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.
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