Suffering from a bad case of wind*

Nightride last night, we had lost Johnny and Trio to commuting duties so it was just me Si and Giles. I wasn't very psyched up for it, had considered bailing myself but set off and was doing OK till I got to the first offroad bit which was still full of ice. Oh dear not a good sign at all so road schlep up scout road, matchmoor and georges lane, wind was really bad on the tops but fortunatley behind me mostly. Wildeswood wasn't too bad bit of ice on the corners (nice) but had a decent run down.
Met up with the lads and off we went, didn't want to get to exposed or stray too far incase we ran into more ice so a lot of cheek was involved, some good some not. Couple of runs up and down the mainhill then we did ICR and it was ace, best run down in ages being on FS may have helped :-) Si's first go down there on his new 5 and he was impressed too. Was gonna call it a day but it was still early so back up this time to the pike. We got blown all over the shop, the last section I was zigzagging get blown way over to the right muscle it back to the left get blown across again. Mental! Never been riding in wind so bad. Steep downhill where we had to pedal sections to keep going and georges lane to finish with wildeswood. Giles was thirsty for more but I wanted to get back and Si didn't have the legs so we split.
Good start to the years nightrides. Quite impressed with the new storm control tyre I had on too, got it cos it was so cheap, £14 from edinburgh, bargain kevlar bead and dual compound too.

*sorry

Rough as toast

I'd forgotten how much havoc you can reek on your body with just a few hours down the boozer solid drinking. My mates birthday meant a meet up round his local and he drinks quick, the first couple pints take a while to go down but he gets quicker and pretty much doesn't stop accellerating til...well until it gets pretty messy. I bailed at 9 but am still feeling ropey this morning, was having dificulty remembering how to put on socks first thing, I had hoped the ride in would clear my head which it did but still suffering. Was a good afternoon, setting the world to rights and talking bollocks. Oh and I already knew strongbow was the devils piss but it turns out cool, clear, crisp, innocent looking Kopparberg is pretty evil stuff too, it's just a pity it's so tasty.

Wrong sort of snow

Plenty of that about yesterday, rode in offroad and wasn't too bad one narrow section the snow had turned into that grey thixotropic stuff thats a nightmare to ride on. On the way home it was a whole different receptacle of seafood. Lots more thixo and slush, proper slog to get home, over 2hours for ~13miles last snow ride for a bit I reckon. Looked fine as I left this morning but as soon as I got out the door it started raining, I'm really warming to that altura jacket, it's been plenty warm all winter and shrugged off the medium to heavy drizzle this morning. As pointed out in singletrack lycra thumb cuffs are rubbish when they get wet but if you got long enough gloves its ok. Gonna be too warm for milder weather tho so will have to look out for a thinner version.

Nearly had a heart attack when I thought a lorry hadn't seen me this morning. Him and a car infront of him were waiting to turn right blocking up a box junction I was going to cross, lights changed and car infront showed no sign of moving I waited a few second but still nowt so I went. Of course car chose that precise moment to move and so the truck moved too. Eeek. Fortnatley truck stopped and beeped. Pretty sure there should only be one vehicle waiting to turn right on a box junction tho and he should have stayed put behind the line.

You are in

Looks like I will be allowed to ride in the SSEC after all. Got the invite this morning woohoo. Well I'd have thought woohoo but not feeling too excited about it at the moment but I'm feeling ropey and it's pissing down. I'm sure I'll get more excited nearer the time.

The need...

Commuting has been hard work but not in the usual sense, knees are delicate so gotta take it easy but I've not been riding much so all this pent up energy is building up, it's difficult not to give in and go for it, lay down some tarmac shredding, stomach churning, knee crunching power and enjoy the speed and the burn in my legs. But no I resist, no point fecking my knees up on the daily commute and not being able to ride at weekend. Last night I saw a rider in the distance but let him go (!) however a bit later the road was oh so flat, my cadence high and I could still see him, how much damage can I do to my knees at over 100rpm? Not much surely so I opened the taps a bit, chased him down and passed him then had a bit of a chat when I got stuck at a redlight soon after. I set off again sloooooowly, easy on the knees then wound it up again to drop him. Felt good to coax a bit of speed out of the bike. Knees weren't sore later but definitley felt a bit 'tight' like your muscles do after a good workout :-( shall have to try harder to resist the need for speed in future.

How cute...

is he?

Grumble grumble

Well another failed attempt. Got the etsx out last night to try another xc commute, shock was bit soft but I thought it would be fine with a full 3 propedals of damping (I've lent my shock pump out) but out on the front street this morning it felt like a chopper, far too laid back. Damn! Back for the road bike again. Good job too, even after a few days rest my knee isn't 100%, it's aching now after the gentle commute in. Glucosamine, ibuprofen and cod liver oil are back on the menu :-( After a good start last week things have taken a turn for the worse.

Last week people were complaining about getting bored of the snow, not me I much prefer it to the dark wet weather we normally have about now. It's brighter, drier, the place looks better and it's fun for riding in, snows ace and I wouldn't have minded another few weeks. Unfortunatley it's now (very) slowly melting and turning to slush, which I hate grrr. More snow and cold temps or hurry up and melt please.