Enjoying the start of spring...

Getting some extra miles in, by riding the bike during my breaks at work, didn’t quite work out as planned this week. I managed just one lunch time ride, of 5 miles, on Monday and then didn’t get chance again for the rest of the week! The best laid plans and all that. Still, it’s been another good week with a further 161 miles being covered. Of those miles, 122 were from commuting to and from work and the other 39 came from a rather nice ride in the sun this morning.

During the ride into work on Monday I heard my first Chiffchaff of the year with a single bird singing by the river near Alvaston Park. By the end of the week the number of singing birds was close to double figures. On Friday it was Sand Martins that put in their first appearance of the year (for me) when I spotted two flying around over their regular nesting site, again by the river.

On Monday and Tuesday I took a little time out to watch the sun start to go down over Derby whilst riding home from work. I didn’t have the camera with me so had to make do with the one on my phone - not great results but you can get a feel of how nice the weather was.

This morning I took the Cannondale Bad Boy out for a lazy few hours of riding. The 39 mile ride could have easily been much longer, if only I could have been bothered to put some thought into were to ride! I set off at just after 8am and just followed my front wheel. I had no idea where I was going to go, or how long I planned on being out. Not a great way of achieving a decent mileage.

In the end, my route took me out to Swarkestone, along the canal path to Weston and then Aston, through the grounds of Elvaston Castle before heading to Alvaston Park. Here, I took a little break, Hobbit style, and enjoyed “2nd breakfast”. A sausage and bacon sandwich from the cafe set me up perfectly for the next part of my ride!

The second part of the ride saw me head over to Allestree, Duffield and Little Eaton before climbing up into Holbrook. From there I passed through Kilburn, Horsley Woodhouse, Smalley and Morley before heading back towards home via Oakwood and the edge of Spondon. The ride served its purpose, in so much as I got some miles in, but it proved that, for me, the secret to longer distance rides is planning. With no pre-planned route I just fumbled my way around and headed for home too early. The body was strong but the mind was weak!

The Cannondale Bad Boy, in the

early morning mist.

Stats for todays ride were...
Total distance - 39 miles
Total time - 2hrs 30min
Max speed - 32mph
Average speed - 15.9mph
Calories burnt - approx 1705

Just another week...

After enjoying a gorgeous day last Sunday, when I rode up to Chatsworth and back in just a pair of summer weight cycling leggings and a lycra cycling shirt with arm warmers, it’s been back to more seasonal weather over the past week. The temperature has dropped back into single figures, the clear blue skies have been replaced by cloudy, dull ones and the wind has picked up again. Thursday was the worst of the week, with dense fog greeting me as I set of for work on the bike. By the end of the 7 mile ride I was soaked - I hate fog about as much as I hate rain.

The total mileage for the week, commuting to and from work, was 129 miles, taking the total for the year to 1,212 miles, 155 miles ahead of last year's total at this point. Fingers crossed, I’m hoping to get a few extra miles in this coming week by getting out on the bike during my breaks at work. It will only be around five miles each day, but every mile counts. Plus, it’s a break from the day job!

Now, a few photos. Nothing special, just a handful of shots from around the garden yesterday lunchtime. If nothing else, they make me feel as though warmer, longer days are on the way.

Ta ta!

The ladybirds in the photos... I had a quick count-up of the ones I could find easily around the front garden today. More than 110 of them!

A 70 mile morning...

A further two weeks on from my last update and it’s cycling that is on my mind, once again.

The continuing run of dry, and at times rather warm, weather has allowed me to keep on clocking up the miles, with just over 313 of them passing under my wheels. The total mileage for the year now stands at 1083 miles. That’s 139 miles more than the same time last year. I’m pleased to be ahead of last year, but would rather the gap was a little bigger!

Today, the weather was just about perfect for cycling so, at just after 7:00am, I set off on the road bike and headed north. Seventy miles, and 3hrs 50mins, later I was back home having passed through Derby, Duffield, Belper, Matlock, Chatsworth Park, Bakewell and then back again along the A6. With all the speed limits that are now in place along the A6 any journey into the north of the county by car can be time consuming, but it does make the road feel just a little safer when on a bike! Some you win, some you lose I guess.

Stats for todays ride were...
Total distance - 70 miles
Total time - 3hrs 50min
Max speed - 32mph
Average speed - 18.3mph
Calories burnt - approx 3200

 

A view of Chatsworth Park - whilst taking

a food & drink stop.

Bacon butty power...

Two weeks on from my last update and the weather, the season and the mileage has moved on, swiftly.

The snow has gone, the temperature has rocketed up to the dizzy heights of around 17°c during the past week, spring flowers are in bloom and my cycling mileage has benefited as a result. The week of Feb 13 - 19 saw me cover a total of just over 132 miles, a huge leap from the meagre 25 miles I managed in the snow and ice of the previous week. During the past seven days, I’ve upped the pace a little more and clocked up a further 160 miles.

As a result of these two weeks of better weather my mileage for the year now stands at 770 miles, a rather pleasing 102 miles more than I rode in the same period last year. If I’m to hit my target of 6,000 miles before the end of the year I’m going to have to start and rack up some much higher totals over the coming months but, at this point, I’m feeling reasonably confident that it may just be attainable.

Although I’m going to be focusing on my yearly mileage target this year, I’ll be making sure that the way I go about reaching it will be as enjoyable as possible too. So, today's 50 mile ride around South Derbyshire included a stop at Alvaston Lake, to see the birds there, a quick photo stop for spring crocuses and, the best bit, a delicious bacon sandwich an hour into the ride! I burnt around 2,400 calories during this morning's ride.... so a bacon sandwich is just like putting a couple of gallons of fuel in the tank of your car! That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking by it!

Having just seen the weather forecast for tomorrow afternoon (rain) I think I’ll be riding the short route home from work and treating it as a “rest day”.

Enjoy your week!

Crocuses in Alvaston Park.

Not a great week...

For 2012, I’ve set myself the challenge of cycling at least 6,000 miles. Up until last Saturday (Feb 4th) all was going well. The weather had been mainly dry, if cold, and the mileage had been steadily adding up. In total, I’d covered 451 miles - 53 miles more than the same period last year. Now, just one week later, I’m 24 miles BEHIND last year! I hate snow!

The forecast had been for snow to hit Derby at around 3pm last Saturday and, almost to the minute, hit us it did. By late evening around four inches of snow had covered all the side roads and, more importantly for me, the cycle paths. Any thoughts of a Sunday morning ride were quickly forgotten. It was a day for drinking coffee in front of the TV and dreaming of spring.

The garden on Sunday morning.

By Monday, the gritting lorries had the main roads and bus routes clear of snow so I set off (slowly) on the ride to work. I’d planned on riding along the cycle paths at a nice steady pace and covering around seven miles. Just a few yards onto the path and I changed my mind! The new tyres I’ve fitted to the winter bike are a complete waste of time on snow, and I had to take my chances with the rush hour traffic, on the roads.

The tyres, Continental Travel Contacts, are claimed to be “the best thing I have ever had on a bike” according to one world touring cyclist, and “great on the road and not bad either when the road ends and some off road riding is required” on the Continental web site. Neither mention the fact that the tyre turns your bike into Bambi on ice! That said, they have proved to be spot on for the reason I did fit them... to stop punctures. They’re Kevlar reinforced.

Needless to say, the rest of the, very snowy and icy, week has seen me riding to work on the roads and, as a result, dropping a lot of miles. The total mileage for the week was just 25 miles - I often cover that distance with just one day's commuting.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to be able to get back to riding my usual routes to and from work and starting to claw back all those lost miles.

Roll on spring!

The Times Cities fit for cycling campaign...

Taken directly from The Times website...

"In November, Times journalist Mary Bowers was just yards from arriving at work on her bike when she was hit by a lorry. Mary, 27, is still not conscious and is making a slow recovery in hospital.

Tragically, such an accident is far from rare. More than 27,000 cyclists have been killed or seriously injured on British streets in the past 10 years.

On the urban roads of Britain today cyclists need to be fit for cities. Cycling should be both safe and pleasurable. Ministers, mayors and local authorities must build cities that are fit for cycling.

The Times has launched a public campaign and 8-point manifesto calling for cities to be made fit for cyclists."

Please, take the time to click on the badge below, have a read of their page and pledge your support for this campaign.

Since I've been gone...

Right, here goes. After being away from blogging for almost two years this update could well be hard going - both the writing of it and for anyone who reads it! I will try and keep the past 20 months brief, but I’ve said that before on many an update!

Birding

Updating things on the birding front is going to be very easy... I’ve more or less given up on it since the middle of 2010. What used to take up most of my spare time for the past 20 odd years now fails to grab me in the way it once did. The interest hasn’t left me completely, I still make a mental note of the birds around me at all times, but the binoculars and ‘scope rarely get an outing now.

Maybe this break will see me return to the “sport” with renewed vigour at some point in the future. And that could be the reason for the move away from birding - it was becoming too much like a “sport”! Year-on-year it had become a case of trying to see more species; see more species than someone else; see more species in a set time. Blah, blah, blah. You get my point. Oh, and then there’s the politics of birding these days...

Now that the pressure of the “sport” has been lifted I can relax again - I heard a Little Owl whilst cycling home from work the other night, and was rather pleased by it!

Cycling

What can I say? Cycling is the new birding! Almost all the time that birding used to take up is now spent on one of my three bikes. I also ride to and from work each day. Wind, rain, snow, ice, even sunshine. I commute by bike. And, even though I only live just under 3 miles from work, I tend to ride a route of between 10 and 15 miles to get there! Committed? Or should be committed? I’m still trying to work that one out!

In much the same way as I used to list all my bird sightings, I have been logging the miles of each and every cycle ride and setting myself mileage targets for the year. In 2009, I wanted to ride a total of 3000 miles. I reached 3573. In 2010, my target was 4000 miles. I managed to ride 4211. Last year, I upped my game a little and wanted to ride 5000 miles. By the end of the year I’d covered 5364 miles.

Ready for another Sunday morning ride.

A brief stop for food and water.

May 31 2010. A lovely day with lots of warm sunshine and very little in the way of a breeze. I rode my best bike for just under 6hrs and covered 100 miles! My first, and so far, only 100 mile ride! There have been many rides since that have been up around the 80 mile mark but a second century ride is yet to happen. Maybe this summer I’ll have a crack at it again.

The Bad Boy, outside Derby Cathedral.

Motorsport

After years of racing in autograss, my mate Gary has moved away from the sport. He even cut up the old MG that he had won so many races in. Gary says it was because the car was so battered and twisted after all the hard racing. I think it was so no one else could get their hands on his “back yard technology”! There’s still not been another MG ZR that has done as well in the sport.

2011, and Gary was back behind the wheel of another MG. This time though, it was a little bit more advanced. The number 219 was now to be seen in the world of Rallycross. The old 1800cc engine, from the grasser, had been reworked and fitted to an ex rally car shell. Many people questioned his choice of car and engine - in a sport where an 1800 engine is a little small - but it’s a combination Gary knows and his budget isn’t huge compared to some in the sport.

All ready to go, at the first meeting of the season.

After the first meeting of the season things didn’t look too promising. The car was underpowered, didn’t handle too well and had developed an annoying fuel pressure problem that we couldn’t trace and had never experienced before. We left the track in 16th position in the championship, out of 23 cars that raced. Not what we were used to.

Ready to do battle.

Up and running.

We all know we have a problem, but who has the answer?

Round two of the championship and, after a number of changes to the car, Gary took 2nd place in the “A Final”. Things were starting to come together. At the 4th round of the championship Gary took his first outright “A Final” win. Not only was the car now running as it should but it was proving to be capable of running with the best. Or at least Gary had learnt how to make the car run with the best!

An “A Final” 2nd place in the next round, followed by a 3rd place in the “A Final” at the penultimate round of the season saw Gary with a one point lead in the championship! What should have been a season of learning the sport, and trying to develop a competitive car, had turned into a season that could, possibly, see Gary become the Super Modified Champion in his rookie year! No pressure then!

The final meeting of the year was at Knockhill in Scotland. Due to the distance, and also work, I couldn’t attend this meeting so had to rely on text updates and “live” internet timing to keep a track on how the day was going. Luckily, Gary handled the stress of the day better than I did.

The meeting was hit by heavy rain for much of the time and track conditions were poor to say the least. A combination of the rain and also a lack of track knowledge saw Gary struggle in qualifying. Heat one saw him down in 3rd place, heat two he finished 6th and in heat three could only manage 5th place. If there was any chance of taking the championship he had to win the “A Final”.

On the way to victory!

In the end, it all came down to a rain shortened, re-run, final race of the season. Gary came out on top, took the win when it mattered most, and was crowned “Super Modified Champion of 2011”! Well done, mate! You deserved that one!

New window decals for the 2012 season.

On show at Autosport International.

There you have it - a very quick re-cap of the past couple of years. Sort of!

I’ll be back again soon, unless enough of you post comments below promising me large amounts of cash if I stay away!

Ta ta!

A return?

It's been almost two years since I last posted here but... I MAY be about to return with a new, compacted version of my Blog.

Down, but not out...

At the end of my last update I was thinking about an early start to the following Sunday morning so that I could try and catch up on some birding - that didn’t happen. Instead, I missed out on both my birding and cycling for the whole of the following week; I was laid up with an attack of shingles! The rash came out on my head, neck and face, looked none too good and hurt like hell - I do not recommend it as a way of getting time off work.

After that little set back it’s been a case of, once again, trying to play catch-up. Over the past weekend I managed to fit in just over 12 hours of birding and as a result added a further 14 species to the “10-Mile List”. Previously to that, on May 24, a short cycle ride to the pub (I was only allowed soft drinks!) resulted in my first sighting of a House Martin this year. Beer gardens have their uses, even when alcohol is not involved, as this was the 100th species located within my recording zone this year.

So, onto the past weekend’s birding. It started off with an hour of garden watching on Saturday lunchtime. By just sitting on the kitchen door step, binoculars in hand, I recorded 11 species with Sparrowhawk, 2 Common Buzzard, House Martin and Swift being of note. The group of around 40 Swift were my first of the year.

The remaining 13 new species all came from trips to Willington, and also Barrow-on-Trent, gravel pits over the holiday weekend. They were, in the order located, Garden Warbler, Cuckoo, Common Tern, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Redshank, Sandwich Tern, Wheatear, Reed Warbler, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Hobby, Yellow-legged Gull and Yellowhammer.

The bird of the weekend has to be the Sandwich Tern. This was the first time I’d ever recorded this species in Derbyshire let alone within my 10-mile zone. To make it just that little bit more special, I found the bird myself and managed to get the two friends with me at the time onto the bird before it flew off as quickly as it had appeared. A couple of photos of the bird, not taken by myself, can be found in the DOS photo gallery along with a great photo of the Cuckoo that was showing well the same morning.

The “10-Mile List” now stands at 114 species, 12 less than I had at this time last year. There is still a lot of birding to come this year but I’m starting to think that, maybe, I’ll not be beating last years total.

Bringing the birds up to date...

No, I haven’t given up on birding, cycling or for that matter blogging - I’ve just been a little too busy to post any updates. Okay, so I’ve just been plain lazy and couldn’t be bothered!

Over the past month I’ve managed to add another 16 species of bird to this year's “10-Mile List”, five of which I came across whilst cycling.

March 16 - Chiffchaff alongside the River Derwent in Derby.
March 25 - Sand Martin in flight over the River Derwent in Derby.
March 28 - Red-legged Partridge by the roadside in Ingleby.
April 8 -Willow Warbler alongside the River Derwent in Derby.
April 15 - Grey Wagtail alongside the River Derwent in Derby.

The other 11 species were all located last Sunday morning when I managed to drag myself out of bed at 6:30AM and then spend over five hours birding in the Trent Valley. This area is fast becoming my second (outdoor) home, as I seem to be spending more and more of my free time there. If I’m not birding in the area then I’m cycling in it. The year ticks were, in the order I came across them, Common Whitethroat, Grasshopper Warbler, Green Sandpiper, Sedge Warbler (my earliest record for this species), Blackcap, Little Ringed Plover, Yellow Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Swallow, Linnet and Ruddy Duck.

After a rather half-hearted approach to listing this year I have now managed to locate a total of 99 species within 10 miles of home. This time last year the total was 120 species! I have a lot of ground to make up if I’m going to pull that little deficit back. Maybe another early start is needed this Sunday.

The local list, and beyond...

After a good morning’s birding last Sunday I awoke on Monday to another dry, bright day. The idea of spending it inside, at work didn’t really appeal but I had no choice, the money pays for the bikes I enjoy so much and also for the fuel to go birding! I did try and make the most of it though by taking a bit of a diversion on the ride to work. I went in search of Cetti’s Warbler.

Two Cetti’s took up residence by the River Derwent last spring and it looks like they have managed to survive the harsh winter we’ve had here. Both birds have been heard singing over the past couple of weeks and on Monday I was lucky enough to hear one of them. Maybe if I had had the time the bird would have shown itself but, for now, I’m happy to have species 83 on the “10-Mile List”, even if it is a “heard only” .

-----------------------

Yesterday, Lynda and I spent the day birding in Thetford Forest with the Derby RSPB Group. This is a trip I look forward to each year. The birding is usually good, the weather okay and the walk, at both sites, is enjoyable too. This year proved to be just as good, if not better, than any in the past.

The day started off at 7:30am when the coach left Derby. By the time we were on the outskirts of Nottingham I was already dozing off to sleep! The trip to Thetford, by coach, is not the quickest of journeys so it gives you plenty of time to catch up on the shut-eye. I did managed to be awake in time for the breakfast stop on the A17 - a sausage & bacon sandwich - and also to see a group of around 40 Golden Plover fly alongside the coach at one point. Two zebras and two camels, outside of a circus tent, completed the excitement for the journey.

Santon Downham, as usual, was the first venue we visited and although I recorded just 30 species it was a very rewarding couple of hours of birding. Just a matter of yards from the coach and we were watching a group of 8 Crossbill. Whilst admiring these stunning birds we were interrupted by 3 Marsh Tit as they flew around above us and then landed in a small bush by the roadside. A little further down the path and we came across 3 Yellowhammer, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and the first of many Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit and Blue Tit.

As we continued on towards the open heath area my thoughts started to turn to finding Woodlark, one of the target species of this trip. It was at this point that I was mugged! That’s right, mugged! By a group of sheep! They had decided that they were hungry and that my beef and onion pie was going to be on their menu for lunch. What they didn’t realise is that I’m rather well know on the RSPB trips for my love of food and that I do not share it! They stood no chance.

The bandits move in for the kill...

The ring leader!

Once past the sheep we soon heard a Woodlark singing. That was the easy part, we then had to try and see it. After at least ten minutes of scanning the ground around the area we thought the birds were we finally spotted a Woodlark. It was flying around above us! What Lynda and I thought were two birds singing from the floor turned out to be just one bird in song flight. I was so used to seeing these elusive little brown jobs on the ground that I never even thought about looking up! As we moved on from the Woodlark we also added Jay to our day list as a single bird flew from the cover of a small wood by the railway line.

Brambling was the next species we located with around half a dozen birds feeding on the railway embankment and also showing well from the lower branches of a group of beech trees. As we started to head back to the coach we paused for a short while in a small wooded area by the church and located Wren, Treecreeper, Siskin and Goldfinch. The walk along the river was rather quiet but did turn up Mallard, Pheasant and Green Woodpecker. Lynda and I also managed distant views of a Goshawk that would have taken bird-of-the-day award if it had been just a little closer. As it was, the views were just too distant, and too brief.

The second part of the day was spent at Lynford Arboretum and the, now, rather grandly named Lynford Water. For years we have visited the arboretum and also checked the gravel pits at the rear of the car park. Now that the gravel extraction has finished we are able to visit Lynford Water... the same gravel pits but without the machinery and with some information boards! Actually, that is a little unfair. They have done a lot of work to landscape the area and have also put in a number of gravel paths and a hide. It was from the hide that we came across possibly the most unexpected bird of the day, a Mediterranean Gull. Ten Common Gull, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull and around 200 Black-headed Gull were also present. Other birds on the lakes included Great Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Gadwall, Tufted Duck and a female Goldeneye.

In the arboretum we located Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Greenfinch, Siskin, Goldfinch, Lesser Redpoll and another group of 8 Crossbill. At least 3 Hawfinch were in the usual trees at the back of the arboretum and they showed well despite the light not being too good. Two Redwing were also in the trees here and a small group of Pheasant were feeding in the field, one of which was one of the pure white ones that we have seen here in previous years. The walk back to the car park turned up a Moorhen, Wren, Robin, a couple of Song Thrush, a single Goldcrest and also another Marsh Tit.

In total, 41 species were seen at Lynford. When including birds seen from the coach, from Santon Downham and also Lynford we recorded 51 species in all. It may not be a huge total but it did include some great birds.

Five more...

The “10-Mile List” has suffered a little of late, with no serious birding having taken place since the end of January. On Thursday, a brief stop-off at Alvaston Lake, whilst cycling to work, gave me another new species for the year, a Common Gull. I’m not quite sure where all the Common Gull have been hiding over the past three months but this is the longest it has taken me to see one locally at the start of a year. Species 78 was duly added to the year’s list.

A rather lazy start to today saw me arrive at Willington Gravel Pits at just after 9:15am with the sole aim of seeing the Whooper Swan that has been on the reserve for the past few weeks. The walk down the lane was rather quiet with just Willow Tit and Bullfinch being of note. The heavy overnight frost, that was still lingering where the sun hadn’t managed to melt it, and the clear blue sky made for a pleasant walk all the same.

In the lane.

Viewing the main area of water from the first viewing platform, soon revealed that, thankfully, the Whooper Swan was still there and I had species 79 for my local year list. Having already seen Mute Swan and Bewick Swan in Derbyshire this year, the Whooper means I have now seen all three of the UK swans in the county, in the same year, for the first time since I started birding.

Other birds out on the water included Little Grebe, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 7 Shelduck, 10 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 20 Pochard, 1 Goldeneye and 7 Goosander. Two or three Water Rail were calling deep within the reed beds but, of course, they never showed. A pair of Oystercatcher were another new species for the year and they spent a while flying around the reserve before coming to rest on the spit. A couple of Snipe were seen skulking around on the edge of Gull Pit and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull was roosting on the spit, along with a small number of Black-headed Gull.

Four Buzzard were seen in flight at the rear of Flyash Pit, a single Lapwing flew over and both Pheasant and Green Woodpecker were heard but not seen. Yet another new species for the year was a single Skylark that flew low over the third viewing platform whilst in full song. By now, time was getting on a little and I had to head back to the car. On the way back up the lane I stopped off at the first viewing platform again and was rewarded with close views of 8 Curlew as they flew slowly overhead and onto the reserve. The call of the Curlew has always been a favourite of mine and I was very pleased to hear all of this group calling as they flew by. A great end to the morning's birding.

The addition of Common Gull, Whooper Swan, Oystercatcher, Skylark and Curlew takes the “10-Mile List” on to 82 species.

Happy cycling...

I post nothing here for weeks and then it’s two updates within 24hrs! This time it’s the cycling that is the subject of my random waffling.

The improvement in the weather during much of February enabled me to use longer, and drier, routes to and from work most of the time and as a result my average daily mileage has crept up a little. The total mileage for the month was just a fraction short of 200 miles, not bad seeing as I missed a whole week of riding whilst on holiday. As of now, my total mileage for the year is 467 miles. I’m already over 70 miles ahead of my mileage at this point last year but it’s a very long way to go until I reach my 4,000 mile target for the year!

As well as the target I have set myself for the year, I also want to complete my first 100-mile ride this year and, perhaps, take part in one or two long distance sportive rides too. The Cannondale Bad Boy, that I purchased last spring, proved to be a great incentive to increase the distances I rode and set me up for a great summer of cycling. The longest ride I did on the bike was just over 70 miles and, at the end of it, I still felt in good shape - that was when the idea of doing 100 miles in a single ride started to look like a real possibility for me. With all of that in mind, and the fact that me and my knees aren’t getting any younger, I made the decision over the winter to treat myself to the kind of bike I’d always admired but never actually owned.

Please meet the reason I was so excited in last night’s blog post, my new Cannondale CAAD8!

Cannondale CAAD8.

VERY green, and surprisingly comfortable.

The "gear box"!

Brief spec is...

CAAD8 54cm frame.
Carbon fibre front forks.
Shimano Tiagra gearing and levers.
FSA Omega triple ring (30/39/50) chainset.
SRAM (12-26) 9 speed cassette.
Shimano R540 SPD-SL pedals.

I’ve also invested in a pair of Shimano road cycling shoes too. These shoes, and the matching pedals, now mean I’m locked securely onto the pedals whilst riding and also “look” like a real cyclist when I walk in them! You know the look.... a bit like Daffy Duck on ice! All stiff footed, clomping around like a Shire horse and with no grip whatsoever!

Shimano SPD-SL shoes.

I’ve ridden the CAAD8 for just over 23 miles since I picked it up on Saturday and it’s a case of so-far-so-good. The riding position is very different to my two other bikes, and the tyres are so thin that they’re almost non-existent, but once I’ve put a few more miles in I’m sure it is going to be a long and happy partnership.

Roll on summer!

February, all wrapped up...

Seeing as I only managed one update on here during February I guess I'd better try and bring things up to date a little!

The best part of the month, by a huge margin, was spending a week at Center Parcs. We’ve been countless times before but I still love it just as much as ever. The food, the drink, the wildlife, the messing about in the swimming pools, the water slides, everything. And also just being able to relax and do absolutely nothing too! Being able to spend the week with very good friends was the icing on the cake - thank you, Mark, Sheila, Adam, Charlie and Ben! When can we go back? Highlights, for me, included...

Monday, our evening meal was in Huck’s, the American themed restaurant. Here, I was able to sample my first ever “Pat’s style” Philly Cheese Steak. This combination of shaved roast beef, sautéed mushrooms and onions on garlic bread covered with melted cheese is something that my American friends have raved to me about for years but I’ve never seen it on a menu over here, until now. I think it’s fair to say that it may not be the healthiest thing to eat on a regular basis but it was well worth the wait and I loved it! The ice cream that I shared with Lynda went down rather well too!

Cheese Steak.

Ice cream - for two!

On Tuesday Mark and I took ourselves off to the spa for 3 hours of chill-out time. Perhaps “chill” isn’t the best word to use when describing the spa as the steam rooms have temperatures that are just about hot enough to cook your Christmas Pudding in! The effect is certainly relaxing though and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Our evening meal on Tuesday was in the Italian restaurant and was equally as enjoyable as the one the previous night. Pizza was the most popular choice with our group, closely followed by pasta. I chose Risotto, just to be different. Lynda & I also shared an excellent bottle of wine, which certainly helped lighten the mood - it was very, very good! Ben, in true Ben style, provided the entertainment. All he needed was a spoon.

Ben and his magic spoon.

Wednesday started off rather more energetically - Mark, Sheila and I went for a run before breakfast! Now that is something I don’t tend to do when on holiday I can tell you! We only covered a distance of around 2½ miles but it was enough to make my legs burn for the rest of the day and part of the following one too. I may cycle a lot but I use a totally different group of muscles for that, apparently!

Chaffinch.

Greylag Geese.

Mute Swan.

The rest of the day was much more relaxing. We spent time watching the local wildlife coming for food we had put out, we went swimming, and we sat in the warmth of the swimming dome reading and listening to our MP3 players. Life was good in there. Outside, it was very cold and snowing. The evening was then spent in the on-site pub where, once again, we all ate and drank plenty. Somehow, whilst waiting for our food to arrive, we found ourselves taking part in our own mini music quiz. I’ve still not quite worked out how it happened but we certainly dragged up some strange songs/artists between us! Nena - “99 Red Balloons”! Splodgenessabounds - “Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please”! Hmm, maybe I’ll stop there!

Thursday saw a more gentle start to the day. Breakfast in one of the restaurants, a gentle stroll around the forest and village paths and then a game of ten-pin bowling. I enjoyed the game very much, even though I played terribly and finished with a score of 118 - somewhat short of the 180/190 games I used to play years ago. It was still great fun though. The lighting in the bowling area was a little different to your run-of-the-mill alley as well!

The bowling alley.

We didn’t have an evening meal as such on Thursday but instead chose to spend time, after dark, in the swimming dome. The place takes on a totally different feel once the sun goes down and the subtle, coloured, lighting comes on. Food wasn’t missed out on though and we made good use of the fast food available inside the dome. A quick stop off at the on-site supermarket, on the way back to the villa, allowed me to pick up some extra supper to go with the cold beers that we had waiting in the fridge. Well, when you’re on holiday you have to eat and drink at every opportunity, don’t you?

An evening by the pool.

Friday was the final day of our break and once again we returned to the swimming dome, before Lynda and I spent a very relaxing afternoon at the spa. In the evening, before heading for home, we enjoyed another great meal in Huck’s - I had the Cheese Steak again, Lynda finished the holiday off with a cocktail!

Lynda with her cocktail.

As a result of our holiday, the weather and also work, I’ve not been out birding at all since the end of January. No new birds have been added to the “10-Mile List” but I have picked up a few species for the year outside of the area. A brief trip to Hampshire gave me views of a Red Kite as we drove along the A34 near Oxford.

At Center Parcs I did manage to keep an eye out for birds around our villa and also spent an hour or so in the wildlife hide. By the end of the week I’d recorded a total of 40 species. New birds for the year were Egyptian Goose and Siskin. All being well, I should be able to get back to my local birding again this coming weekend.

So, that just about wraps things up - apart from the cycling. That will be updated in the next day or two with (for me) some exciting news and photos! Safe to say, I’m feeling like a little kid at Christmas and have a grin from ear to ear!

Steady progress...

It’s been a mixed couple of weeks since the last cycling update. Mixed weather, mixed fortunes and, as a result, a mixed attitude to my riding!

The last week of January saw a run of dry, ice-free days and so I was able to continue my push for some slightly quicker average speeds. Most rides came in at around the 16.5 to 17.5 mph average. The one bad day was Friday 29th, I picked up another rear wheel puncture just as I arrived at work. What should have been an easy job to fix turned out to be a bit of a nightmare - stripping the inner tube out of the wheel revealed not one but three punctures! I’d clearly found a lot of broken glass somewhere.

February hasn’t treated me too kindly, weather wise, so far with two icy rides, 3 in heavy rain, 4 on wet roads after rain and just one ride when everything was nice and dry. As a result, the bike I use for bad weather and winter riding was in a bit of a state by the time this weekend arrived. This morning I treated it to a bit of a clean up. Two hours spent out in the garage had things back in order and ready for another week of commuting. Hopefully the weather will be a little better this coming week.

Just some of the things needed to keep a bike running!

All clean, oiled and ready to go - just the wrong way up!

I hope Lynda has finished with the washing-up bowl!

My total mileage for the year now stands at just under 300 miles, 294.57 to be precise. If the weather picks up a little, and the roads dry out, I’ll be fetching the Cannondale Bad Boy out of hibernation in the next week or two and start getting some longer rides in. Roll on summer!