January 2018.

2nd January: I was determined to rack up more miles this year so, despite the weather, I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I knew it would be wet because it's been raining for days and I was right. The roads were covered in standing water and the two puddles on the farm track were as big as I've ever seen them. On top of all this, storm Eleanor is due to hit tonight so I knew it would be very windy. Anyhow, I wore my merino top under the new Stolen goat, even though it was around 3 or 4 °C, and headed out. It was one of those weird rides that despite the howling wind and the fact it tried to start chucking it down three times and got it right on fourth, I really enjoyed. My legs felt good and the farm track gave that weird of experience you often get in strong wind of being really hard to cycle in one direction but felt like flying along in a vacuum in the other. Anyhow, 25.1 miles to start the year off.

7th January. The BBC website said the weather this weekend was going to be lovely, sunny with blue skies, so I was determined to get a ride in. I was busy yesterday working on my car but I took Awesom-O out for a spin today. I knew it was going to be cold today when I looked out the window this morning and saw the car was covered in frost.

It was definitely cold, the temp was maybe 1-2 °C. Most of the puddles were frozen over and the shaded bits of the farm track was covered in hoar frost but I wore my Rapha merino under my Stolen goat and was warm as toast. It was fairly windy so not a perfect ride but it was sunny and enjoyable enough for the time of year. 25.1 miles.

10th January: After a couple of very cold, windy days the BBC website said it would be above zero and not too windy tonight so Awesom-O got a surprise midweek trip out. I'd guess the temperature was around 2-3 °C because although it didn't feel particularly cold, the last couple of days have been freezing. I had my Rapha merino on under my Stolen Goat jacket along with my new Castelli long bib shorts and overshoes so I was pretty warm and it was quite an enjoyable ride. I had my Diablo light on the front with the piggy back battery so I had no trouble seeing the path and although it didn't look particularly muddy, Awesom-O was absolutely filthy when we got back. Anyhow, a surprisingly enjoyable ride and another 25.1 miles.

14th January: The BBC were predicting horrendous weather for the next week so I was determined to get out for a ride this weekend. Yesterday was a bit too windy but I managed to take Awesom-O out for a spin today. As I was getting Awesom-O ready, I noticed my Synlube and EP90 mixture doesn't seem to be working out too well. I'd done one previous ride on a freshly lubed chain but before I set out I noticed the chain was dry to the extent that, even though it wasn't rusty, some of the links were starting to seize. Anyhow, I lubed it again and gave it a good run through a cloth to soak up the excess and headed out. I'm getting bored of doing endless lengths of the farm track so I decided to do the original 27 mile route instead. It was overcast and fairly windy but at least it was dry, even the two big puddles on the farm track were more or less gone so it was an enjoyable ride overall. It turns out if you take the shortcut to the local 27, it comes in at exactly 25.0 miles.

27th January: We've had a couple of weeks of really cruddy weather recently, including Storms Ffion and Georgina so January was starting to look like a grim prospect mileagewise. Anyhow, it rained all morning today but stopped at lunchtime so I took Awesom-O out this afternoon to do the usual. It started interestingly when I went to pass an older bloke on a carbon 'dale with hydraulic discs and we ended up chatting about the usual cyclist topics for the last mile to the track until we parted where you cross the short stretch of main road midway along the track. I think his name was Kevin and it would nice to bump into him again one day.

Interestingly, there was barely any wind until I'd done the first up and down and started on the second and the wind really picked up, I was struggling to hold 12 mph in bottom gear at times. On a side note, after two and a half winters my Wiggle neoprene overshoes have started to fall apart somewhat so I replaced them with some Sealskinz ones that were in the new year sales. They're pretty nice, they have taped seams and a rubber gripper to keep them in place and some reflective sections on the back and I'm very pleased with them overall. Anyway, an interesting ride and another much needed 25.1 miles for January.

28th January: I'm determined to get more miles in this month so despite horrendous wind I dragged Awesom-O out for a spin. As it was yesterday, it was pretty warm So I just wore my Castelli Alpha top over my long bibs and headed out.

Almost as soon as I left the house I decided doing the farm track would be horrible with the wind so I went meandering instead. I really wanted to do 25 miles but the wind was killing me so I eventually headed for home dying for a hot, relaxing bath and ended up with a total of 19.1 leg burning miles.

29th January: It was fairly fresh after work this evening, although nothing like yesterday, so I put my Castelli top on over my merino under layer and headed out into the night to do the farm track. It was cool and fairly breezy heading up the track but not to the point of being really annoying. It rained all last night and most of this morning and the two puddles were huge, a good thirty feet long and three inches deep so my bibs and overshoes (and Awesom-O) were fairly filthy when we got back in but it was a pleasant enough ride over all and 25.0 more miles in the bag.

30th January: It was a lot colder tonight than it was last night but, in a bid to get 200 miles in in January, I took Awesom-O out to do the what I am now going to call the 'local 27 25' (the ride I used to call the local 27 but taking the shortcut to get there). It was pretty cold, maybe 3° falling to 1° C, but the stolen goat with the merino underneath is a match for anything this winter has chucked at me so far. As a massive bonus, the wind had finally dropped so it was the most enjoyable ride I'd done for quite a while. I carried on past the village on the way home and stopped at the kebab shop at the far end and ordered a small pizza for £5.80 seconds before realising I'd only chucked five pound coins in my cycling rucksack as I left the house so I must remember to pop in on the way home tomorrow... Anyhow, another 26.9 miles.

31st January: I was absolutely determined to crack two hundred miles this month so, despite really rough weather, I took Awesom-O out for a quick blast after work tonight. I wanted to do five miles but the weather was awful. The wind was blowing me all over the place and I was being constantly lashed with horizontal snow and sleet so as soon as I knew I had enough distance I headed home, sharpish, for a not too shabby for January 200.2 miles.