A record ride.

Cold this morning when I woke at 5.30am and the sun hadn’t bothered rising above the yard arm (whatever one of those is!) but after two cups of tea and last nights left over home made pizza, I was ready for the road.

Now, after yesterdays 13 mile blast, I had decided to take it easy today and do around 20 miles. I needed to get back before 9am however as the weather forecaster (who, of course lie) said the weather was going to turn nasty with winds over 40mph and heavy rain…shudder.

The first few miles were okay but cold! I was taking sometime to warm up and was easily dropped by a thin chappy on a road bike going over the railway bridge on the way out of town. Oh, question, why, when I am doing 28 mph down hill does a shitty M reg ZX try to run me off the road? it’s a 30mph section so to pass me, you had to break the speed limit…fool.

Anyway, I turn down to Acton Trussell and find the road from there to Penkridge almost empty; which was nice. As I had warmed up nicely, things were now flowing and, much to my surprise and delight, I made it to Penkridge in a record time of 24 minutes. Good that as my average time is about 32 mins.

Okay, that’s quicker than yesterday, I thought…why not press myself to see what I can do 10 miles in, remembering that I did that distance in 48 minutes yesterday….well, hammer down (and empty roads with a lovely sun rise), brought the distance up in 46.32! I work at out as an average of around 13mph.

Feeling good now, the next five miles were done in 22 minutes (its down hill most of the way) taking the average up to 13.3mph, whilst the final 5 miles or so (including the climb back up the hill over the railway line) was completed in 25 minutes.

So, around 20 miles (my bike computer is about 5% out so the above speeds are give or take a small bit) in 1 hour 31 with an average speed of 13.2mph….. Pleased with that!

So, an official 19.79 miles to add to this months running total of 190.60 makes 210.39. “Only” 39.61 to do over the next three days…that has got to be possible…. (I think that’s 92 miles or so far this week alone!)

Oh, and its now 9am and….d’oh, it started raining.