Carrying on with the local rides...

Yesterday I went out in the rain, but because I was wearing my 'parka' and hadn't bothered to put on my waterproof trousers, I spent an hour in the wet and was fine when I got back home. By that I mean I wasn't in the usual state I find myself after a 'soaking' and that was because I hadn't donned the waterproof clothing. Had I done so I would have been soaked through from a mixture of sweat, rain and, of course, the fact that when something is supposed to be waterproof, it invariably isn't.

I baked two fruit cakes last week

My shorter rides have continued and I've slightly widened their scope so that each lap is just over five miles and if I do two laps (which is always what I do) then it's something like 10.70 miles, perfect. The aim, of course, is to ride five Super Nobblers (as they're called). Why Super Nobblers? Well, to be fair the original Super Nobbler was three laps of the conventional circuit, but I'm only riding two of the 'new' Super Nobbler because it's been widened out and includes Sanderstead Hill (the B269 no less). Although, in reality, it should be called the Super Nobbler (Intermediate) as it's two laps, not three.

The only thing about laps is boredom. Whenever I do the Super Nobbler (Intermediate) I wince slightly at the thought of having to ride two laps, but the ride itself is fine; there are hills and dips and yesterday I started to wish there was less in the way of downward hills, preferring, oddly, the hills. I ride up West Hill twice, that's quite tough, I ride up Sanderstead Hill twice and that's quite tough too, and let's not forget Norfolk Avenue. And the reason it's called the Nobbler is because the ride takes me the length of Norfolk Avenue and when I first rode the route I coined the phrase 'Norfolk Nobbler' just because I needed the illiteration for it to work. Anyway, it's all pointless and just a bit of fun, like the Sline's Oak Sloth. There's nothing slothful about that ride.

I try and leave the house around 1600hrs, but the reality is that I hit the road around 1645hrs, meaning that it gets dark while I'm out. Fortunately, I have lights.

Croft Radio, West Wickham

It looks as if the weather is going to worsen over the next few days. We've already had a dusting of snow, but there's been rain too (of course there's been rain!). Andy's rigged his bike up on a kind of 'turbo trainer'. During the week I baked a couple of cakes and took one round to him. You can't beat a cake in the bad weather.

In other news, I went over to a place called West Wickham, it's on the way to Bromley. I travelled as the light was fading and I when I got there and parked in the Lidl car park I was amazed to find a traditional high street, albeit the shops were all closed. I wandered about and found one of those traditional shops selling electrical goods: you know, alarm clocks, kettles, slow cookers, sandwich makers, There were, of course, a few charity shops, a shoe shop and a couple of coffee shops (Cafe Nero and Costa) not to forget a WH Smiths (also still open), the aforementioned Lidl, two Sainsbury's outlets, an M&S, a gentlemen's outfitters, small boutiques for women and so on. In a sense it was like going back in time. We made two visits to West Wickham and on both occasions I nipped into the Costa and bought a coffee and some cake. The first time a normal cappuccino and a Bakewell tart; the second time, a cinnamon cappuccino (never again) and a slice of banana cake. Another visit is planned, possibly today and, call it lockdown boredom, but I can't wait. Just to wander around at dusk looking into empty shops, sipping a cappuccino, munching on a cake, you can't beat it. But it's more than that; it's something to do with dusk and the fact that the aforementioned shops are like something out of a time warp. The M&S is good too, it's not a big one, but there's a nice vibe about the place.

A gentlemen's outfitters

Actually, I forgot to mention last week. I managed three of my local rides, but Saturday was a wash-out so just the 30 miles. The plan was to ride to Westerham last Saturday (the final day of my week) in order to bump up the mileage to my usual average of around 50 miles.

This week I think I've already covered around 37 miles. If I ride today that will mean 47 miles and then a ride to Westerham will bump it up to 67 miles and that, for me, would be a result at the moment. That said, even if I don't go today (and it's likely) then a ride to Westerham will still mean 57, which is a few miles more than my currently weekly average.

Okay, it's Friday and I've got to start working.