2012 Week 9

Week 9 (w/e 4 March 2012)
Miles: 152.5

I'm conscious that the content of this blog is quite dry and leans heavily towards statistics. To brighten things up a bit I've decided to add a cycling-related photo to each entry. This week's opening pic comes from a stretch of the A586, in case you want to make a note of it. Ok, let's get down to business.

Week 9 was a cracker - despite losing a complete day to rain.

Monday was washed out completely. Good start, there. So I got things underway on Tuesday. The weather was drizzly, but I managed 16 miles in the late afternoon along the usual lanes. I was able to top that up in the evening with a good 30 minutes or so, the result being 23 miles in the bank. The weather on Wednesday was very pleasant - mild and fine. I went off in the afternoon and did 18 miles, topping that up in the evening so that I finished the day with a 50.

Having laid that foundation, I looked forward to taking advantage of the pleasant sunny weather on Thursday. But first I had to drop off my bike at the local bike shop for some attention. In addition to the broken gear cable there were a couple of other minor things that needed attention. I noticed the difference when I got it back. It's amazing what an improvement a mini-service can deliver. I went off on a 20 miler to celebrate then did some more in the evening. Thursday closed with me on 78 miles. Good work. Friday's weather was similarly excellent, so I took myself to 95 miles in the afternoon and then broke through the 100 mark in the evening - to 102 miles, to be exact.

Having sorted out the ton with two full days to spare, anything over that was going to be a welcome bonus. Three short trips on Saturday brought me to 126 miles. Sunday was clear and cold and a bitter north-westerly wind was blowing in. Not much fun when heading into it, but with the wind at my back I flew. The afternoon ride took me to 144 miles, leaving me with a 30 minute dash mid-evening to complete my total this week of 152. A fine effort.

152.5 miles is my highest weekly score since the first week of October 2011 (158.1). It also saw my weekly average leap from 102.9 to 108.4.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 25 m.
Total for 2012: 975.9
2012 average weekly mileage: 108.43
Consecutive 100s: 8
Miles needed for 6000: 5024.1
Percentage of target reached: 16.26%
With 43 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 116.84

Fastest time of the year to get to 100 miles, I note. Just shows what having your bike serviced can do. Also, the "average needed from here to get 6000 miles" figure has been resolutely anchored at 117.x miles for the last 6 weeks; it's a boost to get that to fall, even if it's just by 0.8 of a mile.

Also this week: early on, I noticed that my back tyre was soft.
"Darn", I thought, "either that puncture repair was botched or I've run over another flippin' thorn."
I pumped up the tyre and left it for 30 minutes. When I returned to check it, the tyre was still fully inflated.
"Funny," I thought.
Over the next few days the tyre sometimes stayed up and sometimes went a bit softer.
I eventually worked out the valve is a bit dodgy and that's the source of the leak. Ho hum.

Farmer 2 - 1 Cyclist

I had a social engagement to attend on Friday evening and a few things to do that afternoon, but I budgeted enough time to dash out there and add another 12 miles that would have taken me to 70 heading into the weekend. Unfortunately, when I went to my bike, the back tyre was flat. When I pumped it up it wasn't long before it was flat again. You can imagine my mood. No time to fix it so no cycling for me.

It's been hedge cutting time around here in the last week or two. It's an issue that enrages me. I won't swear on here because otherwise I might fall foul of filters and censors, but believe me, the language I'd use would be pretty fruity. It makes me more than annoyed when land owners / their contractors arrogantly trim the hedges and just leave the cuttings all over the road. Anti-social, lazy, arrogant? All these things. It's the blatant absence of regard for other road users that incenses me. I have a fairly good idea where I picked up the puncture as well.

I fixed it on Saturday afternoon, despite suffering from a hangover. There was a thorn in the tyre. Somehow I managed to snap the gear cable when I was wrestling with the wheel as I put it back into the frame. Groan. Thanks, farmer bloke.

2012 - Week 8 Graph

Having completed another four weeks, it's time once again to review the progress so far.

If you compare it with the graph after four weeks you can see the years have bunched up a bit more.

It gives me a great personal sense of satisfaction to see that I'm still ahead of the pack, although only by a lead of 41 miles over 1998. The next four weeks could see me relinquish this lead, as we're heading towards spring and historically better weather which usually results in more mileage. Weeks 9 - 12 in 1998 yielded 100, 105, 146 and 138 miles respectively. So unless I make a conscious effort to push on and do more, it's going to be close. And after that? You'll see. But it won't get any easier.

I'm still comfortably well ahead of the next contender, 2009. By a huge 188.3 miles in fact. It just shows what a staggering good start to 2012 I've had.

2012 Week 8

Week 8 (w/e 26 February)
Miles: 103.5

The week got off to a promising start with steady rain until late in the evening that ruled out any cycling for me. Never mind, there are plenty of days in the week. Tuesday afternoon was overcast but dry, so I took myself out for a 19 miler. Misty drizzle arrived in the evening. In normal times such weather usually puts me off getting the bike out, but I'd seen the forecast for Wednesday and wasn't impressed. So I dashed out for an extra 7 miles at 10 pm despite the light rain that was now falling. Wednesday did indeed bring rain, but this had cleared by mid-evening so I managed a good 40 minute pedal that took me to 35 miles.

Thursday felt quite mild out, at least in sheltered parts out of the wind that had whipped itself up again. I took a trip to my local town in the afternoon then did the usual hour in the countryside. The result of these journeys saw me advance to 58 miles. I didn't make it out again in the evening. And then Friday. As I mentioned in my previous post, I had somewhere to go that evening but set aside time to nip out for 12 or so miles and thus head into the weekend with 70. But it wasn't to be, thanks to a puncture in the back tyre. Bah!

I fixed the puncture on Saturday afternoon, despite a dreadful hangover. I managed to snap my gear cable in the process. Twit. At least the weather was good, so I ended Saturday with 78 miles in the end, despite being stuck with two gears in effect. So 22 miles on Sunday was the requirement and I did it all in one ride that afternoon, despite the distraction of the League Cup final on TV. The weather was great for cycling: still and calm, with a ceiling of high white cloud.

Having rolled back home with just under 101 miles, I had a couple of hours rest. Suddenly at around 9:30 pm I noticed that it was starting to drizzle outside. A quick look at the invaluable rain radar revealed that a band of heavy rain was moving in from the Irish Sea. Finishing on 101 miles this week would mean that my weekly average for 2012 would fall back by a fraction. By 0.2 miles, in fact. "So what?" you might ask. But the competitive spirit within me refused to allow that to happen, so I quickly dashed out for 10 minutes to add another two miles to my total to ensure that this didn't happen... despite the rain that was steadily growing firmer. Utter madness.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 37 m.
Total for 2012: 823.4
2012 average weekly mileage: 102.92
Consecutive 100s: 7
Miles needed for 6000: 5176.6
Percentage of target reached: 13.72%
With 44 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 117.65

2012 Week 7

Week 7 (w/e 19 February)
Miles: 116.1

The weather for the first three days of the week was benign: overcast but mild. Good cycling conditions for winter, although the wind was often whipping in from the Irish Sea to slow me down. I got off to a reasonable start on Monday with a 20 mile ride in the afternoon. I more or less did the same on Tuesday, although the wind was noticeably stronger. I pushed on to almost 40 miles in spite of it. On Wednesday afternoon my usual ride took me to 57 miles. I went back out mid-evening to top that up, since conditions were good. I rolled home with 65 miles. That's an excellent score for the close of play on a Wednesday.

The weather changed on Thursday and dank, drizzly rain greeted me all afternoon. The early evening showed a bit of promise but then a wave of firmer rain blew in, so no cycling was done. Unfortunately, Friday panned out in the same manner. I didn't want to leave too much to do at the weekend. Psychologically, it always feels better going into the weekend needing 20 something miles rather than 30 something. So I dashed out in the evening despite the dankness. It started to rain lightly but firmly when I was 2 miles away from home, but I got back with 73 miles on the clock.

Saturday began with lashing rain, but this had cleared by mid-afternoon. I cycled into town* and then did another 30 minutes worth at teatime which took me to 89 miles. I didn't bother going out again in the dark because it was cold and windy. So that left Sunday to mop up the remaining 11 miles. Conditions were clear and cold and gale-free. So I took myself out at 4:30 and rolled home later with 108 miles. I dashed back out mid-evening for another half an hour, thus ending the week with 116. It was comfortable in the end.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hr 37 m.
Total for 2012: 719.9
2012 average weekly mileage: 102.84
Consecutive 100s: 6
Miles needed for 6000: 5280.1
Percentage of target reached: 11.99%
With 45 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 117.3

A slow 100 this week due to the north westerly wind.

* I usually make a trip to my local town on Saturday afternoon around 3:30 - 4 pm. This means that I get home around 5 pm. Today was the first occasion this year when I didn't need to put my lights on when going home. Excellent! It's a milestone I always look out for with some pleasure. Spring must be just around the corner!

2012 Week 6

Week 6 (w/e 12 February)
Miles: 126.1

It was a foggy start to the week. I set off for a ride on Monday afternoon at about 4 pm and didn't have to go very far into the countryside before encountering it. I thought someone had a bonfire at first but then the penny dropped. So I took the sensible option and chose a quicker route home than I'd originally planned. That put 14 miles down on my weekly account. I moved on to 33 miles on Tuesday, which was clear and noticeably colder. This became 52 miles on Wednesday. Another good start then. Just as well really, because Thursday was dank, drizzly and wintry and so no cycling was done. Friday was cold and grey, with a bitter wind blowing in from the east. Despite this I pushed on to 70 miles. So that left 30 for the weekend to achieve another ton. Saturday was one of those cold winter's days when the skies are still and white. I made my usual trip into town to pick up a few bits, then had a brief ride when I got home, with another 30 minute trundle mid-evening. These three separate trips saw me move on to 96 miles by the end of the day. Sunday was very misty, but I got out there in the middle of the afternoon for a decent ride, rolling home with 117 miles. Excellent. That figure meant my weekly average was raised to 99.1 miles. I was less than 30 minutes cycling away from getting it to 100. Unfortunately, heavy fog arrived once the sun went down. Would I be able to get those few miles that I needed? Was I mad enough to try? Need you ask? At 9 pm I went out for a crazy ride in the fog. Luckily traffic on the roads I veered down was as limited as my vision, so I came back in one piece with the total I wanted. Loony.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hr 32 m.
Total for 2012: 603.8
2012 average weekly mileage: 100.6
Consecutive 100s: 5
Miles needed for 6000: 5396.2
Percentage of target reached: 10.06%
With 46 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 117.3

Racing away to push my weekly average to 100 by mid-February is unprecedented for me. I've got 10% of my target done already! The dry winter has almost certainly helped. Here's how many weeks it took to get the average to 100 previously, best first:

1998 - week 11 (mid-March)
2009 + 2010 - week 23 (early June)
2011 - week 27 (early July)
1997 - week 33 (mid-August)

Now that I'm averaging 100, I need to keep it there for the remainder of the year. Part of me groans at the thought; the other part says, "get on with it, fat boy."

2012 Week 5

Week 5 (w/e 5 February)

Miles: 115.3

The cold snap descended upon the north west this week. On the plus side, that meant clear and fine weather. In the minus column, it led to freezing conditions. In general, the afternoons were a few degrees above zero so generally I got myself out on the bike every day before the sun went down and dragged the temperature with it. I've put evening rides on hold for now, doing a bit extra in the afternoon to compensate. Monday's ride saw me start the week with 18 miles. Tuesday's trip advanced me to 31 miles, which improved to 50 miles by tea time on Wednesday, despite the bitter wind that was blowing in from the east on the latter. Like a football manager, I like to get points on the board early on, so racing to 50 miles by Wednesday night is a secondary target for the week for me. Continuing with a sporting theme, a 50 by Wednesday usually gets converted to a 100 by Sunday night, barring atrocious weather. Or a dubious lbw decision. By Thursday I'd moved on to 68 miles. Another afternoon ride on Friday pushed me on to 87 miles. All good stuff... but then wintry showers arrived on Saturday. While the rest of England got snow, or so it seemed, all the Fylde received was rain. It finally stopped at about 7:30 in the evening, but the clear skies that followed instantly froze it. Slip-o-matic. So no cycling was done. That left 13 miles to get on Sunday and fortunately the icy conditions had thawed. So off I trundled at 3 pm, returning home a little later with a total of 108 miles. I fancied pushing on a bit more than that, so at 9 pm I dashed out along the (gritted) main road and back, ensuring a finish of 115 miles.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hr 31 m.
Total for 2012: 477.7
2012 average weekly mileage: 95.54
Consecutive 100s: 4
Miles needed for 6000: 5522.3
Percentage of target reached: 7.96%
With 47 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 117.49

Almost identical time for the 100 as last week. Now there's consistency.

Fascinating fact #1. Every week so far this year I'd cycled further than the previous week.

Fascinating fact #2. If I manage 122.3 miles this week, I'll have got my average weekly mileage up to 100 with historically stunning haste. Now that's a target to aim for.