Scorcher of a Bank Holiday weekend...

Saturday we headed for Westerham, the fast way and when we got there we sat on the green, on tables provided by the pub, and drank tea. The ride down was fine, especially the final straight into the town as there was a lovely warm breeze. This, of course, was tee-shirt and shorts weather and it remained so all weekend. Even the ride back up the hill was fine, although my rear brake was playing up and I resolved to take the bike into the shop and get it fixed. It cost me £25 but it's working fine now. The guy in the shop told me that had I brought it in a week or two later I might have needed a new disc, but fortunately not. If you've read the last post, you'll know that I spent a lot of time gassing about the Westhill electric bike, the Ghost 2.0, but now, in the cold light of day, the need to buy one has died down considerably. I'd like one, especially for Beddlestead Lane and other annoying hills, but ultimately it's not necessary so I doubt I'll buy one, but they are great machines and I'd love to test drive one (and then change my mind!).

Crossing into Surrey from Kent on the hill out of Westerham

On Sunday, a trip to Petworth to see Dave, our old Harley buddy, was on the cards so Andy wasn't riding. I decided to do my suburban 35-minute ride, purely for the sake of fitness. As I write this I can honestly say that I've riden the bike for seven days straight and will continue this week. I've worked out a route around my local streets, thrown in a few hills and it's great. Cycling, don't forget, is very good for you and by doing a 35-minute ride every day of the week on top of my weekend cycling, I like to think I'm doing myself some good. Here are some of the health advantages of cycling, courtesy of Westhill Bikes (see previous post for more details):-

* Reduces weight.
* Improves control of blood pressure in patients with hypertension.
* Improves muscle strength, mobility and co-ordination.
* Lowers resting heart rate (this is definitely true as mine hovers around 55).
* Improves the ratio between HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol).
* Reduces the risk of stroke.
* Prevents heart disease.
* Provides a fitness level of someone 10 years younger.
* May ease childbirth.
* Reduces the risk of cancer.
* Reduces anxiety.
* Reduces diabetes.

On Bank Holiday Monday, the heat persisting,  we rode the slow way to the Tatsfield Churchyard and sat there chilling and chatting before heading back down the wooden steps to the road and the ride up the hill to Botley where we parted company.

Heading for the hill out of Westerham

It's now 1725hrs and it's still hot outside. The bike's in the garage and hopefully it'll be alright in the morning for yet another week of 35-minute rides around the block. Can't wait, but I've got a busy week ahead of me.

Suburban ride to mum's – 13.5 miles there and back...

The dark starts are getting darker as we approach October when, in roughly a month from now, the clocks will go back one hour and winter will be upon us.

This week I received two aborts: one from Phil yesterday and a late one from Andy this morning, which, of course, immediately made me wonder whether or not I should go. In fact, sitting here now at 0700hrs there is a strong temptation just to remain seated and not go anywhere, but I've got to, for the sake of my own sanity. Not riding is always a bad idea.

Library picture of tea round at mum's.

So I rode to mum's (13.5 miles there and back) through suburban streets and when I got there I met Jon, we had tea and a couple of Kit Kats, not my favourite snack item, but there you go. I had a second cup of tea and then, around 0900hrs I rode home, through the smallholdings and eventually up the steep side of West Hill like last week, arriving home around 0947.

The bike's in need of a service. The gears keep slipping and I can't crank it down to use the lower eight, which made the steep side of West Hill fairly hard work. I say 'fairly hard' but I surprised myself: it really wasn't that bad. The bike needs new handle grips too, a new front tyre wouldn't go amiss either and some new brake shoes on the front would improve things no end. But being constantly on Skid Row means it'll have to wait. I remember once riding the bike without any brakes, back in 2011. Somehow I worked out a way of stopping it. But it's not that bad yet. The rear brake is so powerful it doesn't matter that I don't have a decent front brake. The last time it was the other way around, the rear brake was non-existent and I relied on a poor front brake. Not good, but I survived.

Tomorrow we're heading for Westerham. Not sure if Phil will be there or not, but Andy's up for it. He wanted to head for the lake, but I'm not sure I'll have the time, unless we head off ultra early.