Boxing Day ride.

I haven’t ridden for 20 days due to snow and ice, then a trip to Scotland just before Christmas. This is unprecedented for me and must have impacted on my fitness. I wanted to get off road today, despite the sodden conditions so rode to our local hill, Healey nab, with a determination to ride 3 laps of the circuit.

I saw perhaps 3 E bikes during my ride but no one except for myself had chosen to use a purely human powered bike. I even allowed one rider to pass me on a climb, having looked back first to determine that it was an electrically assisted bike and not just a very fit rider. The trails here drain well so I was able to get a good ride in and never had to stop even once because of the mud. With no maintenance since the summer the trails are badly strewn with fallen leaves so I may need to do something in the spring to clean the trail back to the hard packed surface. The deeper mud which has formed from decaying leaves steered my wheels several times so it could be a safety issue if wheels alone don’t clean the mess up as the surfaces dry.

I was feeling tired but have no idea whether I was riding quickly. I’ve obviously also eaten a lot over the past couple of days to add to the effects of my recent inactivity. 5 laps would certainly have seemed like a challenge so that will be my next ride, giving me some good training value in the depths of winter. When I got home I found that the sole of one of my shoes was parting company with the top. I only bought them in the summer and chose FLR, a shoe which looked very similar to my previous Shimanos. The lower price didn’t turn out to be a saving at all if their life expectancy is so much shorter than a slightly more expensive and well recognised brand. Before I acquire the new shoes I still have the option of using flat pedals, which is something I haven’t done on a real off road ride since 1997.

I covered 9.98m miles. today, with 977 feet of climbing.