thing I saw on the path that I hadn't seen before was thousands of little glints of light in the surface of the path where the tar was melting between the stones. I didn't get any tar on my tyres but it shows how warm the sun was. I added on the path to the horse place on so another 25.8 miles.

29th June: We're in the middle of a heatwave right now and have had temperatures up to 29 °C over the last few days. It was a mere 27 °C today and I'm short of miles for the month so I took the Strael out to do the usual. I covered myself in factor 50 and headed out. All I can say is "Damn, it was hot!". It was absolutely roasting, whenever I had to stop it was like standing in commercial bread oven, my 700 ml of electrolyte drink was gone in about half an hour. At some point on the ride where the tarmac was black because of the lack of chippings, my tyres made an unpeeling sound as I cycled along so the road must have been hot.

Because it was so hot, I decided I could afford to do just two ups and downs for around twenty miles so long as I do the same tomorrow, I've got a sportive on Sunday so I want to keep the mileage down if I can. One absolutely bizarre thing happened as I was cycling along the bypass. I heard what sounded like a helicopter flying overhead and when I looked up, I'm 99% sure it was a grey Russian Hind Mil Mi-24 helicopter flying over (I'm quite into military aviation so I'm sure it wasn't a Sikorsky or any other large helicopter), I've absolutely no idea why although it is the Southport air show next weekend! Anyhow, 20.1 very hot miles.

30th June: Another baking hot day today although a degree cooler than yesterday at a mere 26 °C so, once again, I took the Strael out for a spin. Nothing to report today, no weird sightings of Russian helicopters or anything like that, other than a few other roadies out riding in the hot weather. I did a rather uneventful two ups and down of the farm path to finish June on 202.7 miles and I've got a 56 mile sportive tomorrow, which will be a first for the Strael, to kick July off.

Review: The best razor yet for shaving your guns?

At both of the recent sportives I've done, Carlisle and County Durham, the finisher's pack included a Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5 Sense razor (you have to love the randomness of the gifts you get in these finishing pacs!). I tried it on my face and it was good but the large amount of real estate around the actual blades meant it wasn't ideal for shaving around a beard line or the little area right under your nose.

Not wanting to give up or waste it, I tried it on my legs and it was an absolute revealtion! No matter how slowly and carefully I shave my legs normally, I always manage to cut myself at least once. But not with this razor, I've done my legs a few times and this thing is a revelation - smooth legs and no irritating nicks or cuts. I'm keeping it! 

May 2018.

5th May: It was a gorgeous start to the the May bank holiday weekend, really warm with largely blue skies, so I took the Strael out for a spin. I'm hoping to really get my tan started this weekend so I wore my Lusso shorts and Altura top. It's supposed to be hot and sunny until at least next Tuesday so I'm hoping to get out tomorrow and Monday as well. On a side note, I did something on today's ride that I've wanted to do for ages.

If you look across the fields to the left cycling down Outlet Lane, you can see nine single-storey brick buildings arranged in a perfect 3x3x3 grid. The field between the buildings and the path is just covered in last years stubble and was baked dry so I cycled 200 very bumpy yards over to one of the buildings and took a pic. I'm not sure what the buildings were built for but I do know there were a lot of internment and prisoner of war camps in this part of the country during world war two. Anyhow, I did four ups and downs for 30.9 miles.

6th May: Another gorgeous hot day today so the Strael got another outing. I did the usual and was going to do four ups and downs like I did yesterday but it was too hot so I stuck to three (I had red sunburned D-shaped patches on the backs of my hands from my gloves when I got in). My mum's friend Mavis came up with a great suggestion over lunch as to what the nine brick buildings might be - ammunition storage bunkers from world war two. I know there was a lot of munitions manufacturing around here and the fact that they're spaced so far apart suggests a deliberately designed safety feature, if one bunker exploded for any reason it wouldn't set off the others. One of my neighbours is a local historian so I'll run the theory past him the next time I see him. Anyhow, 25.3 more miles.

7th May: Yet another gorgeous day today so I took the Strael for another spin. Because I've been out in the sun two days on the trot I was getting rather pink so this time I slathered myself in factor 50 everywhere and headed out. It was a fairly uneventful ride but very hot so rather pleasant over all. I did three ups and downs for 25.0 miles in the end because I was boiling but a great ride for the tan!

13th May: Well, the day has finally arrived, my second sportive of the year. The event was the Wiggle County Durham Dynamo and, rather foolhardily, I'd signed up for the middle distance - 75 miles. I stayed in a budget hotel a few miles away so it was up early for a full English breakfast and I was signing in at 7:50. By 8:05 I was on the start line waiting to set off. The BBC weather website had predicted rain all day so I took every bit of cycling clothing with me on the trip and it's a good job I did. It was overcast initially so I wore my Stolen Goat over my Altura jersey which was perfect. By the first feed stop at 28 miles it was brightening up a lot so I changed the Stolen Goat for my Castelli jacket. It continued getting warmer and sunnier so at a t-junction just before the second feed stop I took the Castelli off and rode in my short sleeved jersey.

I stopped at the second feed stop and then carried on into what turned out to be a horrible climb and because of the dire weather predictions I'd taken Awesom-O on the ride so not the best bike for the job. It was hard work and I had to stop and take a breather half way up but made it eventually but by the top my legs were absolutely fragged which didn't help because there were plenty more smaller hills to follow. Looking back, we could see that we'd been at the bottom of a valley and were now up on the moors so no wonder it was tough! Anyhow, we carried on and got to the end for a total of 76.0 miles. A very hard ride but one I'm glad I conquered.

17th May: Today's ride was something of a wasted opportunity. The BBC weather website said it would be around 11-12 °C so I wore my Lusso shorts and Castelli jacket to take the Strael out to do the usual. As it turned out, it was sunny and pretty warm so I could have worn my short sleeved jersey and topped up my tan but hey ho. There wasn't much wind for a change so it was a fairly pleasant ride and I'm not sure if the secret of the farm track is getting out or not but I saw at lease half a dozen road cyclists which I suppose is a good thing. Anyhow, another 25.0 miles.

19th May: It was a gorgeous hot sunny day today so I took the Strael out to do the usual. I'm fed up with my Altura Peloton jersey because all the decals peeled off after a couple of washes and the 'yellow' bits are neither green or yellow but a weird sort of mixture. I was going to buy a La Passione jersey but their website is messed up so I bought a stolen goat top I've been drooling over for ages.

I wore it for today's ride and I'm extremely pleased with it, it's gorgeous quality and fits absolutely perfectly. The photo on their website doesn't really do it justice, the colours really pop on the real thing. Anyhow, it was warm and not too windy so a pretty good ride overall with a lot of other cyclists out and about and another 25.0 miles in the bag.

21st May: I had today booked off today because it was my mum's birthday yesterday so I took the Strael out to clear my head a bit. It was another hot and sunny day so I went out and did the usual. A very pleasant ride with nothing much to report and another 25.0 miles in the bag.

24th May: It was another hot and sunny day so after another boring day at work I manfully necked a mug of Tesco's Finest Sumatra Mandheling coffee and took the Strael out for a spin. I did the usual but finally remembered to explore a side path I've cycled past hundreds of times. The road had obviously been re-laid because it was black and as smooth as a race track and zig-zagged for about half a mile and came out at what looked like some kind of horse farm. The new road surface also explains some of the patched up potholes on the farm track, they'd obviously has some left over tarmac and been asked to use it up. Anyhow, it was an enjoyable enough ride except for the wind which was quartering behind me going up the track but quite hard work coming back down it. Coincidentally, and quite coolly, this proved to be the ride that finally got rid of my annual mileage deficit and took me over the 12,000 miles since I started again barrier. A decent ride and 25.7 more miles.

27th May: It was boiling hot day today, the BBC weather site said 24 °C but it felt hotter, so I took the Strael out for a spin. I was looking forward to this ride because, since reading an article on road.cc, I'd replaced my inner tubes with Vittoria latex ones and was dying to try them out. Although latex tubes need topping off before every ride because they're more porous they are supposed to have much lower rolling resistance than butyl tubes. Anyhow, I set off and headed for the farm track.

Bizarrely, despite being hot and sunny, it was incredibly windy. Heading up the track was great fun but it was a real chore heading back in the other direction. The tubes however were brilliant however, much faster and more supple than butyl. There are several sections of really sharp black tarmac on the track that normally really shake you up but they were much more pleasant on the latex tubes. I'm definitely not going back to butyl! 26.2 very sweaty miles.

28th May: It was a bit of an odd ride today. It was hot and sunny again so I took the Strael out to do the usual. It started off normally enough with no issues other than there being a lot of kids out walking dogs from the animal shelter which means slowing down a bit and generally trying not to startle anyone or the dogs. I then carried on and came across half a dozen youngsters with huge backpacks on who I suspect may have been cadets or something similar; they moved to one side of the path to let me pass but at this point in the ride I decided the path was too much hassle and decided to do the local 27 instead. Because it was so hot I didn't want to do the full distance so I took the long road that bypasses the industrial park and came home via the East Lancs. I stopped at the Co-op in the village on the way back and the sweat was pouring out of the back of my hands which doesn't happen very often unless it's very hot. The ride was shorter than I thought it would be so another 23.0 miles in the bag.

31st May: It was hot and muggy this afternoon after work so I took the Strael out for a spin. It started off bright but cloudy but around half way through the ride it started getting quite dark and a lot cloudier and threatened to start raining. It then did briefly rain for a few minutes which I enjoyed but it never really got going at which point it occurred to me that summer storms are associated with lightning and getting struck by lightning is not a good way to start summer!

On a side note, I did the short road up to the horse farm again to add a bit of distance and took this photo of a what turned out to be a funnel cloud. You can see the spiralling winds pulling a section of clouds downwards and the rain falling to the ground from the end of it -  pretty cool! I was also quite peckish by this point so I ended up doing two ups and downs of the track and heading home via the kebab shop for 20.9 miles.

It's been a great May for cycling this year with lots of hot and sunny weather so I ended the month with a not too shabby total of 328.0 miles which is great because I've got rid of the mileage overdraft. Long may the sunny weather continue!