2012 Week 25

Week 25 (w/e 24 June 2012)
Miles: 125.2

Monday got the week underway in fine fashion with a sunny afternoon. I did 15 miles on the usual route in the late afternoon. But change was at hand in the evening - a large shower of heavy rain passed over from the south between 9 and 9:30. It left drizzle in its aftermath, so no more cycling was done that day. Tuesday was hot and sunny. Wow! Perhaps summer was making a comeback? Lovely stuff anyway, so I took myself out for an hour in the afternoon (back with 32 miles) and then nipped back out in the evening after watching England v Ukraine to add another 8 miles to the total, returning home with 40. Wednesday was mostly sunny and very warm, although there was a period in the afternoon where it looked as if it was turning thundery. This never happened and the sun came back out. In celebration I went out on my bike for a good hour, taking my camera along for the ride again to take a couple of snaps for the blog. I got back with 57 miles. There was no football to distract me in the evening so I shot out again later on for another 8 miles, gliding homeward with a total of 65. Sterling work for a Wednesday.

Thursday morning brought rain in plentiful supply. By the afternoon this had (temporarily) cleared away. I decided to get out on the bike slightly earlier than usual just in case the patches of rain that were threatening the region pounced before the rain radar suggested they would. I'd only gone a mile when I got a fly in my eye, despite wearing glasses as usual. Ouch! I had to return home to fish it out and then set off again. It turned out to be a humid, sticky ride. The overhead conditions weren't great and there were patches of heavily localised showers in the area. I managed to avoid these, encountering just the odd spots of drizzle here and there instead. I came home with 81 miles. Steady rain returned at 7:30 in the evening and became quite heavy so no more cycling was possible that day. As a consolation prize, I went to the pub instead. No guilt attached to this, as there was no alternative. Friday was a complete washout. Appalling. It rained from 8 am at least until finally stopping just after midnight. The River Calder flooded again over in West Yorkshire but we got off lightly here in comparison.

Saturday. A grey and blustery day until mid-evening at least. I didn't bother making my customary trip into town but went out into the countryside instead. I had to make a detour from my planned route before a mile was up to avoid a stretch of flooded road. I rolled home 70 minutes later with 98.5 miles... I dashed in to get my camera to take a pic of the flooded road. I was disappointed to discover that the water level had subsided noticeably in the meantime. Never mind, I returned home with 100 miles in the bag. The rain returned while I was watching the rather dull Spain v France quarter final on tv, so no more miles were done.
That left Sunday for me to push on and post a bigger total. Fortunately the weather was much improved; sunny, but with a gusty wind coming in straight off the Irish Sea. I took myself out on a 24 miler and came home with 125 miles in total. In the evening there was the small matter of England v Italy on tv. The extra time and penalties realistically left no time to add any more to the total, so that was it for this week. Had the match ended after 90 minutes I would have definitely added another 8 at least. I think I should have gone out on the bike instead of suffering the pain of watching those penalties.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 15 m.
Total for 2012: 3026.1
2012 average weekly mileage: 121.04
Consecutive 100s: 24
Miles needed for 6000: 2973.9
Percentage of target reached: 50.43%
With 27 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 110.14

A few things of note have occurred this week. The big news is that I've reached the halfway stage in my quest to do 6000 miles this year. I've achieved it a week ahead of the halfway stage in the year too. Excellent. The other piece of newsworthy info is that I posted my fastest time of the year to get 100 miles done; 6 hours 15 minutes shaved four minutes off my previous best, set just last week.

Update
Here's a photo of the flooded road. It was a lot deeper than that when I first encountered it. Honest.

2012 - Week 24 Graph

Time once more to pause and take stock after the passing of another four weeks.

I'm happy to note that I still maintain a lead of 1998, although this lead has been cut slightly due to two below average performances in the last two weeks. Over these four weeks I added 529.2 miles in 2012, at an average of 132.3 per week. 1998 yielded 547 at 136.75 miles per week in the same period.

The leads currently stand so:

1998 - 61.5
2009 - 534.5

This month, 2009 replaces 2011 as the next best challenger. You may notice above that at the equivalent stage in 2009 (the cyan line) I suddenly had a spurt of acceleration. That was when a combination of fine, sunny weather and a bit of purpose saw me post four consecutive weeks of 150+ between weeks 22 and 25.

So what do I need to keep ahead? In 1998, weeks 25 - 28 yielded 560.1 miles at an average of 140 per week. I need to get myself to 3399.6 by then, so that's another 498.7 miles at an average of 124.6 every week. Perfectly achievable, as long as this wretched weather improves.

As a bonus for this month, here's a graph showing the relative performances of 1998 and 2012 so far.

Let's hope it still looks like this next month.

2012 Week 24

Week 24 (w/e 17 June 2012)
Miles: 106.2

This is quite a novelty - for the first time in a while I find myself writing about last week's cycling larks rather than some distant time. Sadly, this week mirrored last week in the respect that the weather frustratingly held back my charge for glory. Here's how in unravelled.

Monday. Monday afternoon was overcast and cool. But a greater distraction presented itself in the shape of France v England in the Euros. So no cycling was done until later in the evening, when I made a start on the chase by trundling along my usual 8 mile loop. Tuesday's weather showed a slight improvement, with broken cloud cover allowing occasional sunny breaks. I took myself out in the late afternoon for an hour, returning home with 24 miles in total. This was improved to 32 miles when I dashed out once more in the evening to add another 8 miles. Wednesday morning was wet but by the afternoon the rain had moved on, leaving behind grey clouds and menacing threats. I cycled into town for a change, having missed out the previous Saturday. In the evening, after watching Netherlands v Germany on tv I slipped quietly out for another 8 miles on the familiar loop. I got back with a total of 51 miles. A decent result for Wednesday, all said.

What did I write about Wednesday last week?

"A good foundation once more - surely getting another 50 over four days wouldn't pose a problem?"

I'm getting a distinct feeling of deja vu here.

Thursday afternoon was generally sunny. Italy v Croatia was on tv but I eschewed this in favour of more pedalling. I got out there for an hour, noticing that the blustery easterly wind had turned up once again. Urgh. I got back with 67 miles done, half an hour ahead of the arrival of drizzle... that developed into firm rain by nightfall. I had a visit to the pub planned anyway, but there was no guilt attached as this wasn't cycling weather. Friday brought showers. Morning rain had eased away by noon but come 3:30 it was pelting down again. I managed to get out on my bike for a mile and a half, riding to the local bike shop to pick up my new back tyre. It was drizzling for the next couple of hours. There was a clear spell from around 7 pm until 9, but this coincided with Sweden v England on the television. I would have probably zipped out for half an hour after the match had it not been raining steadily again by then. Ho hum.

Into the weekend then, requiring another 31 miles to rack up another centrury. And the omens weren't good. The weather on Saturday was grim. Very grim. It felt like a November day than one in June, to be quite frank. The blustery wind blew and steady rain came down for much of the afternoon. By 5:30 it had appeared to have stopped. I really didn't want to leave too many miles to get on Sunday and 31 miles was too many in my opinion. I got myself ready to go out for half an hour and just then... it started to rain again. Bah! Fortunately, having watched the Czech Republic v Poland in the evening a window of opportunity opened again and I hurled myself through it. 9 miles later I came home with 80 on the clock, leaving a much more palatable 20 to get the next day. As luck would have it, Sunday was a fine and sunny day. The contrast with Saturday couldn't have been more different. I took myself out on a 24 miler to polish off the 100 in one gasp. Coming back with 104 miles, I then checked my cycling spreadsheet and noticed that I was only two miles off reaching the total of 2900 miles for the year. Never one to shirk the challenge of passing a milestone when dangled so temptingly in front of me, I nipped out at half time in the Portugal v Netherlands game and bagged a brace of miles to finish with 106.

In a re-run of last week, I then had an appointment with the pub. Once again, I would have otherwise nipped out for another half an hour to get the 8 or 9 miles needed to keep my averages from falling. But I didn't. So it goes again.

The stats:

Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 27 m.
Total for 2012: 2900.9

2012 average weekly mileage: 120.8
Consecutive 100s: 23
Miles needed for 6000: 3099.1

Percentage of target reached: 48.34%
With 28 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 110.68

A strangely slow week to reach 100 miles by recent standards. Blustery weather was the cause, I suspect.

A frustrating fortnight has seen me put on just 214.7 miles. Ideally I would have liked many more than that to maintain the gap between this year and 1998.

2012 Week 23

Week 23 (w/e 10 June 2012)
Miles: 108.5

A week in which the weather turned wild, leaving me slightly up against it.

You wouldn't have guessed that this would be the case on the Monday though, as it was a splendid sunny day, much as it had been for the previous week. I took myself out on the bike in the afternoon for a 16 mile ride. This was the jubilee weekend and a Bank Holiday Monday, so I celebrated that evening in the customary fashion by going to the pub. No more miles were added. The weather then lurched to the other end of the scale. Tuesday afternoon was overcast and drizzly. I managed to dash out at 5:45 for half an hour or so despite the light rain that was swirling around in the air. I got back with almost 26 miles. Steady rain rolled in ten minutes later and got heavier as the evening progressed, so that was that for the day. Wednesday afternoon was mostly clear and sunny in comparison. But checking the rain radar I noticed heavy bands of rain moving up the country from the south. It looked distinctly ominous so I decided to get the bike out a few hours earlier than normal. An hour's ride brought me home with 42 miles in the bag. As luck would have it, the heavy rain showers missed the Fylde completely; the wind blew them over to the north east. Phew. This allowed me to dash back out on Wednesday evening for another half an hour to end the day with 50 miles. A good foundation once more - surely getting another 50 over four days wouldn't pose a problem?

Thursday came. So did steady rain. It came down until about 9 in the evening. There was a slight chance that I might have dashed out for half an hour around 10 pm, but I took up a better offer of going to the pub instead. Besides, the roads would have been pretty wet by that time. And with 50 miles already in the bank, there was no need to panic. Friday arrived and it was wild. A gale came howling in off the Irish Sea, bringing rain in the morning. By the afternoon it was merely grey and blustery, with spots of rain in the air. Flaming June? You're having a laugh. Friday also marked the start of Euro 2012. After watching the first half of the opening game (Poland v Greece) I nipped out for half an hour to edge along to 59 miles. Heavy rain came bucketing in by mid-evening, so no more miles were added. Into the weekend then, with 41 miles of the target remaining.

Saturday. More rain. A grim afternoon. Fortunately the rain stopped at about 2:30, enabling me to get the bike out. The first job was to cycle the short distance to my local bike shop to put in an order for a new back tyre, as mine was wearing through in too many places. You may have spotted that it gets a lot of use. Despite the grey and blustery conditions, I took myself out for 90 minutes to break the back of the run chase. I came home with 83 miles. With the rain holding off I shot back out later in the evening for the usual 30 minute loop, coming back with 91 miles. Sterling work. 32 miles on the day rescued the position. That left Sunday to get the remaining 9 miles to achieve another century. The weather was fortunately sunny. I went out for around 70 minutes later in the afternoon, rolling home with 108 miles. There was more football to watch in the evening (Republic of Ireland v Croatia) and then I took up another offer of going to the pub. I could have added another 8 miles otherwise to keep my averages from slipping, but never mind.

Something in the back of my mind tells me that when the year draws to a close, I'll be looking back on a week like this and mildly cursing myself for not taking advantage of the opportunity when I realise that I'm only a comparatively few miles off achieving a rounded figure for totals or averages. So it goes.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 21 m.
Total for 2012: 2794.7
2012 average weekly mileage: 121.5
Consecutive 100s: 22
Miles needed for 6000: 3205.3
Percentage of target reached: 46.57%
With 29 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 110.53

By posting a total less than the weekly average, the numbers slip back slightly.

2012 Week 22

Week 22 (w/e 3 June 2012)
Miles: 152.2

And so we glide into June.

The smashing sunny weather of the previous week continued here until Wednesday at least. Beginning the week on Monday, as is the custom, I noticed that the wind had changed direction again. The gusty easterly that had plagued my weekend had become a much more typical north-westerly. It had also dropped in ferocity, which was nice. Although it was still very warm, the sunshine was much more hazier than of late. Still, dry and fine cycling weather is always welcome, so off I went in the late afternoon for my usual trundle. I took my camera with me, hoping to take a few more photos to use on this blog, so my hour only yielded 13.5 miles this time as I was stopping and snapping. I nipped back out on the bike in the evening and pushed on to 21 miles for the day. Tuesday's weather was cloudy at first but by mid-afternoon the sun had burned away the cloud cover and it felt hot out there. An hour of afternoon cycling took me to 36.5 miles, which then became 45.5 miles in the evening once I'd been out for my supplementary trip.

Wednesday. The sunshine was a little more hazy today but conditions were still fine. I pushed on to 60 miles in the afternoon and then in the evening my usual loop to there and back saw me on to 68 miles. An excellent foundation for a big total by the weekend, I hoped. These hopes took a slight knock the very next day, when rain greeted me on rising. Fortunately it stopped in the early afternoon and remained fine thereafter. I was able to get out on the bike in the afternoon for an hour, rolling home with 80 miles. I would have more than likely added another 8 to the total in the evening, but I went to the pub instead. The hot and sunny weather returned on Friday. Glorious stuff. Off I went in the afternoon for an hour, waltzing back with 101 miles in the bag. Job done with two full days to spare again. I wasn't finished for the day though and another 9 miles in the evening pushed me along to 110 for the week.

Come the weekend, the weather worsoned. Saturday was overcast and cool, with spots of rain often in the air. A typical English summer's day in many respects. I made my usual Saturday afternoon trip into town then dashed out for another half an hour when I got home. That nudged my total along to 129 miles. No more cycling was done in the evening because I went out for the night instead. Sunday was grim and grey with steady rain when I emerged from my slumber with a fuzzy head. When the rain cleared I was able to get out for a good 30 minutes or so around 6 pm, which took me to 137.5 miles. It was drizzling again by 9 pm but I was determined to push on and record a decent total, so I ended up doing an hour in the descending gloom to finish the week with 152. Good work, Jenkins.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 19 m.
Total for 2012: 2686.2
2012 average weekly mileage: 122.1

Consecutive 100s: 21

Miles needed for 6000: 3314

Percentage of target reached: 44.77%

With 30 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 110.46

Last week I set my fastest time to get to 100 miles and this week I've broken the record again... by a whole minute. I also take my average weekly mileage to a new year high.

I've had a very fine three weeks in the saddle, with scores of 147.1, 162.3 and 152.2 yielding 461.6 miles at an average of 153.8. That's a very welcome shot of pace to put some distance between 2012 and 1998. I'm going to need it. I just hope it can continue. It's also shaved 4 whole miles off my "average weekly total needed to get to 6000 miles" figure. I'll soon have it under 110 at this rate.

2012 Week 21

Week 21 (w/e 27 May 2012)
Miles: 162.3

I should try much harder to keep this blog up to date. Writing about events from three weeks ago is like looking back to another era at the moment, especially with the distinct change in the weather. I'm writing this now on a dreary, wet Saturday afternoon coming after what has been a dreary, wet week. It was only a few weeks back at the end of May that we had a burst of summer. It all happened in week 21. And I cashed in.

The previous week had seen me tot up a score of 147 during a mostly fine week. The following week was warm - sometimes very close to hot! - and sunny. Excellent weather for cycling then. I got underway on the Monday with the usual hour's ride in the afternoon and topped that up in the evening with the usual 8 mile loop that saw me to 24 miles on the day. Tuesday's weather was similarly glorious, so I repeated the routes I'd taken the day before, gliding to 48 miles in the process. Wednesday was the odd man out with the weather. While the rest of the country basked in glorious sunshine, this part of the north west remained stubbornly overcast and cool. Never mind, I took myself out for an hour in the afternoon to advance to 64 miles, then pushed on in the evening to finish the day with 73 miles. Great work for a Wednesday.

Thursday saw the return of hot and sunny conditions. An hour's ride in the afternoon took me to 89 miles. In the evening I had to visit a mate's house on an errand - I cycled there, naturally. So that round trip meant I closed the day with 92 miles. Friday was also pleasantly sunny; in fact, it felt HOT in sheltered spots. Marvellous. Unfortunately for me, a fair breeze had whipped up on that day and was gusting in from an easterly direction. Distracted by the start of the second test against the West Indies, I didn't get out on the bike until 6. I rolled home 30 minutes later with 100 miles in the bag once again. There was time in the evening to push this on to 108 miles.

It was hot and sunny again on both Saturday and Sunday, but that stiff easterly breeze hung around to take the air temperature down a peg or two. I cycled to town as per usual on Saturday afternoon, then dashed out for a quick supplementary ride when I got back to edge to 127 miles. After a couple of hours rest I nipped out again to finish the day with 135. I was on target for a comfortable 150+ week then. And so it proved. Sunday was again hot and sunny. An hour in the afternoon took me to 151 miles. The fine conditions tempted me to get out again mid-evening and push on a bit more than usual. Thus done, I rolled home with 162 miles in total, only 5 miles behind my best score of the year so far. Splendid work. I could do with a few more weeks like that this summer.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 20 m.
Total for 2012: 2534
2012 average weekly mileage: 120.66
Consecutive 100s: 20
Miles needed for 6000: 3466
Percentage of target reached: 42.23%
With 31 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 111.8

The fastest 100 of the year so far, despite the blustery end to the week. Of course, wind blowing in from one direction both punishes and rewards depending on whether you're facing it. So it all evens out I suppose. This week pushed my weekly average to a year high of 120.6

The Great Balloon Mystery

The Great Balloon Mystery

Sunday 28 May 2012
It was a warm and sunny afternoon, so I set off on a ride to push on from the 135 miles I'd managed to trouser that week. Cycling along Union Lane in Out Rawcliffe, my eagle eyes spotted a burst balloon at the side of the road with a tag attached to it with string. Curiosity spiked, I went back to investigate. The tag was printed with the words:

St. Margaret's Swinton
Parochial Church Council
Acorns Group

Although there was no encouragement for me to get in touch, as there sometimes are with these things to note how far they've travelled, a Google search led me to the website for a church in the town of Swinton, near Rotherham in South Yorkshire. I sent them an email and the reply from the vicar confirmed where it had come from:

"the balloons were released from St Margaret's Parish Church, Swinton, Rotherham at 11 00am Sunday morning to celebrate Whit Sunday. Thanks so much for taking the time to get in touch, the children at church will be delighted to hear this news."

Here's a map showing the distance travelled as the crow flies:

It's 70 miles according to this website: http://tinyurl.com/myk7rjm

The wind had been fairly gusting in from the east / south east for the last few days, so it makes sense that it has travelled from that direction. Cor, eh readers?