Where did The Summer Go?!

Hello blog lovers.

It's seems the summer has all but gone, ok it was still warm out, and the sun was shining this evening, but it's these dark nights I'm not liking!  We went for a twenty miler today, up to Halstead, left to Shoreham, and then through to Eynsford.

I am still giving my Spesh a thorough testing, it seems that 20 miles seems to be the 'magic' number of miles for my hand to start feeling weak again.  Thankfully not as bad as it has been but I feel sure if the ride was any longer then I would have problems of not being able to change gears with my left hand  or pull on the brakes while riding on the hoods! Which is not a good thing, as going down long hills I need to be on brakes, or I could quite easily break the speed limit.

But other than that, the ride was a lovely evenings activity.  I tried my best to keep a steady pace going, all the way up to the roundabout, but I don't think there were any PB's broken getting to there! After a quick stop, to get a chewing gum from the Old Boy, we headed off to Shoreham.  A bit of an undulating road, to get there, but there is one particular bit or up hill section that really seems, dare I say, quite easy to ride up!  It's just by the farm, and the pigs.  I seem to find this bit of hill less challenging, less hurty on the legs, almost like riding on a flat! Very peculiar indeed!  Why cant a hills feel like this?

The road down to the village of Shoreham is a great ride, but still feeling nervous on my bike, because of the problems I have had in the past, I was down on the bars with just enough pressure on the brakes to get down the hill, not slowly, but not as fast as I used to go on my Giant.  We stop at the pub for a lovely pint of the amber nectar.  I found it quite amusing that there were six people enjoying a refreshing drink outside, me and the Old Boy on our push bikes, two guys with lovely looking Harley Davidsons and then two other riders with real horsepower! Two people riding their magnificent looking horses!  I was a bit disappointed that I had forgotten my phone, so I couldn't take a picture.

We headed on up the road after we had finished our pint, and up to Eynsford.  But we were not stopping there, this is not a two pint ride, we are going straight home.  Up Foo Kin Hill to Orpington! Then up Poverest hill.  I am pleased to say that I didn't stop on any of the hills (again) I must be getting good at this cycling!  And apparently the Old Boys Gamin, only had 1 'hissy' fit, where it makes this beeping noise if we go slower than the average mile.  I usually hear that bleeping all the time, so again, I am pleased with that too!

Anyway, geeky stats.  And I think a call to the boys at my local bike shop tomorrow, to try and get this hand issue sorted out.