A Biking Week
Bike and Work, Work and Bike
I received a lovely present at Christmas, my next biking adventure in the Summer. A four-day trip to Scotland and its surrounding islands. I can’t wait.
To make the most of the trip I want to get as ride fit as possible. I decided not to embark on a full-on fitness plan as I won’t follow it, what with a busy work and family life. So, I simply set myself a target of riding at least 40 miles a week. This could be one long 40-mile ride at the end of a busy week, or hopefully smaller rides in the week at lunch or after work. So far so good…this week has been a particularly good week.
Tuesday : Monday is always a busy day in our household with a fast-paced workday followed by kids’ football and guides. So, my biking week tends to start on a Tuesday. The sun was shining at the start of the day, and I was up early. I decided to do a short ride before work. Out for a quarter to eight and back to start work. I did a quick route, mainly tracks and roadside paths especially along the busy Derby Road. Not an ideal off-road route but 9 miles off the weekly target, with a couple of short steep climbs to improve fitness.
Wednesday : This was my longest weekday ride this week. I did one of my favourite routes through Newstead Abbey, along Route 6 and then into Harlow wood. The wind was strong for most of the ride, but it wasn’t raining so the ground was good through the woods. I did just over 15 miles which is a great chunk from the weekly target.
Just as I was exiting Thieves woodonto Derby Road, I came across an amazing bird just gliding above me. It was a dark brown in colour with a wingspan of about one to two metres. It glided right into the tree just to the left of me. I thought at first it might be an owl, but it didn’t have the distinctive face of an owl. It obviously didn’t know I was there as it looked around, saw me and it took off into the sky. Those type of moments are why I love biking.
Thursday : Another shorter ride today during lunchtime. I headed in a different direction and tackled ‘ The Felly’ with it’s challenging climb. At 11 miles, it’s not to challenging apart from the steep ascent halfway round. The climb is about a quarter of a mile with about 200ft of climbing. I guess it doesn’t sound a lot, but it certainly is a good test. The worst bit is visually you think you have reached the top, but it sweeps left around a corner still climbing, psychologically it knocks you back.
The weather was perfect, but the ride certainly wasn’t without a little drama. Just as I was about to enter the climb a dog came running toward me barking and looking downright frantic. I tried to carry on riding to get past the owner, but the dog followed me. The owner was trying to catch the dog without any luck, so I foolishly stopped and put my foot down giving the owner chance to grab the dog’s collar. As I did the dog gave me a little nip on my calf, ouch! The owner was apologetic and kept saying she is trying to train it not to chase bikers and runners. My view is keep it on a lead until you are confident it won’t.
Saturday : With a spare afternoon I decided to get in a ride over 20 miles. I hadn’t ridden to Sherwood Pines this year so far so thought it would be the perfect opportunity. I took the route through cauldwell dam, Thieves wood, Harlow Wood, through Blidworth and into the Pines. The first half was with a little trouble. I had my first puncture in what I can remember as being forever. Normally the slime tube seals the hole, I put a little air in and carry on my way. I tried this on my first stop when the tyre felt squidgy, however, for this one it didn’t seem to be healing, so I had to make a second stop to get the tube out and stick a patch on. Havin just been through a stream of mud it wasn’t the pleasantest thing to do. I found two sharp thorns in the side wall of the tyre, removed them, popped the patches on and then pumped up the tyre. For some reason, when I reached the pines, the tyre was soft again. I pumped it up and thank goodness it lasted the remaining 10 miles home.
It was a cracking day for a ride, the sun was blearing down most of the way round. The total of the ride was 26 miles. A great distance to add to my goal.
So, with the week done I’d had some interesting rides but most importantly I’d done 61 miles, surely something towards improving my fitness for my summer trip. Let’s see how next week goes…
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