The Nickey Line

Nicky and I had a family lunch to attend yesterday near Kimpton east of Harpenden, Herts, which was a 25 mile ride cross country. The weather was excellent for cycling - wall to wall sunshine, about 25C with a breeze. We set off at around 10am, cycled over the Chilterns to Potten End, stopped for our flask of coffee at Redbourn, then cycled on the aptly named  Nickey Line - and off-road bike track on an abandonned railway line between Redbourn and Harpenden. Although the surface was a bit stoney and muddy at least it was flat. We got there about 12.30 and had a long buffet lunch and a couple of  beers outside with about 15 others, then headed back about 4.30pm. The return journey was a bit tougher partly as we were going into the wind. So it was a 50 mile ride with quite a few hills in excellent weather. Nicky did well and it was probably the longest she's cycled in 1 day (although she's done several almost as long.)

Total weekly mileage 98. (3 commutes)

Haddenham

Nicky & I cycled a round trip of 41 miles today in a fine and sometimes sunny day. We stopped at Haddenham thinking we'd have a pub lunch, but the pubs we tried only had no food or roasts. So we made do with our flask of coffee and cereal bars, next to the duck pond.
Total mileage this week 82 miles.

Land's End Route Revisited

I realised the other day that next summer Nicky and I won't have to get to Penzance in 5 days, but could take 6 days and still have the day for a round trip to Land's End and 2 days off before heading home. This would mean we'd only have to cycle 45 to 50 miles a day over a 2 week period, and would see a bit more of the sights and have time for long lunches! We also decided to go back over Dartmoor! So I re-planned the route as follows:

1. Sat - Tring to Newbury, 50 miles
2. Sun - Newbury to Frome, 53 miles
3. Mon - Frome to Wellington, 49 miles
4. Tue - Wellington to Oakhampton, 45 miles
5. Wed - Oakhampton to St Austell, 52 miles
6. Thu - St Austell to Penzance, 42 miles
7. Fri - Penzance, Land's End, Penzance, 20 miles
8. Sat - Day off
9. Sun - Day off
10. Mon - Penzance to Lostwithiel, 50 miles
11. Tue - Lostwithiel to Mortonhampstead, 52 miles
12. Wed - M'hampstead to Ilminster, 47 miles
13. Thu - Ilminster to Warminster, 45 miles
14. Fri - Warminster to Newbury, 50 miles
15. Sat - Newbury to Tring, 50 miles

Total mileage 605 (although it will probably be longer as we'll take some back roads).
Only 2 commutes by bike this week, so weekly mileage only 32 miles so far.

Paris Geneva Nice

One of the cyclists on my brother's ride last month has posted some photos on the following sites. It looks like they had good weather most of the time and lots of fun. I'm jealous I couldn't make it. http://paristogeneva.weebly.com/
http://genevatonice.weebly.com/
My brother Mike's the bearded grey haired chap, frequently seen posing amusingly by road signs ("Mens" is my favourite one in the 2nd set!). Eurostar managed to buckle his back wheel on the way over so he had to ride a hybrid on the first day till Discover Adventure replaced it for him.
This week I've only ridden 32 miles, 1 commute and a short ride yesterday.

Spinning

I went along to my old spinning class yesterday and had a good workout. The weather's been a bit wet for cycling to work, and I'm sharing lifts with my son at the moment as he has a 3 week summer job.
Meanwhile in Hungary, where we're cycling next month, it's sunny and 35C. My brother Mike finished his Paris to Nice bike ride last week, but I haven't had chance to talk to him as he's still in France.

Winslow Circuit

Nicky and I cycled 37 miles on our hybrids today, having lunch at a café in Winslow N Bucks. The weather was quite pleasant for cycling, although quite windy with some drizzly showers I don't think were forecast. Nicky did well considering it was her work's do last night and she had several beers and a Jäger bomb! (I was driving). I tried out my cargo shorts which kept my thighs cool and didn't cause soreness, but I think padded shorts would be better on long trips. I might use them for commuting on hot days.
I did a short 13 mile ride yesterday on my road bike up Ashridge and nr Ivinghoe Beacon too, which along with 3 commutes makes my weekly total 98 miles.

TLET Route Planning

I've been giving a little thought today for our planned route for Tring-Land's End-Tring (TLET for short). We'll probably take a slightly different route back than there, and plan to stay with friends at Newbury and my brother and his wife in Penzance. I'm also trying to keep the daily mileages below 65 and avoid any major hills and dual carriageways - mainly for my wife's benefit, and bearing in mind we'll be carrying luggage. My first draft is as follows:

1. Tring to Newbury - 50 miles
2. Newbury to Shepton Mallet - 65 miles
3. Shepton Mallet to Crediton - 65 miles
4. Crediton to Liskeard  (north of Dartmoor) - 53 miles
5. Liskeard to Penzance - 63 miles
6. Penzance - Land's End - Penzance - 20 miles

We plan to have a day or two at Penzance before heading back home.

Land's End and Back - Summer 2013

My wife Nicky's just got charitable status for her special needs school, so I suggested last night we could do another charity ride sometime. She was wondering about LEJOG on a tandem, but we eventually decided that a tandem would be expensive, and might not get used much, and that it would be difficult to transport to/from the start/end. So we decided on a Land's End return trip from Tring taking in a few sights and friends over 2 weeks in Aug 2013. We'll be unsupported on our hybrids but staying in hotels or with friends along route. The distance will be around 650 miles. It should be fun.

Walking not cycling

I haven't been on a bike for over a week now - which is a bit unusual. We went away over the Jubilee bank holiday to Southwold and had planned to take our hybrids, but decided to just go walking instead - partly as the forecast wasn't that good and partly as it is a bit of an effort loading the bikes onto the roof rack and getting all the gear togther. In the end the weather was quite nice and we only had light rain on one of our walks. On this wet day my feet got wet walking through long wet grass in the first 5 mins, as my so called waterproof Peter Storm boots weren't! My wife's Brasher boots on the other hand kept her dry all day, so last week I invested in a pair of these myself (Brasher Suparlite II GTX pictured), and spent the weekend breaking them in. I'm pleased with them so far.
I'm hoping to get back on my bike this week if the rain stops!

New Shorts

I bought the cycling shorts pictured, for our summer hols and rides to the pub etc, where I don't need Lycra. They have a reinforced towelling cloth in the saddle area, and should be good enough for my hybrid.