A wintery Week's Rides.

Despite the wintery weather I have managed to clock up a respectable number of miles this week. 

On Tuesday 29th January I joined the Pedallers in Alresford for a chilly ride to the Westlands farm Shop in Shedfield near Wickham.

Then on Thursday 31st January, I decided to risk the possibility of snow and go to the HCMF meet at The Royal Oak, Goodworth Clatford.

Sunday 3rd February.

With the snow and ice over the last few days like many others, I decided to play it safe and walk instead. So I have just had a gentle walk of a couple of miles in the lovely sunshine. The snow is thawing slowly and the busy roads are clear but on the minor roads there are still many icy patches, especially in the shade.

On the whole a good start for the year. My details for January are;-

Cheers!

Gridironman.

TeeTee replaces Dobbin.

A very exciting week. After riding Paris with the LoTSW group on Wednesday I spent Thursday exchanging my faithfull Dobbin for a larger Motorhome (TeeTee) with more mod con to facilitate my cycle/camping holiday breaks. Then on Saturday Txiki provided a needed boost for me on the Winchester CTC ride to Poppies.

Tuesday 23rd January 2019

Thursday 24th January 2019.

Spent a large part of the day at Marquis Leisure in Upham trading in my Camping Car Dobbin for a newer, shinier and better-equipped motorhome, named TeeTee (Or just TT for short). She is Italian, a Trigano Tribute 550 on a Fiat Ducato base. The engine is a 2.3-litre diesel which far outpowers Dobbin, so I shall be able to maintain a good pace on my longer journeys. (I wonder what my MPG will be!)

The handover was very thorough and I was able to persuade them to include an excellent Fiamma bike rack, a full gas bottle, a freshwater hose and six months licence in the price. I do wonder how much of the detailed instructions on how to work everything I will remember by next week. However, they did emphasise that if I need any help I only have to ring them. They were true to their word when on Friday when I couldn't work out how to attach my bike Paris to the rack. They did it for me and showed me the key to success. (I obviously wouldn't do well at the Krypton Factor!) TT also comes with a warranty.

Saturday 26th January 2019.

Just spending today Sunday familiarising myself with the instruction manuals for TT.

I have already booked one away trip to York in the first week of May when the Tour de Yorkshire is on.

Gridironman.

Just Two Rides this Week

I have had a busy week dealing with a number of other matters and then today going for a woodland walk.

Tuesday 15th January was a chilly day but I had an enjoyable ride with the Pedallers. 

Then on Wednesday, the LOTSW group met at the Little Kitchen Bistro but as it was a very cold & wet day we all turned up without our bikes and just chatted for over an hour. First time I'd seen David this year.

Thursday 17th January after attending to other matters I joined the HCMF at Easton so another short ride.

     

On Saturday I didn't fancy a ride in the rain so went to Uppark in Dobbin for a bit of "me time". Discovered that  H.G. Wells had lived there when his mother was the housekeeper between 1890 & 1893. They have a lot of his books on sale there. 

It was not too wet when I arrived and I did manage a short walk in the garden as well as a visit to the servants quarters before enjoying a casserole in the cafe, but then the mist descended and the views were hidden. On my way home at the top of Stoner Hill, I was up in the clouds.

Sunday 20th January. I have had a good walk in the sunshine in Chawton Woods with my daughter Sarah and her dog Luna.

I have been hatching a plot to further enhance my motor-caravanning experiences following my successful trips of 2018. Watch this space!

Gridironman.

Week 2 of 2019.

This week I seem to have become a regular E-Bike rider. I need to make sure it is not becoming a habit! I do have my excuses but maybe Bob was right and I am on that slippery slope away from proper road bikes. I have struggled a bit recently on Paris as is evidenced by the average speeds I've been recording. Maybe my little old legs haven't quite got the power they had. I don't really care as long as I can enjoy it whatever bike I ride. I have enjoyed the four very different rides I've had. They each have their good and bad points.

My first ride was on Tuesday 8th January with the Pedallers. We started from Old Basing. Here are the details:-

What I liked about this ride was the close friendship between the 9 of us who regularly ride together. The downside was having to use Dobbin to get to the start.

The second was on Thursday 10th January when I rode alone to join the HCMF at The Farmer's Home in Durley.

 This was a ride where I had no planned route so did what I love to do, just make it up as I go along. That and the friendship of the others at the pub made it a very social event. The downside was I didn't manage to persuade any of the AlresfordGroupetta to join me.

Then on Saturday 12th January, I joined a CTC ride. This was a large group of around 20 riders which means lots of stopping to regroup which I prefer to avoid. However, on the sunny side, it did enable me to say Happy New Year to many of my friends.

Our Mob! Picture by kind permission of Vicky.

To round off a good week I had a short ride on Sunday 13th January.

Don't be misled by the profile if you check it you will see that the difference between the lowest and the highest is only about 70 feet!

The good point for this ride was it was nice to say Happy New Year to the barmaid Sian who I have known for around 10 years. I don't think there was a downside!

Gridirnman.

A dry but chilly start to the new year.

I started the New Year with a dual purpose ride on Thursday 3rd January. I went on my carbon road bike, Paris, and managed a fairly lumpy ride OK though I was reminded why I had bought Txiki when the Pedallers dropped me on the climb through Kilmeston to Rookswood Farm. 

Last September my friend Jo took this picture of Sunflowers near West Stratton. 

This shot taken on my ride shows the same sunflowers looking rather sad.

   

On Friday, Jan 4th I took Txiki to The E-Bikeshop for his first free service and to have the puncture repaired. I told the mechanic that I had been unable to remove the tyre and he showed me how to do it. I was amazed he did it so easily in a few seconds. I am not sure that I can replicate how he did it. The service has improved the gear change allowing me a greater spread of cogs when using the 50 chainwheel.  

Saturday 5th January.

Paddy and I joined together for our first E-Bike ride of the year.

Venison the Band!

Marigold

Just to remind us that even at this time of year there is colour in our gardens I did a tour of my garden 
and recorded these flowers brightening my day. 

Primroses.

Snowdrops.

Jasmine.

Viburnum

Mahonia.

A different Viburnum.

Purple Sprouting.

To finish the week on Sunday 6th January I went to Kings Worthy to help with the catering at the end of The Watership Down Audax.

A very good start for the year with a total of 83.6 miles ridden. This is very similar to my weekly average for 2018. The most important part of this was sharing with and meeting friends and enjoying their companionship as well as the physical exercise.

With me washing and Caroline drying what could be better!

Gridironman

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