Review of the Year 2017

Well let us get the basic statistics out of the way first.

Total distance cycled = 6295 km
Total Ascent   = 47712 m

all encompassed in 173 rides

These are massively down on last years efforts but I still managed to achieve my Annuity Target

I could claim excuses for these figures such as bad weather and a prolonged period of family illness but the real baseline reason I fear is that age is catching up.

Never the less this has been a really enjoyable cycling year and illuminated by two main adventure streams.

The first of these was my Great Railway Journeys and the second was my participation in the Derby Mercury All Inclusive Social Rides.

My wife tells me that like most men I never really grew up and that I am basically a little boy at heart. And when I was a little boy I loved nothing better than Train Spotting and riding on steam powered trains. Latterly there has been a resurgence in Preserved Railway Lines and this last year I decided to make day trips on my Mercian and visit a few of the ones local to us, with my sandwiches and chocolate bars packed in my saddle bag as I used to do so many years ago;  Great Railway Journeys Revisited.

The first trip was to Shackerstone on a wet and dreary morning but it brightened up and I arrived ready for cup of tea and a bit of train spotting.

Even though it was mid week the trains were operating and a steady stream of walkers and tourists meant that the Station Buffet was doing a roaring trade

I have to confess that have not been very adventurous in plotting the routes to these stations and in some cases the return journey was just a replica of the outward bound. But at ~100km per trip it was enough for an Old Age Pensioner

The second trip was to the Foxfield Railway

This was another thriving establishment and I must say that these Preservation Railways do remarkably good value for money in the food department

My third trip was to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. This involved much more climbing than is good for me as though the railway line is relatively flat , the terrain around Wirksworth is certainly not..

This was the only non-operating on the day railway I visited but my trusted packed lunch came to the rescue

My final one for this year was The Great Central Railway at Loughborough

and this had an excellent buffet bar

In terms of cycling enjoyment this was the most disappointing journey as I just relied upon RideWithGPS, loaded the route and went. I ended up pushing, then carrying, my bike across muddy fields and water filled ditches before it asked me to ride around Castle Donnington Motor Race Track..at this point I opted for Plan B and stopped at a local house and asked for help:-(


My second stream was my participation in the Mercury All Inclusive Social Rides. These were instigated to widen the participation of the membership by promoting rides at a much more modest pace and incorporating a coffee and cake stop.

I have reported on all these rides throughout the year and they were extremely successful regularly attracting over 35 riders drawn from those who do not normally ' compete ' in the weekend SpeedFest '.
It was not a very auspicious start with only 8 out of the original 36 riders making it around the designated route, and I was one of those who took a diversion to a local coffee shop and rode at a more leisurely pace. I was not alone...

and had the opportunity to come to the aid of a damsel in distress when Sasha discovered that puncture repair in arctic conditions was not her forte.

A selection of photos from some of the other Social Rides follows

Perhaps for me, the highlight of these trips was my 70th Birthday Celebration

I have really enjoyed my cycling year with Mercury and made to feel very welcome and the club has expanded and involved a wide range of ages and abilities

It became increasingly obvious though that as the year passed by, my ability to stay in touch ebbed away and whilst people waited for me I know that I am acting as a brake on proceedings. So, next year I must alter my approach to perhaps ride with a different group of Mercury Riders or just do a section of the Social Ride.

Brooks and Me

Women tell me that childbirth can be a painful experience ( but obviously nothing as bad as man flu which can be verified by talking to any man ) but once the act is accomplished then the pain is soon forgotten.  Well in the world of severe pain then breaking in a Brooks Pure Leather Saddle can come pretty close to suffering man flu.

I wrote about this Battling With Brooks just after  my birthday when I turned 65 and acquired my custom made dream bike, a Mercian Vincitore Special.

My first Brooks saddle , acquired when I started cycling at age 62, was a Brooks B17 Honey Leather Saddle with copper rivets and after 8 years and thousands of kilometers it has at last softened and acquired a very comfortable shape.

Like many cyclists I am aware of the saying that ' Weight Kills ' , especially when climbing, so the obvious conclusion is to lose weight.  This can be achieved by one of two ways, eat less cake or reduce the weight of the bikes components...being a Tea Shop Tourist type of cyclist the former was obviously out of the question and so component weight reduction was the only option.

And so I have acquired a Brooks Swift saddle with titanium rails.  Being narrower than the B17 and with the lighter support structure this seemed the obvious way forward.

BUT..I had forgotten the pain and suffering involved in breaking in the new saddle..indeed I am not sure that my life expectancy is long enough to achieve that task and so far all I have been able to achieve is a load of saddle sores :-(


However there is a very good reason for riding a bike with a Brooks saddle in that, if things get really tough, you can always eat it. To do so would not be entirely without precedent. Snowbound in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, the ill-fated wagon-train migrants of the Donner Party resorted to eating their leather clothing and bootlaces, before moving on to eat one another.
There are no known cases of cyclists dying from starvation, resorting to cannibalism, or even eating their leather saddles, yet hunger is a regular companion on any long distance bicycle journey.

So think then of those outlanders who next March will be attempting the Indian Pacific Wheel Race from Freemantle to Sydney Opera House, a distance of 5500 km and which will be completed solo and completely unsupported

Mercian Vincintore Special..the Prince of Bikes

Just looking back  I came across this..it was 5 years ago now and I had just taken ownership of it as a 65th Birthday Present to myself

My Mercian

Since that day it has carried me over 30 000 km and given me so much pleasure

I had just started cycling then and was never quick, and now even slower..but it still gives me fun and enjoyment

The Mercian goes to France

Being a very late convert to cycling, my experience of touring is limited, and when it comes to cycling abroad, then non-existent.  So, when I received an invite to join a party of Derby Mercury Veterans and Friends on a trip to Normandy I was delighted.

Eighteen of us met up in Derby and York Bike Liners who had made all the travel and accommodation arrangements soon had all our kit loaded onto the coach and trailer

Our trip coincided with the start of the Tour de France and it was our aim to try and watch the Monday Stage which went through Villedieu les Poles, the town where we had our base. But first it was onto Portsnouth and the overnight ferry to Roscoff

before racing down to Hilaire to watch the peleton flash past as can be seen in this short video

The enthusiasm of the local people was a joy to behold and one thing that really struck me was how much more  Cycling Friendly all the drivers were.

To celebrate the visit of Le Tour, Villedieu had put on a street party in the evening

We were there for a week and the group split up into different sections each day as riders were of different abilities and energy levels, but one common theme throughout all the rides was the necessity to try out the local Boulanger and Patisseries

In passing I noticed that the French Letter Boxes were of a similar design to our own with a similar reference system, though they chose a different colour

Stage 1 of Le Tour had started from Mont St Michel and was referred to as a ' flat stage '

Though that would not have been my definition and as I sped along in their tyre tracks it was nice to dream I was actually taking part

The weather was great and for those interested in seeing the scenery then there are a couple of videos

A Trip to Granville and the experience of cycling on cobbles

A Group trip to the Abbe d'Harbye


Being a load of Old Age Pensioners, then all the bikes were traditional with no carbon in sight

But Steel Rules through our Mercians !!

Now for next year..and let us hope that my language skills may improve

Bonsoir!!

Review of the Year 2014 and a look forwards to 2015

Following the extreme, for me, efforts of last year when I was training for the inaugural London 100 Event, this year was planned to be much more sedate; and so it proved.

The bare statistics support that fact.

                           Total distance = 5036km
                           Total ascent    = 34321m
                           Energy expended = 101397 calories
                           Time in. The saddle = 266 hours

Whilst more than 20% down on the previous year, I did manage to achieve my goals.

The main event was to complete my first cycling tour and ride Coast to Coast and this was done. In hindsight I have mixed views about this. The scenery was beautiful, the weather gorgeous but, much of the route was on poorly maintained cycle paths were I feared for both my bike and myself. In the event the Mercian managed fine but my body took a hammering from the never ending potholes and rock strewn paths.

It is perhaps a small sign of my progression as a cyclist that on the spur of the moment I entered a 110k audax, an event which had been my major lifetime achievement goal in 2012. This time the weather was the worst ever recorded for the event, but, in spite of this, I rode the distance 45 minutes quicker than my first attempt.

The number of posts published on this blog has dropped considerably and perhaps that is a sign it may have run its course.

I have been forced to end my cycling year early due to a damaged knee but despite this I have begun to look forward to my objectives for 2015.

A friend has kindly invited me over to Harrogate to explore some of the local cycling routes in Yorkshire and hopefully one ( at least ) of their famous tea shops.

I have been pondering a major challenge and toyed with the idea of riding the classic (?) Derby to Skegness route in a day, another 164 km adventure. The route is fairly flat, but that was what they told me when I cycled  C2C and they were lying!

Anyway I have got the route, loaded it onto my Garmin and last night someone offered to tide with me. He is young, very fit and an excellent bike mechanic, so , really, I am not sure I have any excuses left not to attempt it.

So there it is, the big aim for 2015 is to ride the 100 mile Derby to Skegness in a day


All I need to do now is to get fit!!

And with my annuity target this year being 1932km, with again an upper goal of 5000km, the year is planned.

PS. I may also have mentioned something about not being competitive any more

A Vintage Love Affair

something a little different

A Vintage Love Affair

For forty years of married bliss,
A time that's scented with a kiss,
We've toured the lanes both far and wide,
Never looking for a place to hide,
Avoiding every precipice.

Sometimes there's been a small crisis.
But naught disturbs this married bliss.
My trusty friend stayed by my side
For forty years.

Our frames show signs of arthritis.
Long hard trips are given a miss.
Waiting for the incoming tide,
Bicycle standing by my side.
This Mercian has given me such bliss
For forty years.

©Peter Roberts 2014

                                                             My 1961 Mercian Audax

A Final Hurrah...

The main cycling objective for this year was to ride the Reivers Route and go Coast to Coast, and this was completed in the height of summer.  However as the weather has been so dry and mild, I thought I might attempt to repeat a challenge that I set myself in the autumn of 2012 when I was in training for the inaugral Ride  London 100 ( earlier blog posts describe my trials and endeavours of this event ). The challenge was to complete a 100km audax. This is run by CTC Derby and is titled ' Over and Over the Trent ' . In actual fact it is not 100km, but rather 109km and those extra metres can make a huge difference to a doddery Old Age Pensioner.
I have been having a few problems with my right knee of late but I thought if I strapped it up, took a couple of ibuprofen and took it steady, making sure I used all the gears and not be tempted to go with the proper cyclists then I might survive.
Last time I did this event the weather was boiling hot and the biggest danger was sunstroke; not this time.
As about 75 of us gathered at Darley Abbey for the start, the rain, which has been absent for the last  eight weeks began to fall and it fell in bucket loads. To add frisson to the ride, the autumn leaves had already fallen and lay strewn across the lanes and the combination of fallen leaves and pouring rain made descending quickly a very dangerous pastime.
In terms of hardship, the first half of this course is the most testing and the combination of strong winds, driving rain, poor visibility and the hill climb route of Pistern Hill meant that I was really pleased to see the half way stop at Moira and looked forward to a break from the elements. Unfortunately a group of walkers had decided that the weather was too bad for walking and so had decided to invade the tea shop for cake and chat instead, making room for bedraggled cyclists a premium.
Eventually however, I got a seat and tried out the restorative powers of beans on toast. I am not sure if it had any real effect on my energy levels but it certainly made an improvement on the weather as the rain stopped, the sun made a fleeting appearance but the wind remained a constant menace.
My endurance levels are not perhaps as good as they were even over a couple of years ago and on reaching Rolleston-on-Dove I could feel my energy levels beginning to fade

As I passed over the River Dove I felt that these swans, swimming against the flow, were kindred spirits as I rode into the wind.

The last 20km was proving hard work and the route was what cyclists would describe as  undulating but what I thought was proving mountainous.  Eventually though I made it back to Darley Abbey and was greeted by the site of a sumptious tea. I felt that I had well earnt the sandwiches and cake on offer and a heart felt thanks to all the organizers, both admin and bakers, which had made it once again a memorable day.

What did surprise me though was that when I compared my time to that which I achieved last time, I found that I had completed the distance 43 mins quicker.!  Perhaps I am not THAT doddery after all

For those who like stats, then my effort is chronicled here.

The Challenge which is Reivers

'Summer is for grazing, but autumn is for raiding, pillage and rape'

Let us get one thing clear from the outset. I am NOT a lithe, muscled 65kg climbing machine.

I AM a 74kg lump of fat and bone who lacks any noticeable muscle. Also, I am old.

Given the above you can instantly tell I am not a naturally born climber.

Indeed I dread hills - and the Coast to Coast route via the Reivers is jam packed full of them as I was about to discover.

A motley crew of 20 cyclists, with a wide range of youth, experience and fitness, set off from Whitehaven marina in dribs and drabs, riding along the coastal path and waving back to the children on the train as it trundled past.

Then came the first climb of the day, a short test for the legs with a kick at 10% gradient to give an early warning of what was to come, as the path turned eastwards towards Workington. A rolling route over the Caldbeck Fells then followed with some beautiful scenery to give a reward for the suffering my legs took from the repeated 20%+ gradients.

As I looked over to Bassenthwaite memories flooded back of the week I had spent there as part of an Outward Bound Training exercise whilst being groomed as a manager at Rolls-Royce plc so many years ago.

It was then onwards to Cockermouth for a lunch stop. Much of this village had been devastated by the floods a couple of years back and work was well underway to restore the village centre.

The whole ride was well supported by Dave and Mel and the sight of them each day with their chuck wagon was always welcome. A time to grab a banana, a slice of cake and drink as well as meeting up with some of the other cyclists to share experiences before the onward ride to Caldbeck for the first night's stop.

Day 1  Distance 60.5km with 850m of climbing.

Tuesday dawned bright and very hot, the temperature rising to 31degC and proved to be a very arduous day in the saddle.  The climbs kept on coming as we headed towards Carlisle where we stopped for lunch at the Cathedral. The roof in this place is majestic and well worth the detour.

It was not that long ago that strangers here would have been treated with suspicion. It was the nerve centre for bitter feuds and bloody battles created by the long-running dispute  over the border between England and Scotland. During a period of Scottish occupation the ruler of this stronghold was one Macbeth, no wonder they built a castle here.

Escaping from Carlisle proved a challenge but eventually the city sprawl was left behind and the rugged moorlands came into view, something that I could glimpse between the sweat that was running down my face from both the heat and the unforbiding terrain...there MUST have been some downward bits! The steep switchback trails took us down to Bewcastle with its famous cross which has survived 1300 years of relentless borders weather in St Cuthbert's churchyard. Any hope of using the downward momentum to tackle the long gradient with 25% inclines which were then ahead were thwarted by two tractors  filling the road. So it was a lung busting, knee wrenching standing start to get up the climb. 

Day 2 Distance 87.5km with 1035m of climbing

Day 3 commenced with the invasion of Scotland where its defences lay in it being again situated at the top of a very long hill.

Newcastleton proved to be very welcoming and the local tea shop is to be highly recommended.  The countryside is beautiful with many clear rivers and mountains as we rolled along the border before turning towards the Keilder Forest and England.

The tracks around Keilder Water give you many good sightings of what is the largest man made reservoir in Europe and at Leaplish stopped for lunch. It was then just a short ride to the night stop at Bellingham but this proved to be the most hazardous bit of the trip so far.  As I turned out of Falstone, 80% of which had been consumed by Keilder Water, the road rose like a wall in front of me. Two mad dogs lay in wait at the corner deterring any attempt  to gain.momentum. Having climbed the first long steep hill the surface deteriorated as the next challenge lay ahead. Across yet another cattle grid to be confronted by a huge beast of a bull, and very bully he was!  Bellowing loudly and waving his head, his harem of cows also joined in. I had read somewhere that cows don't like to be separated from their calves..and this lot were, with me being the separating barrier. The path was steep, pot holey and gravelly. So far I had managed to complete the ride without ever resorting to getting off the bike and pushing. But I gave in and got off. I was not sure on which side of the bike to walk up the hill, that bellowing monster looked as though it would make mincemeat of my Mercian. So I decided to let my companion face the herd whilst I sheltered on his other side....Mercians are after all very valuable pieces of precision engineering. Once just past the monster I got back on my bike and did a very impressive hill sprint up the remaining 200m to the cattle grid.

Day 3 Distance 75km with 908m of climbing

The next day began disastrously. I had been using my Garmin 800 to keep track of my journey and map the route with the aim that other intrepid adventurers could follow in my cycle tracks. But this morning I woke to find the garmin had failed; completely dead. In this part of the world mobile phone reception is a thing of dreams so even Strava on my phone was useless. So I had to rely on my friends stats for the day and he is not a numbers nerd like me.

The day's ride began by going up hill, again, and it was a very steep uphill but at least it was tarmac. With the temperature continuing to rise we turned right to continue a mountain ascent along sheep paths with the occasional llama eyeing us suspiciously. Mountain goats and sheep were well suited to this terrain of the Buteland Fells. Progress was slow, not helped by a farmer driving a flock of sheep along a narrow path. But at least this gave me time too stay upright recover my strength though I had noticed that after three solid days of climbing, many of them up tracks more suited to Mountain bikes, with the gearing to go with such machines, I was using one gear lower than my normal cycling on a road bike. The scenery around here was bleak and raw and buzzards, or were they vultures, could be seen circling in the sky.

Lunch was taken at a truly beautiful little village at Matfen. With its village green and young boys playing in the stream this was truly idyllic. The journey was now nearly over and the run down into Ponteland was quick with the sun on my back and the speed bringing a refreshing draft of wind.

The route from Ponteland into Teignmouth is best glossed over. The cycle trails were awful and it took all my mental strength just to stay upright. The Mercian was more than capable of handling such rugged ground but I am afraid I wasn't. And then it was down the hill and back to sea level on Teignmouth Quay and time for a celebratory ice cream

The end of the route is just beyond the promentary, looked over by the statue of Admiral Collingwood, and just after that is the beautiful ruin of Teignmouth Abbey.

A total journey of 300.5km with 3336 m of climbing.

It was a great experience and my first taste of cycle touring, though admittedly it was done the easy way with excellent support throughout.

If any of my fellow riders see this and feel drawn to comment, then please do.

For me it is now to consider what next year's cycling challenge will be.

Real Steel.... Mercian of Derby

My last post featured some steel bikes that I had seen and started a bit of a reminiscence. About 45 years ago, just after I had left University, I started work at a Rolls-Royce plc plant in Raynesway and at lunch times, to get out of the office, I often used to walk down the road to Alvaston, buy some fish and chips and then wander back. There was, and still is, a bike shop in Avaston though I never paid it much attention, it was called Mercian Cycles . Little did I know then how much I would come to admire and revere their products. Time passed, my career progressed, I was moved to RR CHQ and I never thought about Mercians again; if I ever did before. I was too busy travelling the world, thinking about business opportunites and trying to do deals.

And then I retired.

Suddenly I would be home for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 52 weeks in a year. My wife was delighted and after about 2 days suggested that I bought a bike, she was obviously concerned about my health and thought I needed to get out more.
My first purchase was a very heavy, very old, very cheap  MTB and it lasted about 4 weeks before the rear wheel imploded with spokes shooting off like guided missiles.  It was then that I discovered Mercians.
A retired friend, who had been riding all his life and was a strict adherent to the N+1  principle regarding bike ownership showed me his collection and invited me to try them. One of these was a 1961 Mercian Audax

My love affair with Mercian had begun and Alan, seeing how smitten I was, offered to sell it to me. How could I resist?
The history of Mercians is well documented on their website but pure words cannot do justice to the feel and pleasure in owning and riding a hand built machine, using the tools, skills and crafstmanship which has been developed over decades and is still in use today.

The lug work on these bikes is exquisite, and as I heard more about about the beauty of hand built machines, made to fit perfectly the owner, a desire began to grow to have one made specifically for me.  I had learnt at work that projects needed an end date and so for me, the idea was to have a bike tailored just foe me in time for my 65th birthday, a Mercian Vincitore Special. The bike took 6 months to produce and a week before my birthday I received a call that it was ready.

I am told that the large manufacturers like Giant et al, have 6000+ bikes a year rolling off their production lines. I dont know how many Mercian produce but what I do know is that each one is invested with love and care that the big players could only dream of.

I now have 2 grandsons and I am giving their mothers strict nutritional guidelines to ensure that both grow to the exact dimensions needed so that they fit my bikes perfectly.

Mercians are forever

Do you have a Mercian story to tell?  If so, add it to the comments box and share it with others.

Steel is Forever

It was the first real day of summer in Derbyshire today and so off I went for a tootle around the local lanes.  There are many beautiful lanes in the countryside of Derbyshire but today's route is one of my favourites.
About halfway round the loop one comes to the bridge over the river Hilton in the  picturesque village of Longford. Next door to the bridge is the old cheese factory.This was the first cheese factory ever to be built in England and was opened on May 4, 1870 under the management of Cornelius Schemanhorn, an American cheesemaker. and the bridge itself is a favourite stopping place for cyclists.
As I pulled in there was an old lady , an OAP like myself, already present and soon we got talking. She had been a cyclist for decades and in her youth had, with her husband, climbed many of the Cols made famous by the Tour de France. In her case, loaded with panniers, and intent on enjoying the view, the ascent of these legendary peaks had taken her a day in stark contrast to the elite riders of the peleton.
As we chatted, a variety of bikes whizzed past, their pilots intent on getting the last ounce of speed from their carbon steeds. These bikes were in stark contrast to her bike

This Hetchins had been with her since the beginning, constructed from Reynolds 531 though modified now to have straight bars and a little mirror fitted as turning her neck was now problematical. With a double chain ring and just 5 cogs on the cassette it still did her proud and the friction change gears still sufficed.  No cleats for this lady as she still relied upon toe straps. The pump itself was also still original and the wheels with their 36 spokes were built to stand the ardours of touring.

As we went our separate ways I thought about her real steel as the young racers of today sailed past me on their lightweight frames with just enough spokes to stop the wheels collapsing.  Being warm I obviously needed to find a place for tea and as I cycled down a shady lane to the local tea shop I espied another vintage machine whose owner was also in need of a rest. What caught my eye was that it was a Mercian

Again constructed from Reynolds 531 and again with just a double chain ring. This bike had also been modified to have straight bars with the shifters on the bars though you could still see where the bosses had been on the down tube.

I did not find the owner so do not know the bike's history but it made me think that these old bikes both had a history, a story to tell and I wondered if the modern machines constructed from Aluminium, Titanium or Carbon would ever be loved in the same way.

And, still wondering, I mounted my Mercian and pedalled off home.

Wylds Part 2

Tomorrow morning I am off to talk to Tim Birkin who runs Birkin Cycles, so watch this space. However my last post generated some interchange on our local Cycling Network and Mark had a story to tell, which I thought worth repeating

I had my second Raleigh 753 from Paul in 1980. 
It was stolen from Alvaston around 1983. 
TWO weeks ago it appeared on ebay in Long Eaton! !!!
I now have it back. 
Now fully stripped currently undergoing full nut and bolt restore Inc full respray Inc original decals. 

Mark reckons it will be fully operational in 5 weeks..though I doubt the engine is quite as powerful as the original version shown in the first image!


I am also off to Mercians soon... so, if you own a Mercian, have a story then please get ready to share it when the article is posted.

My Cycling Hopes for 2014

 Once again the bedrock of my cycling year will be to meet my Cycling Annuity Target  ( see http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/review-of-year.html for fuller explanation of this ) and cover 2100 km though , as last year, I would hope to exceed this and make 5000 km..

( As an aside it does occur to me, am I in danger of not making 80 years if my allotted total cycling distance is fixed and I am exceeding my annual target :-() )

Last year was dominated by preparing, competing in, and completing the inaugural London 100 and I have to confess that I really enjoyed following a structured daily training plan and pushing myself to new limits.
So this year I have decided on another challenge but it will be far less intensive than last year's effort.
Since reading about the adventures that people have had when touring I have decided to have a go myself. This year's challenge will be to ride Coast to Coast across Britain by the Reivers Route, a distance of about  280km. This time though I am doing it for me and not for any charity.

For the last few years I have also managed to find a cycling contact in a different part of the country and then persuade them to take me on a leisurely ride of about 100 km to explore their homeland. With luck I hope to do this again this coming year.

And so today I have been cleaning and maintaining my Mercian stable in readiness for my cycling adventures in 2014