Jan '10, finally the snow goes away.

So finally onto my bike after an interminably long winter.

Norfolk Nips: 100km, Jan 16th.

This should have been a nice trip around the Norfolk flatlands but turned into a really toughie - barely above freezing, very windy - the first 60km was into a horrible headwind, the flatlands of Norfolk offering no protection from the artic blast and pretty wet - both in terms of rain / sleet though more so in terms of the melt water flooding the roads for large sections of the ride - one part was thigh deep, complete with a stranded van in the middle just for effect. Alas my waterproof shoe liners were no match for 50cm of water and the last 70km of the ride was ridden with rather waterlogged shoes - not nice...

The leg home was a 40km blast with a stiff tailwind but alas by now the legs were shot after all the work into the wind. The stats for the ride tell their own story - distance - 100km, total climb - about nil, ride time just shy of 5 hours for an average of 20km / hr, I get over the Pyrenees with a better average than that.

Willy Warmer: 200km, Jan 23nd

I always find it quite serene setting off on a ride in the morning darkness, riding through all the day and ending in the evening darkness, a peace seems to settle on the country after dark and it's just you and your bike riding in peace and quiet along unlit country roads. This was a nice ride out of Chalfont, over the Chilterns, the first 140km or so being "a bit bumpy", the last 60km being a cruise back home. My lack of "race fitness" though was telling, too much Xmas pud and too many weeks out of the saddle. One of the other riders who I know cruised up to me after 50km and said "hello Chris, you look like you are making heavy work of that" and he was spot on. I often go through bad patches on a ride but my bad patch here lasted from 40km through to around the 160km mark, only when it got dark did I perk up and settle into my cruising rhythm. The sun came out. Twice. For 2 minutes each time. I smiled both times but it didn't last, alas.

Total ride 207km, climb 2,000m, ride time 9 hours for an early season bumpy ride average of 22.8km / hr.

Total stats for month:
Road bike: 450km
Mountain bike: circa 100km
Spin: 8 sessions.