A Cotswolds Classic Round Up... Next Up, Yorkshire Shores!

May has been a scorcher! It's been a long time since I rode with the fear of sunburn and the smell of suncream all around...

Most of my riding focus for May (and April, to be honest) is on club's second training ride in the Cotswolds. I've never been to the Cotswolds (especially as a non-car driver, it's difficult to get to) so I jumped at the chance of a free trip - the weather was definitely a bonus! The route, starting outside of the Cotswolds in Burton Dassett, took us to the popular town of Broadway, before coming back up through Bourton-On-The-Water. 

What a day. Beautiful views, challenging hills, good company, great coffee - cyclist's live for these days. It was not quite the rolling country I was expecting from pictures (our local Leicestershire rides are far more undulating) or one similar to the Yorkshire Dales ride we did last year, which, despite the high elevations, felt much more relaxed. It was a scorching day, adding to the difficulty, one of my longest days on the bike, definitely my steepest, and to top that off, we ticked off two of the UK's Top 100 climbs. 

What was also great about the route put together was that it left a lot of the South and West of the Cotswolds to explore for another day, so I'll definitely be back, and hopefully with even better fitness and maybe a tent, a book and a gravel bike...

High up in the Cotswolds, with lovely greens and yellows everywhere

A good group of us, some sporting our new club jerseys!

Since the Cotswolds ride I've been giving more love to my Standert and doing some mixed-terrain rides at a slower pace. The next challenge ride (#3 of the year) is the Yorkshire Shores ride up in Scarborough, again with Glorious Gravel. I've opted for the medium route, 84k at just over 1000m of climbing - it'll be similar to the Sherwood Ride, but I aim to relax and enjoy it more - it'll most likely be a hot day! I'm still considering doing the long-version and relaxing more, but will make the call on the day.

Outside of the Scarborough ride, i've also planned a couple of multi-day bikepacking trips, but all dependent on work, money and how much freedom i've got. Happier days.

Summer Is Upon Us...

April is done.

The weather change has been dramatic, to say the least. Saturday and Sunday - wet, gale-force winds, all cyclists sweating away on indoor trainers and in gyms cursing their luck. Come Monday, there's an extra 6c in the air, the gravel bikes are out, and we're on (oddly) dry trails, bibshorts on and arms out. 

In a day it feels like Summer is upon is - insects are out, farm animals are out grazing in force and everything is looking green and lush.

The main excitement for this month has been new kit day - our new club kit has finally arrived! It's such great quality, everything fitting exactly as it should, feels light and the finishing on the bib shorts and arms of the jersey is top notch. It has a great ride feel - one to test out on a long training ride this weekend. There are definitely some improvements in the graphics, but for a first attempt, it's pretty great.

Vibrant and visible - a bee attractor!

Looking forward to a warm May - first weekend, the Cotswolds!

April: Week One Check In

April is the deep breath before the plunge (to quote Gandalf), a slightly odd balancing act, a lot of umm'ing and err'ing on my part with my eye on events in May and June.

After booking a non-cycling related camping two-nighter (for my partners birthday) I've dusted the tent off and started rifling through my bikepacking gear, salivating at the thought of a few wild-camps this month, with my eye on a few spots in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. 

Positively - I'm in good shape. April week one started as a tempo/threshold week, out on fast club and solo rides, which should probably be the flavour of the month - I probably do need to top up the endurance base with some extra gears, with one eye on the Cotswolds and possibly Norway in June. Those are going to be tough days, and the extra push now will likely pay off.

But - I'm tired. Mentally I'm fatigued with my career/future, and the thought of some slow cycling, phone-off, book and a spot in the woods/river would probably do me the world of good. I've got a weekend away at the Grand National with Dad this weekend, which will be a welcome (if not expensive) break from in-sanity. Decisions, decisions.

March - A Mega Month.

March - what a month! After taking winter training quite seriously this year (indoor FTP tests, intervals, and a lot more bike time), last month was the first real test of that. I'm really glad (and slightly relieved) that it stuck - my legs feel good!

The first and main highlight of March was my first gravel sportive, a long-route around Sherwood Forest with Glorious Gravel. It was a good first target for a few reasons - it's local(ish) to me, early enough in the year to encourage solid winter training, a push to get outside on the mucky stuff, and, as a by-product, creating and collecting some valuable routes for a gravel club I am (tentatively) putting together...

Off-piste in the fields, Ketton Quarry in view

Sherwood Forest Recap: After a super-early get-up time and a two hour drive we made it Sherwood. Initial forecasts in the week suggested the weather would be fair with some gusty winds. Well. I wish I owned a Dryrobe. Hailstones, rain, really gusty wind whipping across the field. Fun.

Excited (and chilly) at the start line

The aim was to have a fairly social paced sportive, going with some club members, many who prefer to take it easy and enjoy the views. With it hammering down at the start and very cold, I was really eager to setoff and warm up, but unknown to me, my club friends weren't behind me at all... I cycled on, setting a decent pace (aiming to meet them at the first feed stop), bumping into a chap called Mike, who, I could tell, was of a similar ability to me, and we paired up and got chatting. After a natter we kicked on, setting a great pace and I quickly decided (competitive streak activated...) that I'd race this one, and test myself, rather than wait around. After missing the first feed completely, hitting some CX-type patches and not wanting to stop for coldness, we literally caned it for the first 30 miles. It's hard to summarise the in's-and-out's, but everything about the cycling and route was brilliant - real mixed terrain, very stimulating and technical lines, something I just do not feel road cycling often.

Mike (who I met and paired with for the sportive)

We stopped at the second feed gasping for a coffee, some warmth and respite from the wind. Cafe legs kicked in back on the bike, and with the headwind in our faces again we pushed on pretty hard to to the finish. After picking up our medals, uploading to Strava and demolishing a hot breakfast wrap, it was a quick pack up and leave, which was a shame as the weather stopped the post-race enjoyment, which I'd heard was one of the best parts of a gravel event. Oh well, one goal ticked off the list.

Results: To my complete surprise - I did really well, coming 4th in my category, and only narrowly beaten by second and third place (although the guy in first place put nearly 30mins on me - machine). It's probably a bit arbitrary and silly to put that much credence into being '4th', but it feels like a really good payoff and dedication. As someone who considers themselves relatively new to cycling, and not very good at all, it has really encouraged me to train harder and see what I can achieve. Results really do help, no matter how they present themselves.

Outside of the result, I loved riding my new Standert. I'm so pleased with the way it feels (steel is probably not the obvious choice), with absolutely no issues in terms of speed, comfort and overall ride feel, with a bonus few nice comments about it from other participants making my day. Can't wait to do it again. Recap complete.

Nothing beats official pictures! 

Outside of the Sherwood sportive, the other milestone (and big test of the winter training) was our first structured club training ride, a really lumpy 100k ride at 1200m+. Knowing quite a few of these hills, and struggling up some of them last year on a similar ride, it was a pleasant surprise to really enjoy the day out, feeling strong and not suffering. With a few big days out in late April and May coming up (an Audax in the Peak District and our second club training ride in the Cotswolds), I feel i'm on the right track.

March also saw me complete my first Strava 600k badge; another pleasant surprise. Tick, tick.

Now to look forward to April. The days are longer, the sun is poking its way out more often and its finally warmer, so hopefully a fair few days in shorts and short sleeves and many evening rides in the light.

 

January and February, gone.

January and February gone, poof. 

It has been a busy couple of months. Post second week of January I finished a 3-month work contract and decided to have a week off the bike to go on a quick trip to Belgium, visiting Brussels, Bruges and Ghent - lots of walking, quite a few tipples and, of course, snow. 

Back in the UK and in between contracts (and thinking more work was imminent), I panic booked a mid-week trip to the Lincolnshire Wolds. I get a bit giddy building these mini tours and decided, as a Lincolnite, I'd go to the Wolds. Definitely not as popular (or probably as scenic) as other AOB's, but it's close to home and I was curious. As it's still cold and i'm not brave and/or mad enough to wild camp in January, I found some good lodgings at a pub, The Black Horse Inn, in Donington on Bain, about 12 miles from Market Rasen. Good accomodation, excellent food.

My trusty steed for the journey, a Temple Adventure Disc 2 - 105, set up with tool pouch and Restrap large conebag 

TBHI served as my base for a few days. Day One (the trip there + a 30/40 mile cycle around) proved a tough day on the bike! I took my steel Temple Adventure with a cone bag and a 12L backpack, definitely feeling the hills around - and they say Lincolnshire is flat! After a couple of punctures and niggling problems with seating tubes in a tubeless ready wheelset, decided to route through to Louth on Day Two (quick bike shop stop!) and head out to Mablethorpe after for some flat coastal rides, before heading back into a 20mph block headwind back to Donington. Phew. Both quite tough days. Day Three an easy day back to the station for the trip home. 

Lovely smooth sailing along the beach front at Mablethorpe 

The steepest, craggiest hill descent - took a month off my discs I think!

Like all small couplets of days out on the bike, what you prepare and what happens do not always tend to marry up - but that's cycling! I'm not the most mechanical of bicycle owners, so all experience is good experience. 

Post Belgium and Wolds is the main event - new bike day.

'Stan' - the new steed from Berlin

In love with my new steed, a Standert Erdgeschosse, in a flecked British-racing green / raw steel. It's a steel frame with carbon forks, a much racier geometry than my all-rounder Temple. It's like a glove in the (downgraded) saddle, with a simple Wing Win on the back. Chomped a few hundred miles on it so far. Decided to take the plunge and go tubeless - what a revelation. Still slightly worried about riding it on lower pressures, so the PSI is high and i'm bumping around off-round, but will get used to it eventually.

Needless to say, this is a dream bike of mine. I saw a load of Standert rigs at Rouleur, and while this one wasn't there in-person, I knew when I saw it online (and on sale!) I absolutely needed it to take the gravel riding seriously and to enjoy it tucked in and at speed. 

In the spirit of the new bike and gravel, i'm currently getting fit and ready for my first gravel event at Sherwood Forest with Glorious Gravel on the 23rd March. I've chosen the long-route to push myself (80km+) but hoping it'll be relatively dry and 'good' gravel. It'll be my longest stint off-road, but at an amble i'm sure i'll get round.

Beyond Sherwood, I'm also booked in for a long ride around the North York Moors, in-and-around Scarborough. The Glorious Gravel events seem a great first try of the overall scene, which I've seen and heard a lot of good things about. Here's to more miles!

January - Indoors!

A decent cycling week for January considering the weather, following the NYD ride out with a bit of Zwifting and a club ride, a 40ish mile ride to the Dairy Barn, a new cafe to add to the list. 100+ miles on the board. My aim is to average 90 or so miles a week this year.

Week has dropped in temperature, so planning a couple of indoor Zwift rides and hopefully a 50 on Sunday, give or take.

On the 'business' side of things, brochure for TCS is nearly complete, and the club newsletter is coming along nicely. Will share/update in time.

More excitingly, the Standert Erdgeschoss I ordered in November is in't shop (in Berlin) and should be with me in two-or-so weeks time. Get me on this bike.👆

Mixing it up in January.

By virtue of signing up to ‘compete’ in my first gravel race/event in Sherwood Forest in March, there’s no better time to start getting techy and hitting the off-road gravel-come-mud scene.

There’s not actually all that much gravel in my local area (minus a few trails leading to wind-farms, and a quarry), so public bridleways it was. Created a 20-mile off, 25mile on road route, with the off a mixture of cycle-paths, gravel and public bridleways.

Turns out, public bridleways in this county are a bit of a myth. They either do not exist – in which I ended up on a farmers doorstep or nearly KO'ing into a fence/wall – or they’re not maintained; crumbling and barely useable. Compound that with the sheer amount of rain we’ve had and well – slip, slop, failure.

A few diversions here and there (unfortunately back on road) and it ended up being a pleasant and warm ride, visiting villages new to me such as Irnham, Keisby and Aslackby, with undulating hills, nice sweeping lanes and really beautiful skies.