Despite it's sterling efforts the old mountain bike has been starting to live up to its name, quite literally. It has to be said, it has done me proud and (with the exception of a snapped chain at Rutland Water two years ago) has never let me down. Lately though it's developed its own unique automatic gear change, which is not so clever when it makes the wrong choice at crucial uphill points on a ride. If I'm honest, the rust is building up a bit too (I never have been big on bike maintenance) and if I were to add that the Schwalbe Marathon + tyres probably double the value of the machine, then you'll probably understand where I'm coming from! So, time for a change and off to the LBS (local bike shop in long hand) in search of a replacement, namely a shiny new Trek DS8.2 2013, complete with 29" wheels.
The old bike is heading for warmer climes though, Africa in all probability, as the plan is to donate it to a local charity who refurbish bikes for export to the Third World.
New bike duly collected and awake to sunshine and blue skies, Sunday seemed a great day to test drive ride it.
Have to say, probably the flatest route we've ever ridden. Okay so it was never going to build on our hill climbing prowess, but at least it added more miles to the cause .... and, we actually enjoyed every minute of it ..... well almost. Initially we headed out along the quiet back lanes in the direction of St Ives, before picking up the Guided busway, which while a tad boring at times, allowed us to get the first twenty miles out of the way with little or no traffic to hamper our progress. Uncharted territory from there on in though, passing through Cottenham and out into the flat openness of the Fens and Chatteris. I chose the route well (even if I say so myself) with the only really busy road being the relatively short stint along the A142, (which did feel a bit unnerving at times) before heading off along the New Bedford River, although only thirty five miles in, was technically the home stretch. Things stuck pretty much to plan, with only the occasional need to reference our map, which is also an excellent excuse to nibble a biscuit or two. In an ideal world we'd have extended our ride through the village of Somersham, but in the end the more direct route back into St Ives only robbed us of a couple of extra miles at most. Fifty eight miles and a few hours of sunshine; job done!
Okay so it's been a while since my last blog entry. However, rest assured we've not been sat with our feet up!
I've always thought the key to successful cycling is to at least enjoy it (well as much as that's possible of course), so we are I admit, a bit picky as to what weather we will venture out in. Bit of light rain and a stiff breeze is okay; torrential rain, particularly if a few miles are involved, is avoided; snow and ice is a non-starter. Also we've neither the time or, to be honest the inclination, to spend every waking hour on our bikes at the weekend. That's not to say, however, that we don't also recognise the potential enormity of the task ahead of us this Summer; being under prepared could be an uncomfortable mistake. Biggest dilemma then has always been trying to strike a happy medium with our preparations.
In an effort to ramp up the miles a bit, we headed out on a much cycled route which meanders through the back lanes of Cambridgeshire and North/Central Bedfordshire in a loop, taking in scenic Grafham Water before heading home again. While the day was reasonably dry and sunny, the gusty wind was a real trial.
Cambs and Beds can be lovely and flat in places; it can also be rather open too! Time and time again, we were surprised by quite stiff cross winds, which could quite easily have thrown us into the deep ditches at the side of the road. I think at times early on, it had crossed both our minds to question the wisdom of continuing; though not for the first time in our relationship, we didn't actually share these misgivings and so ploughed on!
Thankfully we survived the 11% hill descent between Everton and Tempsford; potentially heart stopping at the best of times, a rogue side wind was something we could've done without. Grafham Water came quickly enough though and before we knew it we were passing through the chocolate box imagery that is Hilton Village.
Perversely, we did actually enjoy the ride, although perhaps some of that was purely down to the fact we'd achieved what we'd set out out to do, by covering a reasonable distance, including a few climbs, for the first time since the Autumn, in what were rather trying conditions. So job done I guess.
