New front light - Smart Lunar 35

My front light on my hybrid packed up last week when cycling home - or to be precise it went off once and I fiddled with it for 5 mins in the dark and it came back on long enough to get me home. I then took it apart to check the connections and couldn't get it to work at all. So I bought one of these which is pretty good, and although it only needs 2 x AA batteries rather than the 4 my old one used, it's a lot brighter. As I needed it quickly I had to buy it from my local bike shop for £39.95 rather than the £17.50 online price!

35 mile ride in Chilterns

I did a circular ride yesterday on my road bike, mainly to see if I could make it up the steep hill between Saunderston and Speen, that is on the Iain Rennie ride. Well I can't - so will have to resort to walking up the last bit. Even on my hybrid with my lowest granny gear (32 back - 28 front) this 1 in 3 hill is difficult, and walking up it is about as quick. I might swap my 11-25 cassette on my road bike for an 11-28 one sometime, but will probably wait till it next needs servicing. My local bike shop prefers to replace the cassette whenever the chain is worn and a bigger gear range would be good for touring with panniers (not that I have any plans at the moment).

The forecast was for dry weather and above freezing, but it was still cold at about 4 deg C. I'd wished I'd have put my overshoes on - not just 2 pairs of socks, and had an extra layer on my chest or a warmer jumper underneath my waterproof jacket.

I also tested out a map holder which I bought for Audax directions, but found I couldn't really see the Google map print outs clearly without reading glasses! It should be useful for directions though and clips on and off easily. I might be able to use it for maps if I printed bold clear ones.

Sponsored Ride on Sunday March 25th

I've registered for the 75 mile ride to raise money for the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home charity this year. Please sponsor me at my site : http://www.justgiving.com/PeteBradburyBikeRide

Picture left from last year after the 35 mile ride. This year I'll be on my road bike.

New Year's Day Ride

Having spent Xmas with my family in Vietnam and returning back on new year's eve morning I got up quite early on new years day still feeling stiff from the 12 hour flight. So I set off at 9am and cycled around 24 mile north on country lanes to near Stoney Stratford. The weather was mild and fine, but there were some puddles to test out my clip on mudguards. They worked and I did the 48 mile round trip in 4hrs including breaks to stretch and have snacks.