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.

December 2017.

3rd December: Finally, nice weather! The temperature was back up to bearable today, around 9° C, and the sky was largely blue with little wind so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. As it was so much warmer than it has been, I tried wearing just my Castelli Alpha jacket and it was actually OK although I don't think you could go any colder with it and stay comfortable.

I was going to do the usual, three ups and downs of the farm track, but at one point I saw a couple of horsists in the distance and decided I couldn't be bothered with the palaver of getting around them. I decided to divert and do most of the local twenty seven instead as it seems like ages since I last did it. It was pleasant enough and a bit of a celebratory ride as it was the ride I successfully reached my annual mileage target of 2,400 miles so anything else this year is a bonus! 20.6 more miles.

27th December: Finally, I got out again! We had ten days of very cold, dank, wet weather followed by a week of sub-zero temperatures (it dropped to -14 °C in one village is Shropshire!). I then upgraded my PC after seven years (i5-8600k and DDR4 2666 replacing i5-760 and DDR3 1333 for the win!) which lost a few more days and then, finally, Christmas. Anyhow, today was cold, maybe 2-3 °C, and very windy but the skies were blue and the sun was out so I took Awesom-O out and did three ups and downs of the farm track. I was worried about being out of shape but, apart from feeling a bit short of breath for the first ten miles, I actually felt good. Anyhow, 25.4 more miles.

Well, I didn't get out much over Christmas for the usual reasons so 2017 goes out with a fairly respectable mileage of 2,432.6 which I don't think's too shabby!

VIRO-SOL review. The hunt for an environmentally friendly degreaser continues...

In my eternal quest to stop using white spirit to clean my chain, I stumbled across this stuff recently. It sounded promising so I read the reviews which sounded great, one guy even mentioned it was great for cleaning bike chains! I ordered some and it got delivered today. Awesom-O's chain was pretty claggy after two outings with the new home-made lube so I thought he'd be a perfect test candidate. I was suspicious that once again there was no real citrusy smell when I opened it so I put a few glugs into a clip-top container, added the chain, and gave it a really good shake. Encouragingly, the solution started getting pretty mucky.

I opened the container and gave the chain a good stir and found the product is reasonable but definitely no cigar. I washed the chain thoroughly in hot water and dried it and although the outside looks nice and clean and shiny, there is no tinkling noise as you shake the chain which is a good indicator the internals of the chain have been cleaned out properly. Having looked at some of the data on this stuff, including the fact the pH is 11 (so keep it well away from aluminium components unless it's very dilute!), suggests to me that this is basically a standard alkaline degreaser with a sprinkling of citrus to add a whiff of 'green'. Having said that I bet it's awesome for generally cleaning, rather than actual degreasing, around the house and garden!

November 2017.

6th November: Another day off work today and it was a gorgeous one. It was fairly cool but largely blue skies and sunny so I took a rather filthy Awesom-O out for a spin. I didn't do anything special, just the usual three ups and downs of the farm path, but it was an enjoyable ride. It's definitely cooling off though, I had my running top under the Castelli jacket and it was perfect and I noticed my feet felt quite cold so it'll be overshoe season soon enough. As a slight aside, I saw two kestrels today fairly close up, one in insect alley and one a few hundred yards before there so maybe there's a family group? Anyhow, 25.1 miles to kick November off.

8th November: It was my first day ever working from home today and the weather was fantastic, sunny and not too windy, so I took Awesom-O out for a ride. I normally take thirty minutes for lunch so I figured I could just work for an extra hour this afternoon and set off. For some unknown reason my legs weren't feeling great so not the most enjoyable ride ever but it was nice to be enjoying decent weather still. 25.1 miles.

11th November: It was a chilly but otherwise gorgeous day today so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. before I did, however, I performed some much needed maintenance. i took both his chain-rings off and gave them a thorough clean and degreased and re-lubed his chain with my new EP90 mixture. I'm not sure why but i checked the chain with the chain checker and was astonished to see the 0.75% end dropped through every link I tried it on at a mere 929.5 miles! Somehow it had gone from ok to worn out in the one ride since I last checked it; I guess being sprayed with liquid mud constantly really doesn't do them much good. Anyhow, I fitted a new chain and headed out. It was a fairly normal ride except for one thing.

As I was heading back in on my first leg a fire engine was coming along the path towards me. I pulled in to let him past (thankfully he saw me and rather considerately turned the siren off!) and saw another one which soon passed me. I carried on and kept looking around to see if I could see what they were up to. I eventually saw blue lights in the distance. I diverted down Simonswood Lane and went to have a look. They were pulled up outside an isolated semi. There was no smoke or fire but all the doors and windows of one of the houses were open and there was a faint smell of burning in the air so I think one there had been a small fire which was now out. A fun ride and another 26.2 miles.

14th November: Another working from home day today so another daytime jaunt for Awesom-O. I was browsing eBay the other day and might have accidentally started searching for titanium bits. I noticed a rather natty titanium stem cap and bolt for less that seven quid delivered so it was soon on it's way to me. I decided to fit it before I left and noticed the star fangled nut must have been at an angle because it was hard to get the bolt in. I did notice that there were two equal thickness spacers above the stem so a job for when I got back. I also fitted a new set of cleats to my shoes as the existing ones were sounding a bit rattly and look worn out.

It had rained a bit this morning so the ground was very wet but it was a gorgeous day otherwise, overcast but very bright and very little wind. I did the usual three ups and downs and, apart from having to slow down because of an unusually high number of dog walkers, it was a very enjoyable ride and my cleats felt a lot more secure. When I got back I washed Awesom-O (obviously...) and then removed his forks. I marked and trimmed the steerer and then hammered the SFN in, which straightened it out, and put everything back together minus the redundant spacer. He now has a single, equal thickness, spacer above and below the stem and the new titanium cap and bolt look awesome. Anyhow, another 25.1 miles.

17th November: It was overcast and wet today but not raining so I took Awesom-O out for the usual three ups and downs of the farm path. It was a fairly typical ride except for one thing. As I was coming back down the path I saw two lads struggling to push a black Seat car back up a driveway but there was a concrete lip at the edge and they couldn't get the car over it. I parked Awesom-O on the verge and gave them a hand and the car was soon where they wanted it. The lads were very grateful for the help, I just hope they weren't up to no good! Anyhow, an enjoyable ride and another 25.1 miles.

19th November: I was bored yesterday so I whipped off Awesom-O's bottom brackets and completely cleaned it and the shell out with a toothbrush and WD-40. I dried it off and refitted it with loads of copper grease and took him out for a spin this afternoon. It was a slightly irksome ride in the sense that the two sections of the farm path that really stay submerged were finally dry so I could have taken the Strael for a last jolly before winter but I'm sure I'll get the chance again. I was quite late setting off so I took the Diablo rather than the Knogg so that I wouldn't get caught out. It was quite a nice ride, it's definitely getting colder, around 7 °C today but a fun ride none the less and another 25.1 miles.

28th November: After a few days of cold, wet, windy weather I finally managed to get out for a spin on Awesom-O. I had to track my snood down for this ride as it was the first properly cold ride of the year, the BBC website said 4 or 5 °C. As well as the snood, I also wore my Rapha merino under my Stolen Goat so I felt rather like a eskimo as I rode which is going to take some getting used to. I think I underestimated how much rain we've had recently because the two big puddles on the farm path were as big as I've ever seen them and I ended up wet to the knees from the bow wave from the front wheel. Anyhow, it's all good fun and another 25.1 miles.

Well, I didn't manage to get out again due to the cold, rainy weather but November goes out with a not too shabby 176.8 miles. Lets hope the weather warms up a bit and I can get a few rides in in December.

Keeping jock itch at bay and your kit smelling fresh.

I was reading an article about cycling related kit whiffs on road.cc the other day and somebody mentioned this stuff, Halo ProActive Sports Wash. It's a washing liquid designed to really get into the fibres of your kit and kill the bacteria and fungi that lurk in there causing odour and fungal conditions.

Having had jock itch in the past, I decided to give it a try and ordered a couple of bottles from Wiggle. I put my new Castelli bibs, my Altura top and some work shirts through on a 30 c delicates wash and waited for the results. I'm no microbiologist but the results were great, everything was clean and had a really zingy, pleasant clean smell to it so I'm calling this one a win and will keep on using it!

October 2017.

1st October: Having had quite a poor September mileage-wise, I have a feeling October will be better. It's taken me a while to find my 'it's not warm and sunny anymore' mojo but I think it's back. It was overcast but bright today and quite windy so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I didn't do anything fancy, just three ups and downs of the farm path but it was an enjoyable ride despite the wind. Following on from my recent post about cycling products often being overpriced and reading a review of a ridiculously expensive rucksack, I decided to look at rucksacks on-line.

I currently use a Deuter something or other of around 15 litres that I used to use at work but something a bit smaller would be more ideal. A bit of Googling quickly found the Mountain Warehouse 10 litre Esprit rucksack reduced from £25.99 to £9.99! It arrived and got it's first ride today; it's fantastic, just as well made as much more expensive brands and the perfect size for a day pack! 25.1 miles to start October off.

6th October: The weather was pleasant enough for a change today but it was chilly, the BBC website said 12 °C. I could definitely feel the chill on my legs when I set out and my new Castelli jacket finally feels more suited to the weather. Anyhow, I took Awesom-O out and did three ups and downs of the farm path. My legs felt pretty good and it was an enjoyable ride overall and 25.0 more miles.

9th October: Another very pleasant day today. It was overcast but bright with very little wind so I took Awesom-O out and did three ups and downs of the farm path. It was an uneventful ride until I nearly got run over 100 yards from home! There was a big car badly parked on my side of the road and I saw him start to pull into the road. I assumed he'd see me and stop, especially as I now run a Knog Blinder Mini Chippy on the front in blink mode, but he kept pulling out and only stopped at the last second. I know the car, the owner lives about 200 yards from me, and the driver is very elderly. Two incidents with cars in over 11,000 miles and both very elderly drivers... Anyhow, another 25.4 miles.

11th October: It was absolutely pouring with rain and windy today but I had a couple of tests to so so it proved a very rule #9 ride! Firstly, I'm going to stop using the Morgan Blue Syn Lube on Awesom-O's chain, it's great at staying on and lubing the chain but the build-up of crud on the jockeys wheels had to be seen to be believed. I cleaned the chain and re-lubed it with Morgan Blue Race Oil because I want to see what the chain's like in the morning after an hour and a half in the rain. Secondly, I wanted to see how the Castelli Alpha performs in the rain. The main body was ok but the sleeves let the rain right through so 'not brilliantly' was the answer to that question. Lastly, I wanted to wear my new Castelli Velocissimo long bib shorts for the first time, so... They're brilliant! Perfectly skintight, the straps are the perfect length for me and the pad protects you but just disappears, I'm probably going to pick up a set of Castelli shorts in the spring to replace my Lussos. Oh, and note to self, start wearing your overshoes again when it's wet; cycling shoes fill with water in about 0.3 seconds when you're riding through three inches of water at speed...  Anyhow, a wet and windy ride but another 25.0 miles in the bank.

13th October: Following yesterdays test ride, the chain had gone slightly rusty on the inside of the links so I topped it up and left it. What followed was a rather unusual ride. The weather was unseasonably warm, around 19 c, with the occasional glimpse of blue in the sky but very windy so it was the first ride in a while where I wore my bib shorts and Altura short sleeved top. Anyhow, I took Awesom-O out and did three and a half up and downs of the farm track. Despite the wind, which was very strong heading out on the track, it proved to be quite a zen ride. Even though I was spinning along into the wind struggling to maintain 16 mph it was a very enjoyable, relaxing ride. Anyhow, a fun ride and another 27.3 miles.

15th October: Strangely, it was another unseasonably warm day with lots of blue sky today so the Strael got another trip out. Having ridden Awesom-O for a while the first thing I noticed was that the seat was low so I raised it about 3/8" and it felt even better. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, just the usual three ups and downs of the farm track, but I did see the Kestrel I saw recently again on the section I call insect alley so I suspect it has a nest somewhere nearby which is cool. It wasn't a perfect ride, it was fairly windy and I got properly close passed by some tool in a Ford MPV on the way back, but an enjoyable ride overall. 25.1 more miles.

20th October: I booked a day off from my new job today because I didn't have anything to do (shortly before being given a large list of jobs, oops...) so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. It was overcast but bright and not too windy for a change so it was quite an enjoyable ride. There were still huge muddy puddles on the farm path though so Awesom-O needed a really good wash when we got back but I'm used to that by now! On a different note, I saw what I thought was the kestrel again but I'm starting to have doubts. I'll try and memorise it more exactly if I see it again and work out what it is... Anyhow, 25.4 more miles.

26th October: It turned out to be the first night ride of the year tonight. I took Awesom-O out for the three ups and downs of the farm track and by the end of the second up it was pretty much dark. Weather-wise it was dry and breezy and fairly damp and chilly at around 10 °C but this gave me an opportunity to test my new anti-winter secret weapon, a Stolen Goat 'Climb and Conquer' winter jacket.

The jacket is designed to be extremely warm and waterproof ie the perfect jacket to get you out of the house on a freezing winter night. I wore it with my new Castelli Velocissimo long bibs and it was definitely warm! I ended up riding with unzipped about six inches which was definitely odd given he time of year but definitely bodes well when the weather turns really cold! A pleasant ride and another 25.1 miles.

29th October: Having decided that Morgan Blue Syn lube is too thick but their Race Oil isn't winter-proof enough, I decided to have a crack at making my own recipe lube. I knew about EP90 from when my dad and I had a series 3 Land Rover, it's a gear oil commonly used in older vehicles. Being a gear oil, it's designed to provide protection against metal-on-metal wear so it ought to be perfect in a chain lube so I mixed one third EP90 with two thirds Syn Lube. I degreased Awesom-O's chain, dried it, and applied one drip per link and headed out to do three ups and downs of the farm track.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, clear blue skies and not too much wind, so I wore my new Castelli Alpha top over my white Nike running top and my long Castelli bibs. It turned out to be fairly warm so the the running top probably wasn't necessary but it was a very enjoyable ride anyway. In typical British fashion, the warm weather brought out a lot of cyclists and I even saw a late middle aged couple jogging on the farm path which was unusual. 25.1 more miles.

Well, I didn't manage to get out again so October goes by with a not too shabby total of 228.5 miles on the clock.

September 2017.

2nd September: It was quite warm today with blue skies and hardly any wind so the Strael got another trip out. I've been doing some research on vitamin D and exercise and there's definitely something in it. Because it's created by the action of sunlight on exposed skin, rather than being common in food, it's very easy to be deficient in vitamin D and apparently most people are.

I mention it because when I set out today I really didn't feel like a ride but I ended up enjoying it and averaging 17.0 mph which was very good. I noticed this performance boost last winter when I took vitamin D so I've ordered some 5,000 iu tablets and my parents can have the rest of my 1,000 iu stash when they arrive. Anyhow, 25.3 miles to kick September off.

9th September: I really dropped on with today's ride. The BBC weather website said it would rain all day today and all weekend. As it turned out, today was actually hot and sunny albeit with a very strong wind. I took the Strael out and did three ups and downs of the farm track. It was hard work with the wind but quite an enjoyable ride overall. I hadn't taken into account the recent rain however; there were a couple of huge muddy puddles and the bike, and myself, were absolutely covered in mud by the time we got home - who said buying a white bike was a good idea?! Anyhow, a fun ride and the vitamin D must be working because I averaged 16.7 mph despite the wind. 25.1 miles.

16th September: Well, after a week of terrible rain and wind, including storm Aileen, I finally managed to get out for ride today and did the local 27. It was actually quite sunny so I took the risk of the puddles having dried out and took the Strael and luckily I was right, they'd pretty much dried up. I was wearing a new top on the ride as well. Autumn's on the way so I spent my Christmas money early and bought a Castelli Alpha FZ jacket (reduced from £175 to £99 from Merlin!) and some Velocissimo 3 bib tights to go with it. It was too warm, about 15 c, for the tights but I wore the Alpha over my Lusso bibs.

The Alpha is made from Gore Windstopper 150 so it breathes really well and has a mesh zip up front section so if you get too warm, you can undo the main zip and still have the mesh section underneath to keep the jacket from flopping around. Despite it being too warm really, the jacket was great. I had it unzipped a few inches so I kept cool and I wasn't a sweaty mess when I got it so it's definitely breathable. On a similar note, the 5,000 iu vitamin D is definitely working, despite the strong wind I averaged 17.1 mph which was very good, I'm usually slower when it's windy. 25.1 more miles.

17th September: Another nice day today so I managed to get out and do the same ride I did yesterday. It was a gorgeous day, very windy but super clear with largely blue skies; a real sign that autumn's on the way. It was fairly windy but my legs felt reasonably good so quite a fun ride, the average was looking good as well until the wind got up a couple of times as I got closer to home but 16.6 mph isn't too shoddy and it was another 25.1 miles. Incidentally, I wore the Castelli jacket again and was boiling so I'm going to put that away for a few weeks until the temperature starts to fall a bit more.

24th September: Being short of miles this month I really wanted to get out for a ride yesterday but I somehow pulled a muscle in my neck which was really annoying. Anyhow, it feels a lot better today so I took the Strael out for spin. Given the terrible weather we've had so far in September, today was a real surprise. It was warm with some blue sky and not too much wind, at least initially. My legs felt great and, despite the wind getting up a bit mid-ride, it was a fun ride with an average of 17.2 mph which is good for me. 25.1 much needed miles.

25th September: The weather was quite nice today. It was started overcast but some blue sky appeared eventually and there less wind than we've had recently. Because of all the recent rain I decided to take Awesom-O because he has mudguards and I didn't fancy getting filthy.

The ride started well but I soon ran into a snag half way up the farm track, BT were installing new poles and had a van parked right across the path. I decided to divert towards Aughton and ended up having fun ride just exploring wherever I fancied going and finished with a handy 28.7 miles. Due to other commitments I didn't make it out again so a disappointing total for September of 154.4 but I'm still massively in the green for the year so here's hoping for a more pleasant October.