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!

April 2018.

5th April: The weather's been really poor recently, constant heavy rain and wind but there's an area of high pressure over the UK at the moment and the weather is supposed to be gorgeous for the next few days. It's been a gorgeous warmish sunny day today so I decided to risk taking the Strael out to do the usual. I wasn't sure if the two big puddles would have had time to dry up so I was pleasantly surprised to see the first on had almost dried up and carried on up the path. I was less pleased however to see that the second puddle was a good twenty feet long and a couple of inches deep still but I guess I can always give him a good wash tomorrow. I've finally decided that the Brooks saddle isn't really suited to the Strael. The back bit under my bum is very comfortable but the nose is too wide and presses into the top of my thighs in quite an uncomfortable way. A couple of weeks ago I found a guy on Amazon UK selling tan Charge Scoop saddles for a very good price so I bought one for my spares box. I'll get it fitted over the weekend. 25.0 miles to start April off.

8th April: It rained most of yesterday but today was a beautiful day so, to clear my head after a rather nice pub lunch with the 'rents, I took Awesom-O out to do the usual. It was fairly sunny with little wind and maybe 12 °C so, for the first time this year, I wore my Lusso shorts instead of my Castelli longs!

It was a very pleasant ride, the sound of birdsong really heralds the arrival of warmer weather. There were loads of gold finches flying around the hedgerows and I lost count of the number of male blackbirds I got shouted at by. Awesom-O was running well with his new chain and the Pedro's syn Lube so quite enjoyable ride overall and another 25.0 miles in the bag.

14th April: I've had a weird cold for the last week, all the symptoms of a cold, in the correct order, but only about a quarter of the normal intensity, very strange! Anyhow, it was an absolutely gorgeous day today, blue sky with a few clouds and around 16 °C according to the BBC weather website. It's rained a bit recently so I took Awesom-O out because of the two huge puddles and I didn't want to get the Strael filthy. As it turned out, the puddles were both more or less gone so I could have taken the Strael after all. I debated just wearing a short sleeved jersey but took the Castelli Alpha instead. It was so warm in the sun I was actually too hot so I should have stuck with short sleeves after all. Anyway, it was quite windy but still a fun ride over all and another 25.1 miles.


21st April: It was unseasonally hot and sunny today so I took Awesom-O out to do the usual. I was on the first 'down of the path when I came around the corner and was confronted by a group of about thirty elderly people out for a group walk - definitely another first! Anyhow, at that point I decided to go exploring. I ended getting slightly lost and ended up going though Aughton and on towards Formby when I decided to turn around and make my way back as I was worried about getting sun burned. I eventually ended up in Ormskirk and got home via Edge Hill college along the dreaded Ormskirk road, or close-pass highway as it ought to be called. Anyhow, 27.3 miles and I did get slightly sun burned...

25th April: Today was a day of typical April weather! It 'd been grey and overcast all day at work with the odd light shower and as I was driving home the rain on the M62 became so heavy everyone put their headlights on (OK, except for a few Ford drivers...) and slowed down. Ten minutes and a few miles later it was warm and sunny with largely blue skies, very odd indeed. Anyhow, I'm very short of mileage for the month so I took Awesom-0 out to do the usual. I soon regretted it though as it was extremely windy. I almost turned around until I thought of rule #5 and decided to try and do at least one up and down. In the end my legs felt very good so I managed two up and downs for a rather tough 19.7 miles.

27th April: It rained all day today but I decided to take Awesom-O out for spin, at the very least I could finally test how waterproof the Pedro's Syn Lube was. The ride didn't start well as I got close passed riding out of the village, I knew I was going to be because I could here them accelerate to get past me before an oncoming car did. A Ford again... Anyhow, it wasn't too windy and, quite strangely, the two big puddles weren't even full although Awesom-O did get really filthy from all the mud on the path. I suspect there's been a lot of farm activity going on as there was lots of wet mud everywhere. Oddly, as I was on my second 'down' I could see a large 4x4 coming towards me so I pulled into a driveway to let him pass and he slowed down, gave me a really evil look and beeped his horn before carrying on. Whether he was blinded by the immense 20 lumens of my Knog Chippy or had just had a bad day at work, who knows? Anyhow I finished the ride. It wasn't that enjoyable because it was one of those odd rides where my legs never really kicked in. Another 25.1 miles.

29th April: As it turns out, Pedro's Syn Lube isn't 100% waterproof as there were a few rusty links this morning. On a related note, I'm currently testing the theory that it's degreasing the chain all the time that leads to short chain life so I just added one more drip of Syn Lube to each link, gave the cranks a few spins, and left Awesom-O hanging from the wall hanger. Because it hasn't rained for a while and it was quite sunny, I decided to take the Strael for a spin. Because I'm short of mileage and I'm determined not to miss another month I set myself the challenge of doing five ups and downs of the farm path instead of the usual three. The new Scoop saddle was comfortable but tilted too far down and forward so I stopped at the end of first 'up' and adjusted it. It was much more comfortable after that so I carried on. It was fairly cool, around 10 °C, and deceptively windy. Heading up the track was great - fast and not much effort involved but it was much harder work on the down stretch. Anyhow, I plugged away and eventually did the five and headed home. Aside from one close pass (a Ford again, spot the theme yet?) it was a tough but uneventful ride and a much needed 36.4 miles.

30th April: The weather wasn't ideal today but I was determined to get the monthly mileage in the bag so I took the Strael out again aiming to get around 18 miles in. It was dry but chilly and really windy so not much fun but I plodded on. Because I've not done it for ages I decided to get to the farm track via Dairy Farm Road and the OCR, both of which proved that skinny steel tubes and 28 mm tyres can't completely compensate for horrendous road conditions but ho hum...

Anyhow, it was horrendously windy, heading up the track was hard work and I was leaning over occasionally and feeling the wind tug my front wheel but a lot of fun heading back at top speed. I managed two ups and downs before I was due at the 'rents for spag bol so I managed 18.1 miles to end with a fairly satisfying 201.7 miles.