Milling (and riding) around in the heat...

I rode to the Velobarn outside of Westerham and was surprised to find it open for business. On countless times prior to my visit on Saturday 23rd May it had been stubbornly closed, forcing me on those occasions to ride into Westerham town to either Esquires or Costa. In the old days I might have sat on the green with a flask of tea and a couple of biscuits, but since the pandemic I've been spending anything between a fiver and a little more for tea and something else, be it a millionaire's shortbread, a toasted tea cake or an almond croissant, that about covers the gamut of sweet treats I've over-indulged in for far too long and make no mistake, it continued this weekend. On this particular visit to the Velobarn I had a cup of tea and a stodgy almond croissant and while I needed the tea I didn't need the pastry, but I still had it, more fool me I guess.

The Velobarn! It's open!

I woke up this morning (Saturday 23rd May) at 0600hrs and an hour later it was 18 degrees. When I left the house at around 0830hrs, probably a few minutes later, it was 21 degrees and when I reached the Velobarn it was 23 degrees. I sat outside in the sunshine watching the Lycra Monkeys and then, rather than putting off the return ride any longer, I stood up, got my stuff together (wallet, phone, keys) and then rode out of the place, turning on to Pilgrims Lane and heading home.

They're selling Santa Cruz electric mountain bikes at the Velobarn for over £6,000. I found myself thinking that I could possibly buy a Harley Davidson 883 Hugger with buckhorn bars for less than that, or even a 1200 Sportster, but I wouldn't do that, not since I realised, some years ago, how dangerous it was. Who wants a leg amputated or worse? Not me. Perhaps that means I would be interested in a six grand pushbike that can reach speeds of 45mph, but who's to say I wouldn't need a leg amputated if I came off? Let's face it, being on two wheels and not four IS dangerous, you just have to be careful. And then there's the cheating angle. Is riding an electric bike cheating, like having a powered polystyrene float in a swimming pool? I don't really think so; I used to, but now I think an electric pushbike will take you further and because you still have to pedal, you're still getting the exercise. That said, I figure there are better things I could do with £6,000 if I had it to burn.

Later that day...

A few hours later and I'm now sitting in Ori, a cafe inside John Lewis, nursing a cup of tea and worrying about how time is slipping away and I'm doing nothing, despite having loads of things to do. I walked into HMV earlier and thought about vinyl records and old-fashioned record players. I remembered how, foolishly, some years ago, I had thrown all my vinyl away, well, I gave it away to a record dealer in Sutton and started buying CDs instead. Giving it away, throwing it away, it amounted to the same thing. I only have around six vinyl albums left and they're in the loft somewhere. I started looking at what was available on HMV's shelves and there were plenty of the sort of albums I used to own, although I'm guessing mine would have been more valuable than what was now on sale. But first, if I was to start again, building a vinyl collection, I'd have to buy a deck and a decent one would set me back a few hundred quid. Back in the day I used to have a decent hifi system: Mission speakers, a NAD amp, I can't remember the tape deck and, of course, a NAD CD player. Soon I amassed a reasonable amount of CDs. On vinyl, HMV is offering three albums for £66 and I found myself staring at an hourglass that somebody had turned over without me knowing...until now. How long, I wondered, would it take me to amass a decent-sized collection of vinyl again, do I really want to do that and how much would it cost me? Answer: a lot of money and a lot of time.

I have many things I need to do and I'm not even going to go on about any of them, all of which are on my 'things to do' list, which is getting longer and longer and longer and it's not being helped by the fact that the list in question is in my head and not on paper. I need to write it down and soon because otherwise I won't do anything, and the list keeps getting longer, by the day.

Damn! They found me!

Going back to the Velobarn, the reason I was sitting there was because I was halfway through my first bike ride in three weeks. I certainly needed the exercise and the weather was great. In fact, a heatwave was coming and temperatures were going to be in the 30s before the day was out. But right now I'm in Ori, in John Lewis, in Bluewater shopping centre and that means I have a longish drive home later on. Fortunately, it's light outside so I won't have the usual hassle of being dazzled by headlights and not really knowing what's coming up behind me.

And now I'm thinking about my to do list again and how I am still adding things to it, but I'm not ticking anything off and, as I said before, I'm always going on about this so I'll try my best to shut up about it. Swimming membership, a new lap top, a decent watch, a new suit, a nest of tables for the living room, proper bookshelves...all stuff, well, not all, but some things I can certainly do without. More important, perhaps, is a holiday, which is much needed, much like today's bike ride. I'm glad I got out because the temptation is always not to bother. There are times when I can't go, like if we have people coming over, but when I can I should get out and get the exercise under my belt. It's important. It's important to get more on my Strava than just a few walks around the block, but it can get a little obsessive too. I remember the days before technology got a grip of things when it was just a case of going out, although there was always the temptation to note things down, record stuff on paper. There was a time when I bought in to some kind of swimming challenge, I think it was something like you swim, say, half a mile or a mile and then you note it down somewhere in a booklet provided by the organiser and eventually you clock up the desired mileage of the challenge, there's no prize, no kudos, nothing, just the satisfaction that you've swam something like 100 miles or more in a year, I can't remember exactly.

Getting back from Bluewater is always a little fraught. On this occasion once we'd left the motorway behind we found ourselves on the A25 going through Brasted and close to my traditional cycling territory surrounding Westerham. Sadly, there was a car accident and the road had been closed off. We had to make a wide detour that went nowhere and ended up coming back to where we started, or almost, and then having to travel along Pilgrims Lane, fine on a bike but not in a car. There was a jam, lots of reversing and getting far too close to the hedges, and when we eventually emerged from the narrow lanes we weren't that far from where we had started. But we were still on the right side of crash site, ie it was now behind us and we could continue on our way home without hassle.

It was late when we got home so I decided to have fish & chips and mushy peas from a local takeaway. I bought enough chips for everyone. Later, I sat and watched a documentary on Iron Maiden's 666 tour on Ed Force One with leader singer Bruce Dickinson flying the band and crew all over the world. Great escapist television with a strong feelgood factor too. I watched other stuff but a lot of it was a little hit and miss after Maiden's epic. I stayed up until gone midnight and was awakened Sunday morning (24th May) by Radio Four and the 0600hrs news. Trump says a deal is almost there with Iran, but the Iranians say it's nowhere near. You can't believe Donald Trump and that's a fact.

Sunday 24th May: The Coffee Shed at Botley Hill

What was formerly the Sheep Shed was my destination for Sunday's morning ride. The weather was still scorching. When I got there it was 23 degrees and it was because of the heat that I rode there. Why? I didn't want any hills, Church Way was more than enough. Oxted, therefore, was totally out of the question, there was no way I was going to attempt Titsey Hill, not in the extreme heat. Likewise, the Velobarn was ruled out. I simply couldn't face the climb out of Westerham towards Botley Hill and also, where the latter was concerned, there was always a chance that it wouldn't be open (you just never know) and the thought of having to come back up the hill for nothing ruled it out completely. If the truth be known, had the Velobarn being closed I would have riden the bike into Westerham and visited Esquire's Coffee. But I didn't do any of this, I went instead to the Coffee Shed.

The Coffee Shed...tea and er, cake!

As always, I weaken at the sight of a cake, especially a small millionaire's shortbread of cup cake proportions, actually, smaller than a cup cake, and that was the attraction. It turned out to be pretty gooey and I started to regret it. There was no way it was going to do me any favours, but I'd ordered and paid for it so I had to move forward and eat it, which I did. I remembered a Harley Street dentist I met on the luxurious Scotsman train telling me that as long as you drink hot or warm tea within 15 minutes of your culinary misdemeanour (ie, eating a sweet and gooey cake) you'll be alright. Really? I'm not so sure about that. So I washed my mouth out with leaf tea, felt a little better about things and got on with my life. And why not? Not that drinking the tea did anything about the calories consumed. As I've said before, I need to get my act together, but I never do.

The hot sun persisted. And then, a great moment. There was me fretting about everything under the sun, especially how much exercise I'm not getting, when a group of Lycra Monkeys appeared, hailing from the Penge Cycling Club, the PCC. As they humped their carbon fibre-framed steeds on to a provided cycle rack I overheard one of the party talk about his 'hibernation', which he had just come out of, prompting another member of the group to add that this ride, the one I was witnessing, was his first in three months. What? First ride in three months! You can't be serious! Needless to say I felt a lot better.

Comparing the Penge Cycling Club's bikes with my own I realised that mine needed a good clean, and I know just where to get it. There's a jet cleaner on the forecourt of an ESSO garage in Warlingham and while I don't think I'll be going there this weekend, it's definitely on the cards for the immediate future, which probably means the next couple of weeks. I also need a haircut having had a couple of crap ones in short succession (and they weren't cheap).

As the sun continued to beat down on the exposed car park of the Botley Hill Farmhouse I decided it was time to head home. The original plan was to ride through Woldingham but then I remembered the hill at the very end of Slines Oak Road so I opted to ride back along the 269, retracing my steps, and then hang a right on to Beech Farm Road and wind my way around the country lanes that will bring me out at Warlingham Sainsbury's. The Lycra Monkeys are leaving too, but not before a group photo. I was tempted to offer my services so that they could all be in the shot, but by the time I had thought of it, it was too late, the shot had been taken and they moved to the side of the pub where, I heard somebody say, the scenery was better. Presumably she meant it was a little more scenic than the car park.

"Have you got the drone?" somebody asked.

To Sevenoaks!

Only three miles to Sevenoaks, it always seems longer.

I remember once riding to the sign that read "Sevenoaks" and then turning back. The thing is, it's always bugged me, not riding into town, so at the weekend just past I decided, kind of on the hop, that I would ride all the way and stop for lunch. When I say 'kind of on the hop' I mean that when I set off, while a longer ride was sort of on the cards I was still thinking along the lines of riding into Oxted and chilling with a book at Caffe Nero, accompanied by an apricot croissant. It was, however, later than usual, gone 1030hrs when I left the house so when I reached the crucial point, just past Botley Hill (do I ride down the hill to Oxted or head in the direction of Westerham?) I hesitated for all of a few seconds and then headed towards Westerham; and as I sailed down Clarks Lane I remembered the Velobarn, so I hung a left on to Pilgrims Lane and rode straight there. Miraculously it was open, much to my surprise, so I decided to chill with a cup of tea and an almond croissant before continuing my journey, but where to? I couldn't very well ride into Westerham (all of 10 minutes) and then have ANOTHER tea. So I pondered my situation briefly and crossed the road into the continuation of Pilgrims Lane. It's rare, I have to admit, that I venture this way, normally to visit Longford Lake, and it did cross my mind to go there and possibly have lunch in the Harvey's pub facing the famous lake. But no, there was always Malabar in Dunton Green or perhaps I could ride all the way into Sevenoaks, past the sign and into town. After a while, as I rode along Pilgrims Lane and followed the country lanes that paralleled the motorway I knew I had to give Sevenoaks a chance. The ride from the sign into town wasn't at all bad, a hill, yes, but not a bad one and soon I found myself in the bustle of a fairly busy town, so busy that I'd have to dismount and walk myself and the bike to my destination, which was Soprano's, a cafe I know and love and a place I have visited many a time. I was a little worried about leaving the bike unattended, even if I did have a padlock, but fortunately there was a table outside and the weather was fine so I left the bike leaning, unpadlocked, against a wall opposite the cafe and enjoyed the sunshine. I ordered a glass of sparkling mineral water and something called a Jerzy Piadina (at Soprano's most things involve cheese and this was no exception, it was chicken and cheese between two flatbreads with a pleasant little salad. People passed by, young couples, older couples, humanity of all sorts and I decided to push the boat out until I realised that Soprano's doesn't do desserts, it offers cake in a few varieties and instead I ordered another sparkling mineral water and took in my surroundings. The sun was shining brightly, this was a summer's day in late April if ever there was one and I found myself remembering swimming in the sea at Lyme Regis back in April 1984. I also remember snow in April 2008, which I think is documented somewhere on this blog, it's certainly been mentioned before, but remember, the blog didn't start until September 2009, over a year later.

A Jerzy Piadina at Soprano's.

Now, for some, cycling a 35-mile round trip to Sevenoaks for lunch is excessive, although it was a decision I made on the hop; for others (like Andy) 35 miles is a piss in the ocean (he rode over 100 miles on the same day I was basking in the sunshine outside of Soprano's). For me, 35 miles was a good distance and the worst bit, of course, was the sudden realisation that I'd have to cycle home. I can't say I was looking forward to it and there was no way I would be taking the train home. I set off with a happy heart and rode downhill towards Riverhead and it was there that I decided to take the A25 rather than the country lanes on the other side of Dunton Green. It was certainly busier in terms of cars, but fairly straightforward and it wasn't long before I found myself in Westerham where people were sunning themselves on the green. I was thinking of making a stop to take on board water and possibly another cup of tea and I thought I'd head for the Velobarn as it was only around 1500hrs so I figured it had to be open: it wasn't. Next stop, Botley Hill and the Sheep Shed, but when I got there I thought it best to push on and get home and so I did, along the 269 all the way to Sanderstead and when I reached home nobody was there. I sat and watched television drinking tea and a large glass of water but I felt good and I'll certainly be doing it again soon.

The Velobarn around 1500hrs – closed! 

Swimming, cycling, improved weather...

 I went down with a bit of a cold and as a result I had to forfeit the ride on Sunday to meet Andy; that was the week before last, but last week Andy couldn't make it so I had to motivate myself. Fortunately, the poor weather seems to have left the building so I rode to Westerham last Sunday despite the fact that my original plan had been to visit the Velobarn, which seems to open when it pleases. I rode along Pilgrim's Lane and found the place to be closed, leaving me no option than to ride into Westerham, which I did, stopping at Costa, padlocking the bike outside and enjoying a very pleasant cup of English Breakfast tea in the sunshine.

The ride back, was as expected and when I passed the Velobarn it was still closed. Their loss, I was thinking, their loss. It wasn't long before I reached Botley Hill and then before too long I was home. In a complete break with tradition I quickly went out again to do the Norfolk Nobbler, a six-miler round the local streets, which can be quite a work-out. In total I rode 28 miles last Sunday and felt better for it. 

What arsewipes did this?

Last Thursday, the one just gone (6 March) I went for a swim at my local pool. Half a mile is a good distance, takes around 30 minutes, 32 lengths, and on a Thursday the pool is pretty much empty. A pleasant hot shower followed and because I'd parked my car in the supermarket across the road, there was no parking charges, meaning I could relax a little and enjoy my shower, which I did. 

I've been having a few problems with the pool membership. I was originally on a plan that was restricted to just one pool and this was causing issues because if I wanted to go more than once a week (I have to go twice a week to make it pay) it was difficult in terms of available times to go. So, I upgraded my membership, which meant I could use a pool slightly further away, but when I got there last Friday evening I wasn't too happy with the pool. All the changing rooms were damp, the locker system was different and basically, all the faffing around made me leave the place in a mild huff without a swim, although if I dig dip I'd probably discover that I wasn't really up for a swim and needed instead to simply relax. I'll now have to degrade my membership to what it was before and try and work out a different solution. I'm planning on one swim per week twice a month and two swims per week on the remaining two weeks. Again, not a problem.

During the week I had the bike serviced. I was initially having problems with the inner tube valve, which I simply couldn't undo in order to inflate the inner tube. I took it to the bike shop and he fixed it. I now have a new tyre and inner tube on the back. While I was there I asked him to fix the bottom bracket, which had well and truly gone, and he said I might as well get a service, so I booked the bike in. The brakes are now fixed, there's a new chain and block and the bottom bracket is fixed too but, as always, the price was almost that of a new bike, albeit a very low spec machine. For an extra forty quid I could have walked out of there with a new one. But hey ho. I didn't buy a new bike, I had my Rockhopper fixed and it's running smoothly as a result and that's all that matters.

I had a haircut during the week and asked for a number three. "That's a skinhead," said the barber. "I know," I said, and he got on with it. I feel much better after a short haircut and I look better too. Nothing worse than straggly hair, it looks so untidy, especially when it's greying. That set me back around £15, which was fine. Afterwards I went to Costa Coffee for an English Breakfast tea and a Bakewell tart. But I wasn't relaxed and after around 10 minutes I left and drove home.

Today, Saturday 8th March, I did a Washpond Weeble, just over 12 miles. The weather is great today, not cold, but I left the house late and decided to shorten the ride; I was going to head for Oxted or Westerham or, if it was open, the Velobarn but decided instead on a non-stop ride which took just over an hour. Riding through Washpond Lane I noticed that some arse wipes had set fire to a car and left it in a pile by the side of the road. I mean, what kind of arseholes do that sort of thing? It was, however, a pleasant ride and now I'm back home writing the blog, which I haven't been doing as frequently as I should. Oddly, when I checked the weekly stats for this past week, the number was well over 10,000 visitors, it's now around 6,000. I love it when reader numbers go up or whatever it is the figures relate to.

Outside the sun is shining and the skies are fairly blue, it's 8th March and the bees are out, the snowdrops and the crocuses are on the lawns and there are signs of daffodils too. In short, the summer is on the way and I love it. It means more cycling and that's what I like.

Tomorrow (Sunday 9th March) I'm hoping to see Andy at Sheree's Tearooms, that's around 17 miles, so 29 miles in total, I might even ride into Westerham afterwards if the weather holds and knock the mileage over the 30-mile marker. Who knows? I might not!

New Year ramblings...

I completed my week on Saturday 2nd January with the Slines Oak Sloth in the grey and cloudy weather. The roads were a bit wet but that was about it. In total another 15.34 miles bringing my weekly mileage to roughly 57 miles, possibly more as I haven't added up the fractions.

On Sunday 3rd January I rode to meet Andy at the Tatsfield Village bus stop where we chatted about a range of subjects, the main one being Andy's assertion that tourism was pointless. Perhaps not pointless but I think what he was getting at was foreign holidays and simply sitting around doing nothing for a week, which I always thought was the point, but I know what he means. Andy says time passes quickly when you're sitting around doing nothing. Now, I'm not sure about that. I always find that a busy schedule makes the time pass faster than if I'm doing nothing and don't forget that a watched kettle never boils, so there you have it. But Andy has point: how many people visit London, I wonder, and think that seeing Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament is all there is to the UK capital? Or who goes to Paris just to see the Eifel Tower?

It was foggy and I thought a little cold so I wore the balaclava and several layers of clothing as well as my face covering thingy, not sure what you call them, possibly a 'snood', but who knows? Either way it made life a little more comfortable on the bike. 

Riding to the Tatsfield Village via Woldingham clocks up 18.23 miles. As you can see from the shot below, the roads were wet and because of the fog the air was damp. At one point I encountered sleety rain, or possibly even snow, on the 269, but nothing came of it.

On Clarks Lane, just past the Botley Hill roundabout...3 January

It's now Monday 4th January and I'm back at work, which was a bit of a wrench if I'm honest. I finished just gone 1630hrs and now I'm sitting at the dining room table blogging. I really hope to be able to get more miles in this week, but as it's dark by 1600hrs then I might need to look at early morning rides that get me back before I start work at 0800hrs. We'll see how that goes. Perhaps a couple of early Norfolk Nobbler Double Loops (10 miles). It would be good to get the mileage up to over 60 miles this week.

Tuesday 5th January and it's cold and rainy outside. It's now 1841hrs and I'm sitting in the sun lounge blogging. I wanted to go for a walk, but it would be too unpleasant. Ben Fogle's back on Channel Five tonight with a new series of New Lives in the Wild. Can't wait. Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but Ben Fogle is one of the best things on television. After that I'll probably watch another 'scary' movie. None of them have been scary yet, just a little bit naff if the truth be known.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the lockdown. Yes, for the third time since March last year we're back in lockdown. For how long nobody really knows, but we've got the vaccines on the way so hopefully it won't be too long. I'm gunning for Easter. Everybody's getting tired of it now, I know that I am.

So, a week of no cycling. But the weather was poor. It was cold and rainy and not really conducive to enjoyable cycling. My cycling week ended on Saturday 9th January and all I managed was around 40 miles, probably just 39. Today (Sunday 10th January) I rode to meet Andy at the Tatsfield Village Bus Stop. He wasn't there. But he did try to contact me. Unfortunately, my phone (once again) had run out of power so I sat alone drinking tea and giving Andy until 1000hrs before heading back home. He never turned up. Later, when I'd charged my phone at home, I opened up the messages and there it was: Andy had aborted, but only because he couldn't get into his garage. An iced up lock prevented him from attending the Sunday morning meeting of NoVisibleLycra. There's always next week.

The weather was cold over the weekend. Yesterday when I rode out around 1000hrs it was just 1 degree as I headed towards my destination: Westerham. I rode there via Pilgrims Lane, past the VeloBarn and then into the town centre. I didn't have a mask or any money so I couldn't stop for a cappuccino and some cake at the Costa on the green. Instead, I rode through the high street and then turned right and headed for the hill that would take me out of town and on the road to Botley Hill. There was thick fog most of the way and on Sunday it was just the same. It was also very lovely. The trees were frosted white and were shedding showers of ice, glass-like shards shaken from the bare branches as the sun tried to poke its head through the swirling, steamy grey clouds. Sunday I rode back from the village via The Ridge and that means my mileage was 18.23. If I could do four Slines Oak Sloths this coming week it would be good, but let's see what the weather has in store.

It's not just the weather, of course. Now I'm back at work my cycling windows are getting smaller. It's dark around 1600hrs, meaning lunch time and first thing in the morning are the only other options. The last thing I want to do is go out first thing in the morning as I need a bit of chill time prior to starting work around 0800hrs. By lunch time I'm in need of a break, so it looks as if cycling is reverting back to two rides per week, at the weekends, but only during this period of darkness and bad weather. Hopefully, as the weather improves, I'll be pushing the envelope again...unless COVID restrictions mean I can't ride out to places like Tatsfield village or Westerham. I think I'll take the risk on that front.