Fog, footy and failing brakes...

The rain had gone by Sunday morning when I headed for Westerham to meet Andy last Sunday. The ride was pleasant, but when I reached my destination Andy was preparing to leave. I checked my watch, I wasn't that late, but he said he needed to be on his way, he had a lot to do, so we didn't get to chat. Instead, I sat alone inside the Costa doing exactly what I did the previous morning: day dreaming, people watching, listening to the chilled out music. As always, I could have sat there all day, reading the Sunday papers, perhaps, but eventually I departed, riding back the way I came when I discovered that, once again, Strava wasn't playing ball. This time it said that I'd only covered just over 16 miles when the reality was something like 22 miles. Very annoying. I rode back the way I came, and rode up Hesiers Hill (again) - it's easy!

Prior to climbing Hesiers Hill...

I think the problem with Strava on this occasion might (and I stress the word 'might') have been my fault. I stopped at the bottom of Hesiers Hill, prior to making the climb, and took a couple of photographs. There's a chance that when I used the phone's camera app that I stopped Strava and, because I did so unwittingly, I never pressed 'resume'. Hey Ho.

I can't hack a ride after being at work

As always, work prevented me cycling between Monday and Wednesday. By the time I reach home, riding the bike is the last thing on my mind; I'm thinking about what there is to eat and what's on television. Invariably I find myself watching the 6 o'clock news or The One Show (a fucking awful programme full of bland presenters who don't present any kind of threat to any woke people out there). There's nothing worse than political correctness and what it can do to those who try to live by it.

I should have taken the bike out on Thursday, but I didn't so I was left with Friday and it was touch and go. Eventually, however, I decided to ride the Washpond Weeble, just a straight 12.5 miles. I figured it was not worth worrying or fretting about it. The last couple of weeks had seen my mileage plummet by 10 miles to 60-odd miles, or just over, but now I was dipping further. Last week I only managed 54.81 miles, the week before it was 64 miles. But why worry? I resigned myself to lethargy and set off on Saturday morning to meet Andy in Tatsfield Village (roughly an 18-mile ride as I rode home via Woldingham). Meeting Andy on a Saturday was a break with tradition and this was because Andy had signed up for the White Lane hill challenge. White Lane joins Titsey Hill with Clarks Lane and it's a really steep climb. Both Andy and I have done it on many occasions and it's so steep that the front end of the bike becomes weightless and if you lose momentum, it's game over. We met on Saturday because Andy had done all the preparation he needed to do and was avoiding most hills until the big day (which was Sunday). 

Fog gives way to sun

I left the house on Saturday morning around 0800hrs in thickish fog. It was fairly cold too, but I figured I'd warm up as I went along. The fog persisted, but when I reached the beginning of the B269 I spotted rays of sunlight penetrating the murky greyness. It cleared by the time I reached Botley Hill and as I sailed along Approach Road into the village the weather was fantastic. I found Andy sitting outside Sheree's Tearoom (our agreed meeting place) and the whole thing was idyllic: sunshine, misty skies and warmth. I ordered a tea and we sat there enjoying the serenity of the situation, stroking an old dog called Sophie. After chatting about Andy's continuing veganism and other subjects, it was time to mount the bikes and head home. My bike, incidentally, is in need of a service. At the very least the front brake needs seeing to as it's scrapping and squeaking and I'm worried that a shoe has either worn down so much that it's scraping against the disc or that a shoe has fallen out completely. I could probably get away with just fixing the front brakes, but it's tempting to have a service, like last year, which has seen me through to now, a whole year basically of maintenance-free riding, thanks to Ross Cycles of Caterham. So my latest dilemma is just that: Do I nip down to Cycle King and get the front brake fixed OR take it over to Ross and have a service? Dilemmas, dilemmas! Either way something needs doing and Andy suggests fixing the front brake and giving the bike a clean. It definitely needs a clean, and fixing the brake will cost less than a service. Let's see.

Andy outside Sheree's Tearooms on Saturday morning

Saturday was a fairly uneventful day, but I did receive a text from Andy. He'd come off his bike, shortly after we parted company at the top of Slines Oak Road in Woldingham. Travelling around 20 mph he went through damp leaves on the road and came off, bending the bike's gear system and hurting his hip. The White Lane hill challenge was off, for Andy at any rate, but it meant our Sunday meeting in Westerham was back on so we agreed to meet at 0900hrs at Costa Coffee.

'Footy' - a subject we know little about

When Sunday morning arrived I enjoyed my usual breakfast (Alpen, porridge oats, grapes, bananas and tea) and then, around 0800hrs set off for the northern Kent market town. I rode straight along the 269, turned left at the Botley Hill roundabout and then sailed down Clarks Lane, the bike squeaking and scraping as it went along, all very annoying. As I approached Westerham I started to wonder whether Andy would be inside or outside, bearing in mind that it wasn't that warm. I found him outside talking to a man who resembed Doc from Back to the Future. The man wore a leather jacket and there were a few badges, one for the Sex Pistols, and other bands, but when I arrived they were talking football, not that Andy knows a great deal about the beautiful game and nor do I. Various names were mentioned: Jimmy Greaves, Peter Osgood ('he's dead now too', said I pretending I owned a huge encyclopaedic knowledge of footy when in reality I know fuck all. Fortunately I do know a bit about bands and the Sex Pistols so I steered the conversation towards Jah Wobble and Sid Vicious and soon discovered that our new friend used to be a drummer in a band called Lunchbox, but clearly he'd hit upon hard times. He's been living in rented accommodation in Westerham for the past 11 years, working as a taxi driver and having other odd jobs here and there, playing the odd gig but only getting a single clap at the end of a set. But he was a nice guy, a friendly man with his heart in the right place. He'd quit drinking about three months ago and I feared that he'd been advised to do so by his doctor. There were a few 'drinking stories', like the time when he entered a pub in Sevenoaks and a man took offence at his likeness to Doc from Back to the Future and started a fight. End result? Our new pal was banned from the pub, or something like that. Later, as Andy and I rode away, having discussed who his favourite drummer was (a toss up between Ginger Baker from Cream and Jimmy Hendrix's drummer Mitch something or other) we both agreed that he was a nice guy whose heart was definitely in the right place. As we headed up the hill, animated by our encounter with the man whose name we didn't know, I forgot that I was in top gear and that was probably why Andy and I were keeping together all the way up the hill, although Andy said he was taking things easy on his hip after yesterday's accident with the damp leaves.

Costa Coffee in Westerham

Some people have tough lives, far tougher than mine, I thought as I climbed towards Botley Hill. Our new friend, who doubtless we'll see again, possibly even next Sunday morning, lives in rented accommodation somewhere in Westerham, he was a taxi driver, ferrying the likes of Judi Dench to the Rendezvous restaurant in town, but I'm guessing that right now he's not doing a great deal, just about making ends meet I'd imagine. He looked a little down on his luck and I sincerely hope he stays off the booze. 

Andy and I parted company at the top of Slines Oak Road. When I reached home, Strava said I'd covered over 22 miles, which was good going for the first day of my cycling week. I told Andy I might try and ride to work on Tuesday and that got me quietly fretting about how many miles I would put in this week. Again, it's not worth worrying about and now, here I sit, writing the blog, nobody else in the house. I'm about to start making lunch.

Stopping bad habits

Despite missing my Thursday ride, it was a good week one way or the other. I must have walked around eight miles between Monday and Wednesday, from the house to the station, and I've continued (give or take) with my no cakes policy. That said, today I had a bread and butter pudding for dessert at lunch time, a smallish chunk of fruit cake round at mum's this afternoon and, about 10 minutes ago, bananas and custard. I don't know, I've stopped chocolate bars, despite one Wispa Gold last week, and I haven't bought a cinnamon brioche bun or a toasted tea cake or a millionaire's shortbread at Costa for over a month, I make do (quite comfortably) with a large English Breakfast tea in a tall paper mug. Mum's fruit cake, incidentally, is outside of the cake ban; I don't know why. Well, for a start, I haven't had a slice for a few weeks (no petrol in the car) so today's slice was acceptable, but I will keep it all on the down-low. There will, from this moment, be a desserts ban in the house, no more bread and butter puddings from Charlie Bigham, no more Bramley apple pie and custard and, let's face it, I've been off the biscuits for ages. Well, okay, those Rich Tea biscuits yesterday could have been avoided, but I'm fretting again, so I'll stop right now.