Day 107

Got in from work and my left knee was still twinging so decided against going out.

I will go out for a ride tomorrow night instead.

Wifey has been genning up on cycle massage, so we shall see if she can sort out my knee - I think its because I have not been warming up and cooling down properly, I could get away with it when its a pleasure trip, but now I am pushing myself I think I need to listen to the advice of others (Books, interweb, magazines and friends)

Day 106

Part 1....

Woke up at 6 am, went straight out on the bike on the road at 615.

Did the Chippenham -> Dauntsey -> Lyneham -> Calne -> Chippenham route 22.08 miles in 1 hour 21 mins. There was a bit of a nasty head wind that held the average speed down.

I Plan to do the reverse ride this evening.....

Part 2...

Got out at 5:30 and did the reverse ride of this morning..

Managed to equal my fastest time and average speed.
21.64 miles in 1 hour 15 with an Average Speed of 17.2 mph

when I got back made some home made burgers and had BBQ ;-)

Wifey has added some alternative gmap routes to avoid some hilly bits- with the penalty of distance!

Day 105

Took the mountain bike out for a ride to Calne and back down sustrans route 4
12.2 miles in 53 mins

My knees were still aching a bit but as everything warmed up the ache went.

It was quite nice to get back out on the bike.....

Day 104

Feeling rather lethargic today.

Got stuck in traffic jam on the way home and the constant clutch action caused my knee to ache ;-(

Had a night off tonight....

Bike shop replaced the broken spoke, He was not keen to replace all of the cassette side spokes ;-(
I have ordered a new wheel as a spare, when it turns up I am going to replace the spoke braking wheel under warranty.

Day 102 -103 (Saturday Sunday)

Perfect! ;-) (Did the cycle from home to south coast, camped overnight and drove back home route is here...)

Got up a little later than planned, sorted myself out with plenty of drink, sliced malt loaf, sandwiches, dextrose, tool kit etc..etc..etc.

Wifey took a picture of me setting of...



I managed to get on the road at about 9:30 and the temperature was already climbing.

I had slightly over adjusted the front de-railer on Wednesday making it a tadge difficult to get into top gear, so when I stopped just after Shaftesbury I tweaked the stop back 1/4 of a turn and everything was perfect ;-)

I did however feel a little disappointed as every hill seemed really difficult to get up, and I was having to drop down to granny gears, But driving back home again I realised that these hills are damn steep!

The country side was amazing at bike speed!


I did have one slight incident on one of the steepest hills where I was rapidly changing down gears and the chain got a little confused, I had to stop, The chain had sorted itself out and I could NOT get going again with the SPD pedals ;-( So I had to walk the last 20 meters or so up the hill before it was a shallow enough gradient for me to get going again, I think I might take both sets of pedals for JOGLE just in case I have hill incidents there!

It was actually quite fun cycling past all the stationary cars on the A35 :-) Although caravans are just as annoying when you are cycling as they are when you are driving/on motorbike, they hug to close to the side of the road and most of the idiot drivers are not aware of how wide their snail shell is when they overtake.

The lack of energy that I experienced a couple of weeks ago was held at bay by the gradual consumption of malt loaf, desxtrose and the almost constant sipping of fluid. ( I took 2 * 750 ml of torq water, 2* 500 ml of Gatorade and I bought 2 * 500ml Orange Lucozade along the way)

On arriving at Abbotsbury I felt comfortable that I could have continued, although some knee ache and hand ache was in evidence.

I had a huge grin on my face when I cycled into the car park at Chesil Beach, the car park attendant asked me where I had come from, I said 'Chippenham, Wiltshire' he said how far is that I said 84.76 miles.......he was gob smacked and said I deserved a medal ;-)

Somewhere along the way I broke another spoke!!!!


Looking at the replacement spoke's v the original fit I think the originals are mechanically defective the heads appear to be thinner and are popping off.

I will ask bike shop geezer to replace ALL of the spokes on the cassette side (These are under twice as much tension as the non-cassette side due to dishing)

It was a fantastic day's ride, I quite happily had a 3 course meal in a fantastic pub with no guilt at all!

The camp-site was excellent and had a fantastic early morning walk along the Fleet Lagoon


The wildlife,flora and fauna was amazing ;-)

Went fishing at Chesil Beach

Had another pub lunch then ambled on home for a BBQ ;-)

It was a perfect holiday weekend.........It will be repeated!

The stats for Day 102 are....

84.76 Miles in 5 hours 32 Mins.
Average Speed 15.3 Mph

Top speed (Down a very steep hill!!!!) 43 Mph

Although on Saturday I was tired, when I woke up on Sunday I felt that I could cycle home - we had already made plans and the broken spoke meant that would be a bad idea.

Plan is now to do a 100 mile ride to Seaton or one of the planned JOGLE rides on August Bank Holiday with a camp away and drive home....

Day 101

Not a lot....

Left work really late...Got home really late....

No cycling today.....

Planing a nice long ride tomorrow, camp away overnight fishing Sunday and drive back home.

Day 100!!!!!!!!!

w00t day 100 has arrived ;-)

Got home, had BBQ and lovely pint of cider ;-)

Fixed up wifey's bike then when for a really nice slow 5 mile doggy walkie's ride ;-)

5 miles in 1 hour Average speed of 5mph ;-)

so...1499.42 miles + 5 = 1504.42 miles........A major milestone I believe ;-)

Wifey has updated the proposed route today to remove some motorway errors and remove a little wasted mileage ;-)

Day 99

part1....

WFh again today, got up early (6am)

Had some breky then went straight out on bike (on the road at 630)
It was slightly foggy so had lights on bike.

Did the Chippenham -> Dauntsey -> Lyneham -> Calne -> Chippenham route a total of 22.11 miles in 1 hour 17.

There were no chain issues this morning ;-) and the cool damp air made it quite a refreshing start, at the top of Dauntsey Hill I broke through the cloud into bright sunshine, returning into cool refreshing cloud at Calne.

Aim is to go out again this evening in reverse direction ;-)

Part 2...

Stopped work at 16:45 and set of on the reverse ride of the morning.

Cycled 21.61 miles in 1 hour 17, It was hot and hard work.

The chain popped of the front again at Lyneham, I managed to re-seat it with a roadside twig, there was no other problems after. When I got back home I re-adjusted the de-railer.

Ohhhh tomorrow is Day 100 and I only have to do just over 1/2 mile to do 1500 miles since day 1.

Day 98

Woke up early.

Went for cycle ride at 5pm, did the Chippenham -> Calne -> Lyneham -> Dauntsy -> Chippenham ride.

The weather was fantastic ;-) (Sunny and little wind)

The chain fell off, at the top of Derry Hill as I was changing up gears to tank down the nice long straight, I cursed of course and pulled over to re-fit it, when I started of again and changed up the chain fell off again ;-( I noticed that the front derailer had been bent out slightly by the first chain offing so I engineered it back again so that it is parallel with the sprockets - All seemed to work as expected again after that, although I ended up with oily fingers for the rest of the ride, mental note to always carry some wet wipes with me...

I managed the 21.66 mile ride in 1 hour 16 min with an average speed of 16.2 mph. When I got back home I de-gunked the chain and gave the bike a wash, making sure that the derailer's were clean and set up correctly, I finished of by re-oiling the chain.

Had salad for tea in the garden, then took Rosie for a nice walk in the park.

Was then hoping to play computer games, but a recent graphics driver update has killed Counter Strike ;-( so spent most of the evening getting the game to work ;-(

Day 97

I worked from home today - and I didnt go swimming as wifey is not feeling on top form

It at least allowed me to drop the wheel of to the cycle shop when I took Rosie for a walk in the morning, I was then able to pick it up again just after lunch - when I got back from taking wifey to the doc's.

I managed to go out for a shortish ride after tea - just 18 .77 miles getting back home again at 9pm.

The ride was really quite pleasant and there was very little traffic on the road.

Day 96 (Sunday)

Got up normal time.

Plan was to take daughter and friends to Weston-Super Mare for 'T4 on the beach' and I was going to cycle back whilst wifey drove. Unfortunately wifey was not feeling to good so I drove back.

When we got back home I made brunch, cut the grass then I went for a cycle ride (Not to far as I had to cook tea then go back to Weston to retrieve daughter person and friends)

I decided to head north of the M4! starting out towards Calne then Wootton Basset -> Malmesbury -> Great Somerford -> Sutton Benger and finally Chippenham, a total of 32.93 miles.

I enjoyed a fierce gusting head wind between Wootton Basset and Malmesbury!

When I got to Great Somerford i noticed the bike was making not so funny noises, when I looked at the rear wheel it appeared to be out of true again. On stopping and inspecting I appear to have broken another spoke! (I am starting to wonder if I am doing something wrong!)

On returning home I cooked BBQ for tea then headed straight of to pick the peeps up from T4, then happily sat in a traffic jam for 3 hours.....

Day 95 (Saturday)

Got up early.....had porridge for breky ;-)

Had to got to Stockbridge to pick something up so we strapped the Dawes to the back of the car (On the rack) and picked up 'the something' and dropped me and the bike of.

I then cycled back home 47.11 miles with a constant headwind ;-(

It was a really nice ride across the Salisbury plain(I always find the tank crossing signs quite funny)


And the Savernake Forest was completely different at bicycle speed.


The gmap of the route can be found here

It was quite interesting to do an almost straight ride instead of a loop, for one thing there was no break in the headwind! but I still managed the 47 miles in 3hrs 15 mins.

When I got back home I had lunch then repaired the motorbikes, then cooked tea.

Now I am tired!

Day 94

No cycle ride today...

Fitted cycle carrier to car in preparation for tomorrow ;-)

Changed 7 gear free-wheel for 6 on the mountain bike.

Day 93

Left work late...got home late....

Had tea as soon as I got in, Wasn't sure if I really felt like going out for a ride, but I got changed and went out on the newly improved mountain bike...

Cycled along the cycle way to 'Black Dog Halt' and back 10.1 miles in 43 minutes, I was sort off dawdling enjoying myself ;-)

When I got back I washed the bike off and oiled it a bit, also got rid of all the grass that has got stuck to the chain and sprockets.

Day 92

Part 1...

WFH day ;-) Got up at 6, had breky then went straight out for a ride.
Did Chippenham -> Dauntsey -> Lyneham -> Calne -> Chippenham a total of 22.08 miles, the conditions were perfect for cycling and I covered the distance in a record braking 1 hour 15 min with a new top average speed of 17.4 mph.

I climbed up Dauntsey Banks hill at 10mph!

The intention is to go out and do the reverse direction after 5:30 or even try and do a 30 mile trip, but we will see what the weather and day in the office brings....


Part 2...

Stopped work at 4:50 and took dog for walk, aim was to warm up a little before getting on the bike.

Logistical and timing issues meant had to have evening meal at 5:30 so ate then set of at 6pm.
I did the reverse ride of this morning - with exception of Chippenham's one way systems. It was a completely different ride, there was a head wind for almost the whole ride. still covered 21.65 miles in 1hour 18mins with an average of 16.4 mph.

It does put everything into perspective. I have managed to do over 43 miles AND fit in a full days work! I now think that 90 miles per day is more than just a possibility. The main issue's are energy and fluid intake.

I have now also repaired the Mountain Bike... I 'borrowed' a wheel from 'Boy Wonders' bike ;-) (He does not use it now and its destined for the scrap heap) It does however have a seven gear threaded free-wheel unit as opposed to the original six - I have ordered a tool to undo the thread.
But the wheel fits and the gears appear to work properly ;-) but I have a newer six and the seven is heavily worn.

Ohhhhhh I just noticed I have already cycled over 150 miles this week!!!! perhaps I aught to add weekly mileage to the stats ;-)

Day 91

Got home normal time and decided I would go out for a ride on the Mountain Bike to Lacock, Intention being to climb up Nash Hill.

I got about 2.5 miles down the cycleway when the rear wheel became loose, On first inspection I thought the rear axle had sheared. Wifey rescued me ;-) And on return home I removed the wheel and found that the rear bearing had collapsed. (I had done my normal check over the bike before I set of and everything appeared OK at that point).....

Thank god the bearing didn't collapse on Sunday!

SO tonight I did 2.5 mile ride + 2 mile walk wifey transported me in the car for the last half mile (I wont add it to my stats!)

I will attempt to salvage a wheel from another bike in the shed........

Day 90

Swimming day ;-)

Got home at 6:30......lounged around till 7 then went to Calne for swim
Got in pool at 730

Wifey says I did 20 lengths ;-) (Although it took 20 minutes - non stop)

Stopped at pub for tea on way home and undid all of the swimming good!

Day 89 (Sunday)

Woke up and got up early.

Had some toast for breky then took Rosie (Dog) for a walk to Morgans Hill (Apparently the sight of gallows in the 1700's and named after 'John Morgan', who in 1720 robbed his uncle and murdered him to avoid detection, but was caught and hanged on the hill before a large crowd)


Took loads of pictures of wild Orchids 'n' things ;-)

Got back home at 10 ish - Did normal Sunday house tidy, Cut grass then Got Mountain Bike out and checked it over, re-adjusted brakes and tightened rear wheel bearing also fitted a bell that I found lurking in a kitchen drawer ;-)


Obviously one we bought for the children and they never used...

Cooked pasta salad for lunch, then set of at 12:45 for a ride on the Mountain Bike - determined to find the track to the Kennet and Avon from Avebury as detailed here... , well I did find it ;-)

If you open the picture and look at the hill in the background you will see the track climbing over it! (And I did!)

I ended up joining the Kennet and Avon and found out what happens to paths that people dont normally venture down....

They become a little overgrown...

The unpaved canal paths are also NOT a smooth surface to ride along.

I decided NOT to stay on the Canal path to Semington but left it at the bottom of Caen Hill Locks.

(cheating here picture I took in February when a lock gate was being replaced!)

I then cycled directly back to Chippenham on the A342 covering a total of 41.2 miles in 3 hours 35 mins (Cross country for 30 of them!), clocking up the highest speed to date 42mph going down Old Derry Hill

So this weekend I have travelled 75.08 + 41.2 = 116.28 Miles! And I can still walk and talk......I must be mad........

The 90 miles per day the way I see it at the moment is going to be VERY tough.

Currently now cooking roast pork for family........(Cider gravy and Apple sauce of course).

Day 88 (Saturday)

Woke up later than normal! cooked porridge for wifey 'n' me, then reviewed planned route
I decided that I couldn't face visiting Devizes twice in one day AND I didn't want to go on the A303 - So I made a last minute change and thought I would head Chippenham -> Calne -> Marlborough -> Pewsey -> Upavon -> Netheravon -> Larkill -> Shrewton -> Tilshead -> West Lavington ->Devizes -> Bromham -> Melksham -> Lacock -> Chippenham (Gmap route here
Trackme also worked well - Select Day88)

I set of at 10 am and arrived back home at 3:10 pm covering a total distance of 75.08 miles ;-) with an average speed of 15.6 mph - Head winds again ;-(
The computer had me pedalling for 4 hours 49 mins (The missing minutes was me stopping to eat lunch!)

It was very interesting! when I set of the hill's did not bother me at all (I have got used to them and seldom have to change out of the top gear range now)- This cannot be said for the final 20 miles!
When I got back to Lacock I thought it would be a good idea to try and cycle up Bowden Hill....It was NOT, Although I could continue cycling I did not have the energy to make it up such a steep hill. (I hope as I push the distance my stamina will grow)

The handlebar bag worked perfectly (Carrying puncture repair kit, lunch, more drink, freeloader and phone). The freeloader also worked well although I think I may have left the display on the phone as they both appeared to be almost flat on return home.

It does seem a bit bizarre cycling all of the way to Stonehenge and NOT actually going to see it! but the A303 is not something I ever plan to tackle on a bicycle!

I would like to say that I feel as good doing 75 miles as I do doing 50......But I dont..I actually feel drained of energy now - and physically tired - This is not like the early days when muscles ached etc...This is tired.........

Day 87

New cycle computer arrived today ;-)

Fitted handlebar bag and new cycle computer to bike.

went out for tea instead of going for ride ;-)

Intending to go for big ride out tomorrow.

Day 86

Got home at 6:30 - Fixed yellow mountain bike....Boy wonder had buckled the front wheel ;-(

Had evening meal - then set of at 7:30 for a bike ride (on the red mountain bike)

I cycled up Nash Hill in one go, without stopping! (Nash Hill is steeper than Bowden Hill and IS the steepest hill I know locally) I did have to get out of the saddle and stand on the peddles for some of it.

I am truly happy with the last couple of days riding...(May not be the fastest rides, but I have conquered two of Wiltshire's mountains!)

Ohhh the cycle computer has dried out and has started working again ;-)

Today I covered the same route as yesterday apart from I cycled UP Nash Hill and DOWN Bowden Hill where as yesterday I cycled UP Bowden and DOWN Nash.

So again 12.5 Miles ....gmap here....

Day 85

I was going to go for a 20 this morning...but woke up to rain trying to break through the window, so gave it a miss.

I had more or less decided at 5pm that I wasn't going to go out this evening either, but as I sat on my lardy butt feeling lethargic the need to go out on the bike overwhelmed me.

I set off towards Lacock again as I enjoyed it so much yesterday ;-) and at 3.5 miles the cycle computer stopped, I guess it got water logged ;-( it was persistent down again...

When I got to Lacock I thought it would be a good idea to ride up Bowden Hill (I remembered blogging my desire to ride up it) So I did - non-stop, Although I did have to drop into granny gears, I think I can be forgiven as it is one of the steepest hills I know!

It was slower riding Down Nash Hill than it was Up Bowden Hill - Due to the torrential rain and the extremely bad wet braking on the Mountain Bike.

According to gmap I covered 12.5 miles, arriving back home soaked but happy with my hill climbing. I have been sort of worried about hills and the SPD peddles -but climbing straight up Bowden Hill without stopping has given me a lot more confidence ;-)

Tomorrow I am going to cycle up Nash Hill ...That is the steepest hill I know locally!

When I got home I bought another cycle computer from ebay.....I think I will swap the wireless one from the Dawes onto the Mountain Bike and fit the new one to teh Dawes.

Day 84

My voice is still croaking from singing on Saturday ;-)

I got home at about 6:30, got changed and went straight out.

I revisited the Chippenham -> Lacock -->Chippenham route (9.4 miles) something has changed. I found myself hammering around it at full speed without having to take the bike out of the top gear range. The 9.4 miles took a mere 40 minutes

It was nice to go back on the ride and see what a real difference there was in speed, stamina and strength. Minor inclines that I went up without a second thought were major hills 84 days ago, I remember cursing trying to go down the gears to keep moving.

I dont think my speed or strength will improve much more now (I feel I go as fast as the Mountain Bike was designed to go), all I can do now is keep going to maintain my fitness and push the distance and time on bike at the weekends.

Day 83

Got home at 6:30.... Dilly and dallied around until 7:10 then went swimming.

I didn't feel quite as much like a washing machine and did a large number of lengths (don't ask how many as I lose count after 3 ;-)

All the good swimming effort was lost by 2 pints of Black Rat and pub grub ;-) But it was well worth it ;-)

Now I will have to go for a cycle tomorrow as well to make up for the pub food.....

Day 82 (Sunday)

Hmmmm today I feel like a V8 firing on 2 cylinders!

I thought I woke up early! but once I could see straight it wasn't!
Made some Porridge for wifey, daughter 'n' me for breky ;-)

Went to shops to do weekly shop with wifey had lunch out ;-)

Finally set of on Mountain Bike at 15:15 (It was raining!)

Cycled same route as last week to Avebury on sustrans cycle route 4, found the wilderness path to Kennet and Avon went about 2 miles down it, I was getting soaked, had run out of water and was feeling VERY tired (Lack of sleep) so decided to give up and turned around returning to Silbury Hill and cycled back home down the A4. (When I am NOT sleep starved and the weather is better I will try again!)

4 Important lessons learnt today!

1) Wearing a rain mac on a bike is pointless. You end up as wet inside as you do out! inside is sweat! outside is rain!.
2) Always carry change. I had NO money to buy a drink! (I normally always have a couple of pounds on me- I took all my change last night and spent it all!)
3) NEVER Cycle through puddles you cant see the ground through! - I almost came a cropper at RAF YATESBURY, I cycled through a track wide puddle to find the front wheel disappear up to the axle and almost went over the handlebars! (Luckily I was going slow enough to cycle up the submerged mountain without putting my feet down!)
4)Cycling through 10 miles of puddle is fun! 30 Miles is VERY Tiring

The sustrans route 4 has a non bike friendly bridge! The steps are steep!



Ended up doing 33.2 miles, ariving home at just gone 6, I was soaked. Had shower warmed up and then cooked tea (Roast Pork Tenderloin, with crushed baked new potatoes and a hot sauce for wifey, daughter and son, and a honey and mustard sauce for me :-) (all home made of course!)

I have now realised I am addicted to cycling in a similar way to I WAS smoking. I just dont feel happy unless I go out?????? I think I may be a sport billy!!!!!! (I have now had my first trip to a sports stadium ;-) - Ok it was to see a metal band, but....I am on the slippery slope!)

Received a fantastic email from Andy Gibbons yesterday (He was the chance encounter in Devizes who was on day 1 of a 2000 mile end to end both ways trip! on my training Day 61) He has finished the journey ;-) achieving an average daily mileage of 110 miles, it diminishes our little jolly into insignificance.

Day 81 (Saturday)

Got up early. went for 29.8 mile ride (Chippenham -> Calne -> Avebury -> Devizes -> Chippenham) it was quite tough as there was a strong head wind between Avebury and Devizes, I also had quite a late night on Friday (Ended up going to sleep at about 1:30 am Saturday morning)

Got back from ride at 11:30 then got changed to go to Twickenham ;-)



It was excellent ;-) although I think it might have been better if we were standing (The stage was a long way away - but the atmosphere was everything)... Got back home at 1:00 am Sunday Morning.....

I think I have lost my voice ;-) (I do sing well!)

Day 80

I worked from home today ;-)

Got up at normal time and went out for a cycle ride at 6:40 ish, arriving back home at 8am, I did 21.8 miles in 1 hour 18 mins, I arrived back home wide awake.

Had a bit of a mathematical break down. I thought Average speed was a simple distance / time wich I worked out as 21.8/1.18 = 18.47 so Avg Speed of 18.47 mph, The cycle computer says 16.7 mph...What Rubbish I think!!! Ohhps I should know better 18 mins is NOT .18 its .3 as a decimal so 21.8/1.3 = 16.7 ;-)

The intention was to go out for a ride again this evening, but it got cold and wet out - and a day in doors has left me lethargic so I didn't. (I do intend to go for a 30 tomorrow morning though)

The handlebar bag and Freeloader have arrived today ;-)

Tommorow is www.ironmaiden.com/twickenham I am all excited ;-)

Day 79

Got home late ;-(

But wifey picked up my wheel ;-) (£11 for new spoke and wheel true)
I fitted the wheel when I got home and went straight out. I did 19.6 miles in 1 hour 13 min

It was fab ;-) The mountain bike is fun but is hard work compared to the Dawes!

Day 78

Did not WFH today ;-(

Got home late 6:45....Got changed and went straight out on the Mountain Bike.
It had been raining and the Calne cycleway was muddy ;-) (It was great!)

I did 11.6 miles in 45 Minutes.

I now find the top gear on the mountain bike is NOT high enough and I end up spinning along ;-)

I think I will go out on the Dawes tomorrow....

Day 77

Night Off!

Playing computer games :-)

The geezer from the bike shop called and the wheel is done and ready. They are an old school shop and are closed on Wednesday's wifey says she will pick it up on Thursday...