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.

New Mudguards

I bought some SKS Race Mudguards for my road bike, which are clip on ones easier to fit, and a better fit than my Crud ones. I've fixed them on but haven't given them a proper road test yet. I've also been comparing the weight of my road and hybrids with pannier rack, mudguards, lock and full wedge saddlebag and the road is 12 kg compared with 15 kg for the hybrid. So on a touring trip with luggage it would make sense to use the road bike. I'd quite like to do a tour round France or somewhere one day.

Short Cycle in Shorts

I went for a 15 mile ride last Sat in the mild November sun in shorts and jersey. Today and yesterday I was back in winter tights and jacket on my daily commute.

Lathkill Dale Peak District

I didn't do any cycling this weekend as we were up in the Peak District, and stayed overnight on Sat at Youlgrave. We did a 10 mile walk starting at Youlgrave over the fields to the top of Lathkill Dale and back. I also cycled to work 3 times last week.

Ride on the Hybrids

Nicky and I went for a ride yesterday via Long Marston, Cheddington, Slapton, Billington, Eaton Bray and Dagnall (fairly flat) then up and over Ashridge and home. We stopped for coffee in the sun at a conveniently placed bench near Slapton. I'm not sure of the mileage as I found I had a puncture or valve problem before we set off, so changed my inner tube, then put my front wheel round the wrong way - which meant that the magnet on the spokes was on the wrong side! At least I didn't have to cycle backwards. According to MapMyRide it was 23 miles though.

Nyctophobic Audax

I did my first ever 100 km audax yesterday from Chalfont St Peter to a cafe on the banks of the Thames at Benson (pictured) , and back via some quite tough hills and narrow country lanes in the Chilterns. It was a good day, and I found the pace about right (13.2 mph average). Some riders went quite a bit faster than me downhill, but my brakes aren't brilliant so I take it steady (I've since adjusted them to make them sharper). The weather stayed dry but was cool. There was quite a range of ages from 20s to 70s and a mixture of bikes from steel to carbon, some with luggage and mudguards - others carrying hardly anything. We spent around 5 hrs cycling - 6hrs in total, and I was glad I didn't do the 200km Anfractuous - which probably meant finishing after dark. Hence the name of the one I did I assume - nyctophobia being fear of the dark.

Map here http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Nyctophobic-2011

A Ride in the Sun

I did a 36 mile round trip to Chinnor and Towersey on Saturday in about 29 deg C heat. Had lunch on a park bench in Towersey - site of folk festival. It was a bit hot for cycling much further. I'd pumped my tyres up to 120 psi and found my hands seemed to suffer from tingling on the way back. I also had my mudguards on in preparation for next week's audax, and kept getting leaves and bits of grit between the guards and tyres. Maybe I should have bought clip-ons. I think I'll remove them after the audax.