Stoke Charity a Magnet?

What a change this week, after not having more than one ride a week recently I managed to fit in three, totalling around 117 miles. Interestingly all three of them saw me riding through Stoke Charity.

Having managed three rides in the week I decided to get in a couple of walks on Saturday and Sunday in the somewhat drier weather. The Saturday walk was in the grounds of Mottisfont Abbey where I made the most of the sunny spell and managed to get a few photos of the winter garden. I thought you might like to see them. 

Here are the details of my rides:-

 Tuesday 25th February 2020.

Wednesday 26th February 2020.

Thursday 27th February 2020.

So after two months of 2020, I have managed less than 500 miles a mere 25% of my target. Next week I will be away, if the weather permits, not riding my bike, so no improvement then!

Gridironman.











Thursday 27th February 2020.

Two Weeks of Wind and Rain.

What an awful spell of non-cyclist friendly weather. That combined with some minor health problems for both me and Txiki has limited my rides to only two over the first two weeks of February.

Not very long ones either. Here they are for the record:-

February 6th 2020.

I was pleased to have Txiki back in service for my second ride. I really do find that gentle help makes a lot of difference, as you can see from the much better average speed even though the route was hillier.

February 12th 2020.

One good thing about the weather is that with being kept indoors I have managed to do some much-needed housework like deep cleaning the cooker etc.!

Gridironman.

An Unlucky Week!

Took advantage of the mild weather to tidy my garden today, Sunday 2nd February 2020 so that I can more easily see and enjoy the many flowers that are out.

Lenten Rose.

I have been blessed over the last few years with mostly good luck but my good fortune seemed to run out on Tuesday when along with two others I had a punctured tyre. The day had started badly with my water bottle leaking onto my top layer of clothes whilst in transport, this meant I was short of cover on what was a very chilly day with a strong westerly breeze. That led to my being thoroughly chilled whilst hanging around for repairs. I felt quite unwell at one stage but once my puncture had been repaired getting riding again, as hard as I could, improved my circulation & made me feel better.

The following day when Andrew was working on Txiki, topping up the sealant inside my tyre, he discovered I had a broken spoke in the back wheel. Quite tricky to replace because of the gear cluster and brake disc. He has ordered a new replacement so I hope Txiki will be ready again shortly. 

Spot me and my bike in the middle of the scrum as my pals rally round to fix my flat!

A selection of the flowers open in my garden today. February 2nd, 2020.

Saturday 1st February I rode to Kings Worthy to collect a small car which I am borrowing for a while from my son in law, Steve, to enable me to pay a few social visits to friends and family before the camping season starts.

Cheers,
Gridironman.

Surprisingly Another "Ton Up"

Oast Houses in East Worldham.
A reminder that hops used to grown in this corner of Hampshire.

My week started badly when on Tuesday, after a sleepless night, I was not feeling too chipper, so I cancelled my ride with the Pedallers. However, after going back to bed for a couple of hours more sleep and a lazy day I felt much better. 

Then on Wednesday 22nd January, I went out on Txiki to test him after the freewheel replacement and also to check myself. We both came through with flying colours.

Orchard with apples lying on the ground.
Possibly too costly to pick

On Wednesday. lane near Cheriton Mill
still flooded with slush & ice.

Then on Thursday 23rd January, I rode again, this time to join the HCMF at the Three Horseshoes.

Saturday 25th January 2020.

Winchester CTC Easy Ride.

Stoke Charity Church.

Only a few miles ridden, no wonder they all look so fresh.

Carrie, three from the right, has successfully herded her cats at the bottom of Ashley Hill. 

If you are not in one picture maybe you are in the other!

Don't forget if you click on a picture you can see it screen size.

I was surprised to see that the highest point of the day was on the Old Sarum Road, just west of the junction with Kilham Lane.  I guess the gradual climbs through the outskirts of Winchester don't seem to register like some of the others.

I was very pleased to meet so many of my friends throughout the week to enjoy their company. Thank you all. I also managed to connect with my son in law Steve who was, quite by chance, at the cafe with his own group of cycling friends.

Total miles for the week 113.7, my first "Ton" of the year.

Gridironman.

What, No E-Power

With Txiki out of commission at the moment I have to rely on pedal power this week. I did miss his gentle assistance on the hills. The E-bike Shop informed me on Saturday that the necessary part had been tracked from Spain to Heathrow so should be with them shortly.

Wednesday 8th January 2020.

Part one of TeeTee's annual MOT, habitation check and service trip. I drove to Lower Upham with Posh on the rack and then rode home via Winchester to avoid the hills. Looking at the profile I see I managed to make it harder than necessary by following the NCR 25 via Winnall and Easton. Fortunately, the rush hour traffic had subsided by the time I was approaching Winchester and I made use of quieter roads through Colden Common. 

Thursday 9th January 2020.

Part two. A ride to Upham to collect TeeTee. It was a happy coincidence that the HCMF meet was at the Farmer's Home in Durley so I was able to combine lunch there with collecting TeeTee. As I left the pub it started to rain gently and then within a few minutes it turned into a proper downpour. I sped along Sceivers Lane, to get into the dry at Lower Upham, at fourteen miles an hour setting a new PB. So not missing the E-power here! I am pleased to say that TeeTee had passed the various checks with flying colours.

Was soon back home and in the warm shower while my damp clothes were getting a rinse too.

Sunday 12th January 2020.

Paddy conquers Riverdown

View towards Cheriton.& Hinton Ampner.

Hinton Ampner House glowing in the sunshine..

Only 56 miles ridden this week, but I am quite happy with that as each of my three rides has been enjoyable despite mixed weather and mucky wet roads.

Gridironman.

First Forrays of 2020.

A pretty good start to the year with two good rides, but then a minor problem on the third spoilt the run of luck.

Managed to get this lovely picture on my third ride in the village of Bentworth. 

Created by the guy who lives there whose previous "venison" creations included this one:

New Years Day January 1st 2020.

A reasonable day as regards weather so I thought why not take the roundabout road to the Flower Pots to celebrate the new year.

It turned out well so although I rode alone met plenty of friends and other customers to chat to.

1938 Alvis outside the Flower Pots.

Thursday 2nd January 2020.

First HCMF Meet of 2020. A good turnout of fifteen.

Saturday 4th January 2020.

Hope to get Yxiki mended soon, in the meantime I will have to ride Paris or Posh. As Posh has not been out this year perhaps it's his turn. I have been in touch with the bike shop and they have ordered the replacement part. Should not take long to fix it they told me.

Gridironman.

Late night final! Read all about it.

This is the last edition of my blog "On My BIke 2019". Will need a new title for next year.

Only one ride to report but I have added a new page for my Data 2019 and updated My Bikes page too.

Check them out! (See the link tabs below my heading picture.)

Here is today's ride:

Tuesday 31st December 2019.

My average weekly mileage for the year finished at 92.8 miles per week.

A Very Happy New Year to All My Readers.

Gridironman.

Festive Season Rides

Tuesday 24th December 2019.

Christmas Eve.

With none of the Pedallers being available to ride I decided to join the Winchester CTC's Tuesday ride led by Ian.

Friday December 27th 2019.

Paddy and I went for an easy ride to work of a few of the excess Christmas calories. We needed to get back before 2 p.m. so we shortened our planned route accordingly. Our first and second choice of cafe were both closed so we went into the Anvil which was pleasantly quiet with just a few other customers.  Unusual nice cakes too. We were amused when the young lady serving us checked whether we were clean to avoid dirtying the carpets and furniture. We passed muster! We made it home in plenty of time.

 Sunday 29th December 2019.

Once again I was without riding pals so I set off without any clear destination, other than to go North. When I got to Dummer I decided to cut across to the B3046 and descend to the outskirts of Basingstoke and then head for Conkers. Exciting descent into Cliddesden topping 41 mph. Apart from getting lost on a cycle path through an estate near to the A30 I was soon at Conkers where I enjoyed a nice break before resuming my ride suitably fortified with Sussex Fruit Cake and a large coffee. Plenty of other cyclists about in groups both family and club, some on road bikes others on hybrids or mountain bikes. A fair size group from Alton, but no one I recognised.

Pleased that I have been able to top the "Ton" once more with a total of 116 Miles for the week. All of it on Txiki. The E-power has certainly helped me to keep going. My knee is back to normal aches & pains!

Still time for more rides in 2019, maybe with the Pedallers on Tuesday. 

Gridironman.

Sunshine with Flooded Roads & a Little Rain.

Just a few flints.
Did they all come off one field?

Reminds me of the story told by Eric Newby in his book "Love and War in the Apennines". Whilst escaping from the Germans during the war he was sheltered by an Italian family. He worked to pay for his keep clearing a field of stones. He thought "What a lazy bunch, why haven't they done this before". In the night it rained and the following morning the field was once more full of stones!

For my cycling friends:- "Where is the pile?"

Because of the very wet weather and other reasons I have only managed two rides this week.

Wednesday 18th December 2019.

Sunday 22nd December 2019.

Two more easy rides to aid recovery.

With the end of the year fast approaching I am a little disappointed that I will not achieve my aim to average 100 miles per week. However, I feel really blessed that I have managed my second-highest annual mileage already and have far outstripped my original target of 4,500 miles. This is partly due to my successful plan to combine Cycling with Motor-Caravanning during which I rode 777 miles over 8 away trips. I was not lucky with the weather on some of those trips or I would have done more. I did enjoy some good walks on those trips too and visited many National Trust properties. Apart from three weeks when I couldn't ride due to illness or injury I have ridden every week throughout the year.  Still over two weeks to go, hope the weather stays mild.

Wednesday 11th December 2019.

Saturday 14th December 2019.

Total miles this year to date: 4621.

Gridironman.

On the road to recovery.

Saturday 7th December 2019.

As my knee is much better I decided to test myself with a ride with Winchester CTC. I planned to ride into Winchester, with the option that I could, if necessary, abort at Kings Worthy and leave my bike there at my daughter's home. All went well and I made the rendezvous in good time to join Kate and six others. The ride was an easy one, with the help of E-power I lead the way a lot of the time. Our coffee stop was at The Village Cafe, Micheldever Station. Here we were joined by Ian and after our stop Clive and John left us. As we neared Alresford I was beginning to think I'd had enough and left the group to return home. No ill effects from the ride, after a warm bath and a pizza for lunch I was fully fit and ready to watch the UK Championship Snooker semi-finals.

I was very happy with my progress but I was glad of the help from the E-power as it kept any stress to the knee at a low level for even after just four weeks since my tumble my fitness was noticeably low. 

Sadly, I think I still need to take it easy a little longer and skip the Pedallers ride & lunch on Tuesday. 

On Thursday the HCMF meet is at The Brushmakers, Upham, so I think I will be OK for that.

Gridironman.

Face Plant & all that!

For those of you who haven't seen the news on FaceBook the reason I've not been active on my blog since 10th November is that on the 11th I tripped and fell flat on my face when walking up a neighbours path. The damage to my face was quite painful and I also knocked my knee badly. However, my "good looks" are almost back to normal whilst my knee is only slowly doing so.

It looked even more colourful the next day!

Fortunately I was able to get home with the help of my friend who brought me home in her car (100yds or so). She made me a cuppa and came back later to check I was OK. Thanks Angie.

On Thursday I drove for the first time since my tumble and took part in the HCMF Festive Lunch at the Cart & Horses. Kings Worthy. A most enjoyable day with 25 or so friends.

Then on Friday I tried a small bike ride. To the library just to check if I could still ride. My biggest problem was getting on and off the bike and getting started after temporary stops in traffic but on the whole it went well.

Today, I decided to try a little longer ride but avoided any hills. What better way to do this than to pop to the "Flower Pots".

Once more things have gone well but I am very careful not to overdo it. 

A big thanks to my many friends & family who have been so supportive and kept me from going stir-crazy when I could only hobble around at home. 

Looking forward to adding to my mileage for 2019, even though I will not be expecting to reach my target of 5,200 miles.

Gridironman.