Rain!

It's been wet. Very wet. So wet & blustery I've not been cycle commuting to work for a week (getting blown around when cars are about is not my idea of fun).
I've been going stircrazy through not riding. In a super grumpy mood.
But yesterday's club ride came along and the forecast was terrible, I had hoped nobody would turn up, but six of us blasted round the Guild Wheel and actually I really enjoyed it :-)

And today at work, I managed a quick ten minute blast around the hills through some very long puddles. Two were at least 20 foot across so I pushed as hard as I could, lifted my feet up and clear of any splashed & hoped that I could make it through without needing to pedal any again. Best way to spend part of my lunch break.
Tomorrow looks bobbins again. Here's to cycling on Weds.

The weekend ride pics

Stephen hasnt done much cycling over the last few months, which was very apparent on saturday when he was worn out after just a couple of little hills.

We climbed the rugged moor edges - feeling like you were in the middle of nowhere...

Until we turned round at the top of one climb to see the beautiful mill town spread out around the whole valley (Queen St Mill is where they filmed scenes from The King's Speech - I still havent seen the film & I've still never visited the mill!)

So we climbed some more!

We had made it to the lunch stop at the top of the moors, only to discover it was closed! So we freewheeled down towards the rows of terraced houses and headed for the canal to find a different food stop. We ended up at Parkview Cafe in Barrowford and were treated to a really lovely lunch - all delicious home made fare; Stephen had the biggest solo meat & potato pie that I've seen, I had a very spicy soup that warmed my frozen toes & fingers through after just one sip & we both had a massive cherry scone a piece. A bargain too! I'll be visiting again soon.  We then popped in to see my aunty for a lovely catch up. By the time we were ready for the return, Stephen had ceased up somewhat, so we plumped for an easy canal return leg & were treated to some dramatic skies.

A mere 21 miles with 2300ft of climbing. Stephen now shocked into how lazy he's become over the last few months. If we are planning on a tour to Cardiff from Chester, he has some work to do!

Happy New Year

Holidays are great for utility cycling. Most people are not rushing about in their cars! And as such, it makes for happy stress free pedalling. To make my ride home from Stephen's even more enjoyable, I picked a different route; about a mile & a half further, but avoiding the shocking potholes of Intack & Accrington and the pitiful, pathetic new road layout east of Accrington, which I contend with on my commute.

The route I chose passed mainly industrial estate areas and fewer residential places, so with it being new year, the traffic was at blissful minimum. 

The holiday cold still hanging on, the 13.5 miles was a little tougher than usual so I was happy that there was a significant amount of freewheeling available to me until the last few miles.

 And what a lovely day to be out & about in the sunshine.

Pendle Hill with Moorhouse's Brewery in the foreground

The new year will hopefully see S & I in our new house together, so this ride will be a thing of the past. No more need for two hair-driers, two hair-straightners, two lots of pretty much everything. And more free time to enjoy rides together :-)

Best wishes to you all for the new year.