A good day...

First day at new job...



Fastest midweek training ride of the year so far. Over 17mph average.



Woo yay!!!

Black Anodized cheese…

Well that really didn’t go as planned.

Saturday Night: sort out bike and kit, newly purchased water bottles (without black mould), energy drink at the ready.

Sunday Morning: drive to start of Audax, put bike together, tighten up seatclamp. Thread strips out of seatclamp. Seatclamp appears to be made of some sort of black anodized cheese. Swear. A lot. Drive Home. Eat bacon sandwich. Steal clamp off wife’s bike. Ride 39 angry miles.

I can feel a strongly worded email to Specialized UK coming on.

In better news I now have a permanent job - woo hoo! I can actually start thinking about getting my favourite old frame built up again… I would be lying if I said I didn't have a spreadsheet for the build already...

Yesterday the UK got a good dose of snow. Rather than drive into work (which I have been doing recently – shame on me) I decided ride in the long way on the Love/Hate.

As I left the house just after 7am there was just a few snowflakes in the air and on the ground. Riding through Swithland woods the ground was completely frozen which very rarely happens in there. On to Bradgate Park for some early morning Cheeky Trails action and there was just a light dusting of snow but there was definetly more coming down. The trails were running superfast, say “Good Morning” to the deer, a muddy ditch that looks frozen but isn’t catches me out and pitches me over the bars landing on the hard frozen ground on the other side. Ouch.

Continue through Bradgate pausing only to take some photos of ducks and deer around a frozen lake, along with some gratuitous shots of the bike on the frosty ground. Its really coming down now.

Out of the park and up the hill to Markfield, 32:16 and Maxxis Minions at low pressures do not for easy road climbing make.

Past Billa Barra Hill and down the cheeky footpath trail to the Industrial Estate. There is a good covering on the ground but the frozen rutted mess of the footpath can be still felt underneath.

Into work for a hot shower and a Bacon Cob.

Spend more of the day looking out of the window at the snow coming down hoping it doesn’t melt. It doesn’t.

Ride the same way home but get a slush puppy enema between the fun snowbound offroad bits. Take in more Bradgate Park Trails and the singletrack in Swithland woods. Pausing briefly to take pictures of snow illuminated by lights.

Snow makes everything really hard work but Maxxis Minions work surprisingly well as snow tyres.


The big melt is due over the next 24 hours just in time for the Rutland and Beyond Audax I’m planning on doing on Sunday. The forecast is liking like rain/sleet and 2C temperatures. Joy.

Another Crispy Nightride and New Socks!

Out last night for the usual Tuesday night ride, more crispy frozen goodness. The Singlespeed has got its rigid forks back and it feels much better like that. With a set of squidgy Oury grips and some big fat Maxxis rubber to smooth out the rocky bits. I reckon its just about ideal for taking on the mountainous terrain around Leicestershire.
In lung news, it would appear that having a couple of lungfuls of Salbutamol before a ride seems to sort out my lungs a treat and they were fine in cold last night.


I am starting to become obsessed with cycling socks, I seem to wear them constantly apart from when I’m actually cycling! Its proper thick Merino sock under winter boot weather at the moment, so my burgeoning collection is just being worn whilst at work etc.

The latest additions:

Made by Sock Guy for Twin Six and supplied by Minx Girl/Russtler.

If you’re going to wear sock with pink skulls on you have to be fast, so I best get training that bit harder.

Hopefully if the forecasted snow turns up tomorrow, I'll have a nice snowy ride to and from work tomorrow. Might even get up really early and go via some cheeky trails!

Belated scores on the doors, Afan Argoed in the sun, The PA is being resurrected, My lungs are officially rubbish, Audax this weekend…

The mileage for January:
Road – 278.71miles - not bad.
Off Road – 52.5 miles - all at night a bit rubbish really but I have been road riding at the weekend. [Edit, I missed out on nightride]
Total – 331.21 miles

This weekend we headed down to Afan Argoed and I wheezed my way around the Skyline trail after having what appeared to be an Asthma attack on the first climb. No power in the legs and lungs contracting to the size of an eight year old’s made life somewhat difficult on the singlespeed. Pictures can be found on Pat’s flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/66688582@N00/ . However the weather was gorgeous with dry trails for the most part at great views.

We planned to ride on the Sunday too but much wheezing forced us to abandon that idea and we headed back early. Shame.

When I get a proper job, ie not a temp job, I’m going to build up my Dialled Bikes Prince Albert frame up. It’s going to be built up pretty much with the same sort of stuff it had on it when we were touring Europe (130mm Z1 Freerides, Saint Brakes, strong components, 2 rings and bash). It’ll be my Fun bike for big rides in big mountains and when I want to run gears. A few bits will move back from the singlespeed and some bits will be bought new and the forks need a service too. All in all it’s going to end up costing about 300quid to go from one bike back to two. I even have a spreadsheet. Can’t wait to do it as I miss that bike. Hopefully the job interview will go well this afternoon… So Mr Lees, why do want this job? Well…I have a frame…

After a trip to the doctor it would appear I am Asthmatic again. – Boo! But I now have performance enhancing drugs (a Salbutamol Inhaler – hardly EPO) – Woo! Did a easy road ride last night in the cold and a couple of preventative puffs of the inhaler seemed to do prevent bronchial constriction. – Yay!

Rutland and Beyond Audax this weekend, bobble hat, saddle bag and kagool at the ready. 100km or so and a couple of café stops. Should be ace!

Plan for the day…

1 - Spend the day daydreaming at work, read old copies of Dirtrag, surf the net, eat free lunch (woo yay!), write pointless nonsense.

2 - Go to job interview, try to do well.

3 – Drive to Ian’s, empty the contents of my car (bike, beer, kit) into his, change from suit to weekend scruffy wear, drive South Wales for a weekend of bike riding in the Sunshine!!!

We'll be riding at Afan Argoed on Saturday and then somewhere else on the Sunday.

Woooooooooohoooooooooooooo!