Last Rides of 2018.

Another good cycling year in which I covered over 4,300 miles on my bikes. More than I covered in Dobbin my camper car.

My dynamic duo. Dobbin and Paris.
At Cirencester Park.

This was despite some health issues and some frustrating punctures. My plan to cycle elsewhere in the UK by moving around using my Camper Car, Dobbin, has proved to be very good. 

The trips were as follows:

1. April. Camped in Derbyshire, visited family in Yorkshire, Friend Michael in Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales, family in Herefordshire.
2. May. Camped in Ashwell, Herts, Peterborough, Hunts, Cromer, Norfolk, Little Melton, Norfolk & Cambridge.
3. June. Stayed with David in Bournemouth, camped at Crossways near Dorchester.
4. August. Stayed in Cirencester Park and rode in Wilts & Glos.
5. September. Stayed in YHA hostels in Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Did some hill walking.

I planned my journeys to use Caravan & Motorhome Club sites or YHA hostels. I usually found a National Trust property to visit either while driving or riding.  This gave me a nice place to stop for lunch and relax. I usually had a walk around the grounds and sometimes visited the houses.

On all these trips I had some nice rides, some hilly some relatively flat, all great fun.

In October I succumbed to peer pressure and bought my first E-Bike so I can keep up with other riders on faster rides, especially if they are hilly. This has worked well except I am having problems with removing a front wheel tyre following a second puncture. Hoping to resolve this issue when Txiki goes for his first service on Jan 4th 2019.

I am including my Data for the year on a separate page which you can access via a tab at the top of this page or by clicking this link.

https://gridironman79.blogspot.com/p/data.html

Flower Festival In St. James Church, Cranham
where I was a choir boy.
(This photo was taken when on my Cirencester Trip).

Boxing Day
December 26th 2018.

December 27th 2018.

December 30th 2018.

As always I welcome any comments or feedback on my postings. 

Gridironman.

Two Test Valley Rides and one to The Meon Valley.

Slightly better weather this week so although Tuesday was a washout Wednesday and Thursday were much better and I managed a couple of outings. Then on Saturday another partly with the Winchester CTC.

Wednesday December 19th 2018.

Thursday December 20th 2018.

Saturday 22nd December 2018.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

Gridironman.

Another Disappointing Week

A very Happy Christmas to all my readers!

The horrible weather and a common cold I can't shake off have conspired to keep me indoors this last week. I did manage to venture out once but I felt really knackered afterwards. I hope I will be able to manage a few more rides this year. 

Thursday 13th December 2018.

Gridironman.

A Wet and Windy Week.

After the very good cycling weather enjoyed over the last few months this week has been a poor one. However, I did manage to fit in two rides on the two best days. Also on Thursday the HCMF held the annual Festive Lunch which went very well despite our being a little cramped for space in The Cart and Horses in Kings Worthy. Colin who had organized the 5 previous lunches was awarded the Julie Jug for his efforts.

Colin receiving the Julie Jug
whilst Gridironman extolls his achievements.

Friday 30th November 2018.

Sunday 2nd December 2018.

Gridironman.

Into the wintery weather.

A major change in the weather from the relatively mild sunny days into a bitter east wind with added rain! I opted out of riding on Tuesday, a lot of my pals did too but some brave souls did venture out. I hope they had good protective clothing.

I went out on a drier day on Thursday 22nd November, but it was very chilly and I was glad I'd added an extra layer. 

Since Thursday I have been quite busy with family matters and on Saturday it was a choice between a damp ride or an afternoon of watching the autumn international rugby matches. Guess which I chose?
Three very entertaining matches all won by the home nations, well-done guys.

Hope the weather is more friendly this week. Thursday is our HCMF annual festive lunch so I plan to ride there if the weather permits, no other firm plans at present.

Gridironman.

Whoops! A couple of unwelcome firsts for Txiki!

Quite a week. On Tuesday I rode with the Pedallers. Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. Luckily the plans for Thursday riding to the HCMF meet and on Saturday riding with Paddy were fulfilled very happily without any problems.

Tuesday 13th November 2018.

I rode alone to Crawley Pond where I met with the 10 other Pedallers. There was a lot of interest in Txiki and questions about range weight cost etc. 

Crawley Pond Reflections.

We soon set off down the gentle slope to Kings Somborne with my E-power turned off but as soon as we got to Bossington and the climb up the Old Roman Road I needed it. I was by no means the first up the hill with the younger and stronger riders easily leading the way, I was however comfortably keeping up with only the lowest level of assistance and some of the time with none.

 Karen had planned an interesting way to the Apache Cafe at The Army Flying Museum, Nether Wallop. However, just after crossing the A30 and 3 miles short of our planned stop I had a flat front tyre. Bill stopped to help me. He couldn't get the tyre off the rim so we phoned Graham and he came back to help. Eventually, with his help and after a phone call to the E-Bikeshop where I had bought Txiki, we managed to complete the job. It was lucky I was not on my own or I'd have had to phone my rescue service. 

To add to my woes I managed to tumble off Txiki at the next crossroads when I could not get my foot down quickly enough when I did an emergency stop to avoid a collision with a car. Apart from a small scuff on the handlebar end and a sore elbow, there was no damage.

After our refreshment stop we headed back to CP via Stockbridge and Kings Somborne. The group split in two soon after KS with four returning to their homes via Farley Mount while the rest continued to CP. Here I refused a lift home with Graham and carried on on my own. It was a good day despite my misfortunes, thanks to Bill and Graham. 

Thursday 15th November 2018.

With none of the Groupetta available I rode to join the HCMF meet on my own. It was another mild day and it was an enjoyable ride to the pub with still plenty of colour in the hedgerows. I went via Owslebury, Bishops Waltham and Swanmore.

Saturday 17th November 2018.

A gentle E-bike ride on a glorious winter's day.

As usual, the descent of Stoner Hill was great fun. Txiki's disc brakes work well.

When recording my rides on Strava I distinguish my E-Bike rides from my others which means I still have PBs to aim for when riding Paris and Posh. The PBs for E-bikes are really not very useful except for comparing one's own progress. There are only a few segments set up for E-Bikes so far.

I was pleased to have reached my (twice revised) annual target with a few weeks to spare. I am now closing on the total miles since becoming a borne again cyclist towards the 45,000 mile mark (at present 44,173).

Gridironman.

New Forest Ride with Winchester CTC.

Over the past week, I only had time for one ride in the week before popping off to see friends in Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridge. As they are not active cyclists I did not take a bike this time but have been invited to do so another time!

Tuesday November 6th.

The case of the missing gloves!

Happily, the case of the missing gloves has now been solved, I wasn't going potty after all. Ian discovered they were in his bag! Now I need to collect them from Ian and return Sarah B.'s to her. 

Gridironman.

Two E-Bike Rides.

The time seems to have flown by since I bought Txiki on October 12th. Since then I have had six rides on him totalling 281 miles. It has been a very interesting experience and I have gained enough knowledge to know how best to make use of the available assistance. Txiki is designed to provide enough assistance without completely taking away the effort of the rider. The way it has worked for me has been just what I had hoped. I can also judge when planning a ride which of my three bikes to ride depending on the expected speed and the type of climbing to be encountered.

Both rides this week have been over 50 miles and both riding with the Winchester CTC. They were very similar but one was a little faster over more hills so I needed assistance more often. This shows clearly in the amount of assistance used.

Here are the details:-

Tuesday 30th October 

Saturday 3rd November.

Once again we have been lucky with the weather. Both rides were in fine but chilly weather with no sign of rain. I skipped the HCMF meet this week as that day was not so good with a damp start to the day. With that and the fact that the chosen pub, The Horse & Groom, is only .75 miles away from home made me decide to walk to join the usual group of regular attendees. I had a good time and after a couple of drinks walked home to cook my own lunch.

Gridironman

A Busy Week

Only managed four rides this week! Would have gone out again for a fifth on Saturday but was not feeling too bright so decided to have a rest day. The rides were all different.

1. Tuesday, a ride with The Winchester CTC. Riding my new E-bike Txiki as I needed a boost to enable me to keep up.
2. Wednesday, a more gentle ride in company with 3 other riders from the LoTSW group. (On Paris).
3. Thursday, a solo ride on Paris, to enjoy lunch with the HCMF at the Plough Inn, Itchen Abbas.
4. Friday, with Simon checking a route for the VCC's event on Sunday. Again riding Paris.

Read more and see my routes below:

Txiki hobnobbing with all those other road bikes.

The protracted negotiations over the choosing and selecting who was going to share with whom! The ladies taking our orders and delivering our choices were very patient!

We have been so lucky with the weather and as long as one was wrapped up well it has been good weather for us to cycle. 

I have been very pleased with Txiki who has enabled me to go out with a Winchester CTC group with whom I would struggle to keep up. 

Overall I have clocked up another 144 miles to bring my total for the year to date to 3,747. More importantly, I have had great fun doing those miles and sharing rides and meetings with many friends.

Gridironman.

Txiki brings a new dimension to my rides.

Another chapter in my cycling experiences. With my new E-Bike Txiki (Cheeky) bringing a new form to my favourite sport. I had two rides on him and one on Paris too. That was to show I can still hack it on a good road bike.

Tuesday 16th October.

Thursday 18th October.

I

Ian pretending he has led Caroline all the way up the hill.

A determined Caroline carrying Ian's luggage!

Simon in Period Clothing on his
Raleigh Record Ace in Original Paint.

Saturday 20th October.

Autumn Light & Shade.

Jackie sets off in pursuit of Anne
who has zoomed off on her E-Bike.

It has been a really interesting experience riding Txiki and I am very pleased with how well it has worked out. I have had the extra power there when needed to keep up with the faster folk and on the steep hills. Also, I have been quite comfortable riding with no assistance when on easier rides. With economical use, I can certainly have enough battery life for any of my normal length outings. The battery takes about 2 hours to recharge from 50%.

The weather has been very kind with plenty of autumn sunshine to bring out the best of colours in the countryside. Looks like it might go colder this week but with some fine weather too.

Gridironman.

A Momentous Week.

The serene River Test, near Longstock.

I have had a busy week with my bikes. First on Tuesday an excellent day out with the Pedallers, then on Thursday a solo ride to join the HCMF. Next, I sold Scottie with Simon's help to a young couple. The bike was just the right size for the young lady who seemed very pleased with her purchase.

Then on Friday, I went to Farnham to collect my newest and most expensive bike an Orbea Gain D30. A close relative of the one I mentioned last week. I looked at the Carbon M20 but decided that although it was a great bike it was too expensive and was more of a racing bike than the D30 which is an alloy frame with carbon forks and seat post, complete with attachment points for mudguards, so more practical. the running gear is Shimano 105 the same as I have on Paris. (Ultegra gear was £400 dearer). I was torn by the choice of colours and in the end, I opted for the traditional Euskadi colour orange. (Two ladies consulted were in favour of that choice!).

After the rain had cleared on Saturday, I took Txiki for a first ride. It was a success. I worked almost as hard as I usually do but finished up with an average speed of about 2 m.p.h. higher than normal. Did the circuit through Bishop's Waltham in about 30 mins less than before.

Here are my usual pocket reports of my rides:-

Tuesday 9th October.

Thursday 11th October.

Saturday 13th October.

Decided not to ride the Gridiron today as I didn't fancy getting drenched.

Don't forget you can look at my BIKES by clicking the Tab at the top. 


Ex? Gridironman

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Great Autumn Rides.

Tuesday 2nd October 2018.

A comparatively easy ride with 7 other Pedallers. A visit to the seaside.

Calshot Castle.

Thursday 4th October.

Sunday 7th October.

An excellent week for cycling for me with enough sunny days to be able to choose
I am seriously considering getting an E-bike to enable me to keep up with my faster chums. I will keep my other bikes if I do so I can ride those too when riding on my own or with slower groups. I don't want to be dependant on electric power.  I have had lots of advice, some of it conflicting! I'm off to test a couple of options this week. However, I have already fallen in love with this one:

Maybe it will disappoint. 
Paris is not in favour as he is feeling he might be made redundant.

Cheers, have a good week.

Gridironman.

September goes out with a flurry!

A mixed week of emotions. On Tuesday 25th I had a health scare, had chest pains in the night and again when I woke at 7.a.m. so phoned the surgery. They fitted me in for an immediate ECG and check-up by a doctor. Turned out to be nothing serious, but I was told I had done the right thing in seeking medical help. 

I had originally planned to ride with the LoTSW group but it was too late to do that so after lunch and a short siesta I did my own thing, a tea ride to Medstead/Four Marks.

I sat in the sunshine outside Nosh and had an interesting chat with a young lady motorcyclist. We compared steeds and talked about other bikes we had ridden. Maybe instead of an E-Bike I should go back to Motorcycling? 

The best thing about the ride was that I had no chest pains even when setting a couple of new PBs.

Thursday 27th September.

Saturday 29th September. 

Another beautiful autumn day:

Sunday 30th September.

Hope that October is as good for cycling as September has been.

Happy riding to all my readers.

Gridironman.