Much To Say

In order of priority:

1. Weight:

Lost more weight over the past 7 days. Yippee! Now down to 215.2 lbs (15.37 stone or 97.61Kg). Amazing really seeing as I haven't ridden a bike in the past 7 days. Must be the healthy eating.

2. Birthday:

Tomorrow - July 19th is my Birthday. Looking forward to some goodies. I love Birthdays, whether they're my own or other peoples. The giving and receiving still makes me happy in equal amounts. Oh yeah - the "downer" is that I'll be 45. Cripes!

3. July 150 Challenge:

I really don't know why I entered this. I have no possible hope of completing it, and if anything its stopped me from cycling the short trips I normally wouldn't think twice about. Yesterday for example I had to pop to Lidl for some sandwich stuff for lunch. I considered getting on the bike and going but reasoned that I would have to mark the poxy mile or so it was onto the July 150 spreadsheet, then log the route as proof, and that it wasn't worth the effort. I took the car (it was too close to lunch time for the kids for me to walk it in time). Apart from that I have my own goals to complete before completing those that others set for me. Perhaps a July 50, or a July 75 would be more reasonable for my kind of stamina, but 100 or 150 miles is not something I have the time to devote to. Grand idea though, but not for me I'm afraid...not yet anyway.

Next week I expect to work late every night. I don't want to, but as we're going away for a week next weekend & I have two tenders to get submitted by Friday I have no hope of doing them in time if I only work 8.30am to 5.30pm. Its always the bloody same! In order to have a holiday I find that I have to work longer hours leading up to it and the same long hours when I come back. Somethings wrong with life when that has to happen. Its not just me either but its the same with the others in our department.

4. Sunday Ride:

Sunday dawned breezy and overcast. As the day wore on the sun came out making it quite warm but the wind kept its strength making for a slower cycle than normal for me. Also due to an astounding bit of laziness on my part I didn't set off until 3pm, leaving Ben to play Mario "Somethingorother" on the Wii.

I took the usual route up to Shinfield but deviated off when I got there to take a track between fields. I came out onto a main road looking for a couple of what had seemed to be footpaths across fields on Google Maps but had to double back twice because they weren't there.

I made the mistake of wearing my tracksuit trousers instead of shorts and it wasn't long before my meat & two veg were starting to steam cook, however I was thankful for the bottoms as I found what must be the narrowest public footpath in existence. Barbed wire fence one side, wooden fence the other and overgrown on both with nettles, brambles, thistles and those god damned plants with the little sticky balls which we used to throw at each other as kids that stick to you like Velcro.

came out of it with stuff stuck all over me looking like a swamp creature, not to mention the bike managed to drag a bucket load of the vegetation out with it. Oh yeah, and the bugs...bloody loads of them in the overgrown shady area of the path, and twice I had to whip my helmet off as they got stuck inside because of the vents. Photo below is of the start of the path before it got really narrow.

After emerging from "The Land Before Time" I hit a small road. Figuring turning left would take me back towards home, I headed right which ended up going over the motorway and coming out near Asda, then a long slow uphill bit.

I had a couple of "Joby Moments"; one where some twit decided he could make it between me and the central island road restriction - well credit to him he did actually "make" it through the gap with me in it too but damned if it wasn't close!

The second was quite funny really. As I was cycling along, a car full of "youf of today" louts screamed past, the guy in the rear hurling some abuse at me through the open rear window. It was totally intelligible though. Anyway, a little further on I saw their car by the Tesco mini supermarket and this guy standing by the car, I knew it was him as he looked like the blond one from Bill & Ted:

So I rode up to to him and said "You got something to say to me mate?" I could tell he was a bit shocked and all he could do was say "umm...no mate. Nothing". I asked if he was sure because it sure sounded like it back there & he mumbled something like "no not me" as he walked quite quickly into the shop. I laughed to myself and rode off. What a twat!

After that I was quite chipper and decided to make a round about route home as the wife would need picking up from work shortly. I ended up going down a nice long hill into Reading again.

Picked up a bit of speed finally but had to slam on the brakes when I saw a promising side path which in fact turned out to be crap. After that I decided to make tracks home.

Stats:
Distance: 9.20 miles
Time: 1 hour 0 minutes 42 seconds
Average Speed: 9.1 mph
Maximum Speed: 24.5 mph

Route HERE

Sunday Ride & A Goal Achieved

Went out with Ben again this afternoon for a ride along the Kennet & Avon Canal. I left it to him to decide where to go but I suspect he likes the fact that this ride takes us up to a pub so he can have a nice pint of blackcurrant & lemonade. Truth be told I like the idea of a nice cold drink in the beer garden as well.

We took a slightly different route to get there this time, diverting off the path half way to take some "jungle trails" then following the path past the pub along the tow path before heading in a short circle back to it before ordering our drinks.

After quenching our thirst and adding to the chance of sunburn I asked if he wouldn't mind heading back along the quiet roads the way I had taken on one of my evening rides. This took us into the back of Green Park and in fact was a very pleasant ride all the way.

The tow path by the canal is great fun, but the surface is pretty bumpy on the hands and buttocks and even though we took minor roads home instead they were in very good condition.

Route HERE

Stats:
Distance: 9.21 miles
Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 45 seconds
Average Speed: 7.4 mph
Maximum Speed: 12.6 mph

On our return I realised it was "weigh day" so I got on the scales and discovered I have reached my lowest weight yet on this mission. I am 216.0 lbs - right on the noggin!

That's the same as 97.97kg or 15.43 stones.

To say I am ecstatic is putting it mildly. In fact 217.0 lbs is a barrier I have been trying to cross for some time now, and I got very close last week with 217.4 lbs and a few weeks before that 217.1 lbs but I couldn't in all honesty scratch that goal off as it needed to be 217.0 lbs. The fact that not only have I achieved that but also lost another additional 1 lb is soooperb.

Evening Ride Cut Short

Went out tonight for a ride after dinner (my homemade Mexican Soup). I didn't want to go far so decided to do a circuit of Shinfield & Ryeish Green - route HERE. The trip took me over the M4 which is via a footbridge. On the way up its steps so no chance of cycling up those, but the other side is just a ramp...with a sharp 90 degree at the bottom to be aware of.

Then its a slog up Brooker's Hill because for some reason the lowest gear I could select was 15th - in fact I seemed to only be able to go from 15th to 21st! Bloody crap bike shop work! Then cut onto Hollow Lane for a few yards and take a path through trees into the old Ministry of Agriculture site and then through a church graveyard, across a road into an estate and then across the fields to Ryeish Green.

However just as I got to the field I felt the back end was a little wobbly. I looked down to see the rear tyre almost flat. Couldn't see anything in it but hadn't got a pump with me (doh!) so I mulled over whether it was a "slowie" or a "quickie" and decided to risk it a bit further. I then saw a side path which I figured would be the right direction for a short cut back home and took that. Well all I can say is I wish I'd had some suspension because the baked ground was rough as an old woman's barnacles, especially the speed I was going.

Anyway I headed home from there. Just pumped up the wheel & will see in the morning if its gone down.

Stats:
Distance: 3.43 miles
Time: 23 minutes 49 seconds
Average Speed: 8.6 mph
Maximum Speed: 17.1 mph

The July 150

In a fit of madness, I signed up for Phills July 150 LINK this afternoon. Why is it dumb for me to do this?

1. I have a bad back or more likely a trapped nerve making it painful to sit, walk, lay down, etc. Ive had it a week now and its not going anywhere.
2. I have never cycled anywhere close to 150 miles in a month.
3. I'm on holiday in Cornwall the last week of this month meaning I have a week less than every other entrant.

However I just got the "new" bike back from the shop today after having a shed load of expensive work done to it and I wanted to give it a shakedown tonight, so I fitted the new bike computer & off I went. I followed the national cycle route along the Kennet & Avon canal up to Burghfield and then the back roads to the rear of Green Park. I had to double back a few times when I got lost - or more correctly when the freaking sign saying there was a cycle path to Reading town centre turned out to be a dead end! Feeling sure Id missed the turning I went up and down the road 5 or 6 times before giving up. Its no clearer having looked at it on Google Maps as they are old and development has occurred since they were taken.

Here's the route July 01 2010 ride

Next time I must remember to take a Hannibal Lecter mask to stop the freaking bugs going in my eyes and mouth along the canal. I also need to get some lights fitted as it was a bit beyond daylight on the last leg.

Oh and for some reason RWGPS only shows the route as 8.6 miles, whereas my computer, which I know is set up right states its 9.16 miles.

Stats:
Distance: 9.16 miles
Time: 52 minutes 24 seconds
Average Speed: 10.4 mph
Maximum Speed: 24.2 mph