Wednesday 8 June 2016

Hello Loopy!

Hello blog lovers.

Things are just not working out entirely how I want them to, but that's fine.  I will get time eventually to do what I like to do and to meet up with my riding buddies again.  But for the time being I take what I can get.  Yesterday I managed to find an hour to spend time with the 'B-iatch'  my bike!  I have been neglecting my cycling but not because I don't want to be on it but just because of time!

Because I want to be near home, not more than 10  minutes or so away I chose to do Blackbrook Lane loops again.  I must say, getting my cycling gear on instantly put me in a feel good place!  Just an hour, lets see how I do.  I think the last time I was on my bike was about 3 weeks ago!  Of course I had to do the usual checks, make sure that the tyres are still inflated and the brakes and gears hadn't done anything silly like seizing up! My bike was perfect, lets hope she don't live up to her name and kill my ass for ignoring for so long!

I made sure that I was completely comfortable, you know, the way proper cyclists are supposed to be when they pull on the padded lycra!  I don't want anything to spoil my ride.  I came out of my gate and rode on up Farringdon and then along Oxhawth.  I was trying to make the speed indicator go off, sometimes it has read 19 miles an hour!  But today it didn't register!  "Maybe it's because I've not got my reflective clothing on" I pondered to myself. I didn't want to think that maybe I was going that slow that it didn't even notice I was there!

Along Southborough Lane and the turned right into Blackbrook.  "That's number one started" I thought to myself as I kept a steady pace all along the road to the top, ok so I may have slowed down over the bridge, but I felt like I was keeping to a steady pace.  Then the obligatory wait at the round about and then ride as fast as I could to.....the lights! Every time I get to the lights they are always red.  I was hoping I had not turned off my auto-stop when I was playing with my Garmin!  A quick glance at my watch as I waited at the lights gave me that answer, auto-stop works perfectly.

Doing the second half of the first loop and I seemed to be able to get through all the roundabouts fairly quickly and I thought that maybe I could be on for a good time.  Down the hill and the up......only to find bloody temporary lights!  4WAY lights at that! Well that was that.  I just thought to myself "Lets just enjoy being out on my bike again"  I didn't think a PB would be even in the realms of possibility now, why I don't know!  It's not as if I don't stop at the little roundabout here, but the lights were longer than I usually wait!

So my second lap I just poodled along, well, still trying to keep a nice steady speed going, just no thought of PB's in my head.  I'm just out here to enjoy going as fast as my little legs could take me.  So I decided that I would count how many completley selfish, ignorant drivers there would be from now til I get home.  There was one chap in a white care that decided he didn't want to wait two seconds till I got through one of the pinch points along Blackbrook lane and zoomed past me quite close to me!  Dipstick! And another chap (I say chaps, but should say driver as I don't usually see who drives at me) in a red van going along Bickly Park road probably wanted to see what Garmin I had on my wrist as he came that close to me!  The thing is the other side of the road was completely empty!

Anyway, by the time I got on to my third lap, I had counted only one other driver that I feel sure could have given me plenty of space but for reasons only know to them decided not too,  Each time I was caught by the Bicky lights and the temporary lights!  Oh well, I was enjoying the whole thing anyway, even smiling to myself as I got to those lights again too.  My forth and final lap went without incident, I even managed to get past the Bickley lights before they turned to red!

Going back home I decided not to look at my watch, either I would be disappointed or thinking I should totally got crazy and get a pb.  Either way it wasn't what I wanted at that time.  It had been a great ride and felt good to be on my bike again.  I even took my time going up my path, usually I am going crazy for every second.  When I got outside my house I stopped my watch and did a double take!  "Really?" I thought to myself.  I was thinking maybe I had accidently stopped it somewhere and then switched it back on.  I shall have to scrutinise in when I get it!

But there it is.......time, moving time well under the hour but you can see how long I had to wait at those blimmin traffic lights!  I am very pleased with that!  A PB and I wasn't even thinking about it!  Maybe that's the way to go!

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