Girls on Cogs

We set out at the slightly later time of 6.30pm, so Mat and Anna could join us and consequently a faster pace. Mat and Anna are always a little faster and Stav seems to be cycling faster than any of us. Hels and I were both keen to keep up and realised tonight was not the night to catch up and gossip along the way…… well not until we could reach the pub anyway!

We headed out along the inner ring road, Hinckley Road and the A46 towards Desford and Market Bosworth. Potentially busy and fast roads in terms of traffic, but it wasn’t to bad and it was nice to stretch out and pick up the pace for a good few miles at a time and before we knew it we had arrived at our destination and were supping a few beers.

We actually headed home in the light which was nice for a change and arrived back in Leicester just before 10.30pm.

28 miles total. Happy with that:)

Estimated miles: 75

Actual miles: 75 (+ 7 miles detour, -7 miles shortcut via b roads – cunning!)

Average speed: 10.8

Time: just under 7 hours

Injuries:  1 gash to Charlies leg – 7 stitches

Weather:  Sunny start and a few blustery showers

Estimated miles:  80

Actual miles: 91

Average speed: 12.4 mph

Time: 7hrs 20

Total distance:  236 miles

Hoping for a more slick start to the cycling day we succeeded in having breakfast at 8 and were on the road by 9, brilliant!  We had a good run along the A19 and celebrated in Thirsk with coffee and a cake for some elevenses, 22 miles in.  Having made reasonable progress, I downloaded the Sustrans app (new iphone!) so that we could try and find some nice cycle routes into Newcastle.  We headed out of Thirsk along the A168 in the wrong direction for Northallerton….so a quick turn-around and slight detour later, we picked up the A167 and made our way to Darlington.  We found a nice little bakery and a park bench (away from the winos) to snaffle our pies.  It was then the A167 all the way via Newton Aycliffe, Durham, Chester-le-street to Newcastle.  There were some cycle paths alongside the A167 but a bit ropey in places, and easy to stray to the wrong exits at roundabouts..almost causing a sense of humour failure as the miles mounted up and the time ticked on,  so we abandoned the idea of cycle routes into the Centre, put our heads down on the busy A167.  We had a brief photo stop at the ‘Angel of the North’ and reached the Premier Inn by 7pm to meet up with the rest of the gang for phase II – the Coast and Castles route up to Edinburgh.

Everyone was in good spirits and we dived into a Chinese party meal for 13, (obviously I had a couple of Newcastle browns to wash it down!)

Estimated miles: 70

Actual miles: 81

Average speed: 12.4 mph

Weather:  Sunny and showery

We thought we’d save a few pennies by heading to Tesco for a fried breakfast, and all was going reasonably well for an early start until Stav discovered he’d left his water bottles in the Premier Inn, and then got a puncture 2 miles up the road.  By 10.30 we finally got going!  The route followed a few B roads in a North-westerly direction, first to Stavelely (very apt), then to Clowne (also very apt), Kiveton Park, Dinnington and Oldcotes.  This avoided the more direct M1 but was quite hilly for the first 20 miles – however  being the positive and cheery group we are, it was all taken as good practice for later on!     We joined the A614 at Bawtry, north through Thorne and on to Selby, where we found a nice little bakery for sandwiches and pastries for lunch.  It had started to get chilly with a few spots of rain so we were back on it, via the B1223 into York.  It only took us an hour cycling around York to find our accommodation at the Old Grey Mare in York so it was quite dark by the time we finally arrived.  We had a 2 bedroom apartment in the pub, next to an Indian restaurant.  The smell of Indian food (and the time ticking away) was tempting so it was a plate of poppadums and curries all round.  We did manage a little stroll into the centre to take a picture outside York Minster.

Estimated miles: 55
Actual miles: 64
Average speed: 13.3 mph
Time: 4.48
Weather: Sunny
The four of us (Em, Stav, Coggie and myself) met at mine at 2.30pm for the first leg of the journey to Chesterfield. As always we struggled getting out of Leicester – we set off towards Anstey and within the first 5 miles Stav’s pannier broke free from his bike and we continued on thinking he would catch us up. However he turned left where we turned right so several phone calls later we met up in Loughborough. So in nearly 2 hours we had done around 10 miles and Coggie (new to our cycle group must have thought we were right muppets – and wondering what he had let himself in for over the next few days!). From here we made better progress along to Kegworth then failed to pick up the minor roads towards Long Eaton (instead we had a tour around East Midlands Parkway and a marina boatyard sporting a very attractive leopard skin barge)…fortunately a helpful passer-by directed us towards a cycle path beside the A50 to get us back on track for the rest of our journey (our new cycle buddy must have been highly impressed with our navigational prowess!) From here it was a smooth ride through Stapleford, Heanor, Somercotes, Ilkeston and Alfreton to arrive in Chesterfield at our Premier Inn around 9pm. Fortunately the pub next door was serving til 10 so we were able to grab a quick shower before diving into a big steak and pint of beer and planning a much slicker ride for tomorrow!

So I have finally managed to join Claire and Hels on a weekend cycle and Claire already has a plan! Had the usual faff before leaving, checking tyres etc. Headed off along the Central Way, trying to ignore the big grey clouds, spots of rain and wind. Cycled through Blaby, Cosby, Frolesworth, Claybrook Magna and Pailton where we stopped for a piece of Hels homemade rhubarb cake. At this point we were 20 miles in and I was having my usual blood sugar crash! Really need to sort my eating out, it instantly slows me down.

From there we headed across to Monks Kirby and The GardenBarn at Cotesbach. Rubbish name, but lovely garden centre/gift shop and cafe. The wind had continued and we were actually quite cold as soon as we stopped, so we sat next to the open log fire which despite being May was definitely needed. Enjoyed a bowl of soup before having a browse round the centre. Stav had caught up with us by this point, so being a boy he played on his phone and looked after the bags. After a strenuous browse, we managed a piece of cake and a coffee. All this sugar might be the cause of my constant battle with dropping blood sugar!!!

We headed off again and took a back road round the side of the Garden Centre, towards Gilmorton and route 50. We pretty much took the reverse journey back from Tuesday night, so it was nice to see some of it in the light!  We returned to The Guthlaxton Trail and decided to take the alternative route home via the canal. Stav was not keen because of the tow path, so headed back along The Central Way….. not to say he was right, but my skinny tyres took a bit of a hammering. We finally made it onto a proper path through Ayleston Meadows and no damage or punctures had occurred. Back onto The Central Way and home. Maybe another piece of cake!!!

50 miles and no rain!

So it’s the last Friday of the month again and time for another Critical Mass ride around Leicester – this time with a Royal theme since it coincided with a certain big Royal wedding.

Emma, Claire and I met outside the Curve theatre at 6, having made the effort to put on some bridesmaids dresses for the occasion! They were a little long for cycling so a couple of clothes pegs to ‘ruche’ up the sides did the trick! Several others were wearing wedding dresses, veils decorated with flowers, royal crowns or top hats and had union jack bunting wrapped around their bikes.  Not a bad effort!

It was quite warm and sunny as we set off up London Road as a large, strangely clad cycle trail of young and old, in an odd mix of royal fancy dress riding various road, mountain bikes or tandems with bells ringing, waving at the bemused drivers. We moved through Clarendon Park and onto Victoria Park past the memorial then down Regent Road into town for the traditional few laps around the Clock Tower before the final stop at the Phoenix for some refreshment.   Everyone was in good spirits and another successful ride!

Wtth the lighter evenings, it’s about time to start up the evening cycle rides, and sunshine promised for Wednesday, we met up at 6 for our first one. There’s a nice little chippy at Cosby so we agreed this would be a good place to head for. We cycled out along the Guthlaxton trail to Countesthorpe, and soon saw a sign to Cosby for 2 miles. It was still early and only 8 miles in, so we thought we’d take the longer loop round, and enjoy the evening sunshine. Charlie estimated around 5 miles – ish! We cycled on through the little villages, and at Leire, still had 5 miles to go! So probably nearer 10 then! We arrived at Cosby around 7.30 ish, after completing nearly 18 miles. Still we’d made the most of the evening and got some extra miles in! We sat on the village green to have our fish and chips from ‘the Nook’, then feeling very full and with the sun starting to fade, we made our way homewards. I was back by 9 so still time in the evening to pop out for a beer or two!

As Hels previously mentioned our 2011 venture takes us from Newcastle to Edinburgh on the Sustrans Coast and Castle cycle ride. 14 of us have signed up and as usual Hels and I not being satisfied with that, have decided to set out from Leicester……’We have cycled from Lands End to John ‘O Groats you know……blah, blah, blah!!!!

Anyway also as usual, our training seems to be in short supply, so this weekend we have decided to head out with the gang and cycle near to where our friends Phil and Jo live. So the 7 of us headed out into the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside and immediately felt lifted by the spring weather.  It was nice to see so many other cyclists out on the roads,although only boys we noticed, girls only seem to go out with male partners.

We past through some beautiful country villages, tackled a few hills but it was a fairly flat route and we rode a total of 40 miles, after cyling up and down Phil and Jo’s road, for fear of only riding 39.6 miles!

We had a lovely lunch sitting outside the farm shop at Audley….although there was some disappointment regarding the portion size of the food. Luckily Stav had brought his Birthday cake to share and we managed another stop at the pub in the last mile for crisps and a pint.

In the evening we had the first BBQ of the year. Everyone seemed a little tired in the evening and headed to bed fairly early. A little worrying after only 40 miles!!! ……..oh well, we have cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats you know!

Route details:  http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/31170328