Decided I didn’t want to spend 90 minutes inside, so I decided to brave the high temps and humidity. The heat showed in my HR, but was still better than doing Z2 staring at the wall.
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Well that didnt work. I tried taking it very easy to the start of a local chaingang (pace line) and eating a banana not long before it started. The first two laps were relatively comfortable but the last lap was pretty solid. I almost got half way thanks to big pulls by the two strongest riders. Unfortunately I was behind them on the biggest climb and I lasted about 35 secs at 126% of a 2minute climb before I lost contact.
That last lap was rather intense, so much so it shook loose my brake hanger; I think made it to the end before it became a problem.
There’s a selfie in there somewhere but it was getting rather dark when I got back. Charlie @paradigmbicycles got a cracker of a shot though. At least I got back to the news everyone is off tomorrow so I can WfH instead of getting up at 6am. Maybe I could have dug deeper after all 
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A few days late, but better late than never! Sunday was SBT GRVL. This was the hardest one I’ve done due to the heat and wind. Plus I pushed my pacing a little harder than I should have, especially in the last 20 mins when I tried to catch onto a group for the final headwind section into town. I paid for that, and limped through the last 4-5 miles.
I’m taking a few days off from the bike, and then it will be back on the MTB for the remainder of the season. Probably have 6 weeks left here in the CO mountains, and another 4-6 in the CO desert and Moab.
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Was waiting for that one! Sounds like a funday on the bike.
Boring getting back into a rhythm post:
No good pics, sorry, but I did get a new KB today:
Threw the 24kg a few times. Good stuff.
And it was new shirt day - a gift from daughter #2. That pic is for you @mountainrunner
New shirt, new KB, great day!
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I like the climb up and back on Hollow Oak.
Yup, It’s a good VO2 hill
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Not quite a theme song but I’ll take it!
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Vintage Birds today, not that you can call Arnie Vintage yet he’s only 9 year old. He’s managed 10,000 miles in that time, which is no bad considering he was in storage for 3 years. Coincidentally he’s also reached his 1,000miles Anniversary for the year and its been 1,000 miles across all my bikes this month
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Did a Join workout today that was meant to be 2 hours with 2x10min Tempo and then a 20 min Tempo, but accidentally slipped in an extra 10min interval because it was dark and I wasn’t paying enough attention to the on screen directions (more on that later).
I left the house around 5:30am, and traffic was light, but I had a constable that decided to harass me for much of the 10 minute intervals section and ensure I slowed to near stops at every intersection even though we were the only two on the road 
A storm came in at the Texas/Mexico border a few days ago and while we didn’t get any MUCH needed rain in Houston, it did lower temps just enough to make the early starts feel a tad cooler.
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The “Dover Loop” was the ride this morning. Solo. Didn’t see any other cyclists until about mile 7 while I was stopped to chat with my wife who facetimed from Switzerland (we seem to have swapped places, but just for this weekend). Here, I remain amazed and appalled at the condition of Boston pavement and wonder what’s up considering the pride Bostonians have with the city. It is nice to have protected bike lanes and signage telling motor vehicles to share the road with bikes and to watch for bikes. Getting out of the city on a Saturday morning wasn’t tough, but it wasn’t quick as I didn’t get into the big ring until 5 miles.
Today was largely flat, or perhaps “lumpy” is a better description with 2,000’ / 600m in elevation over the 41 miles / 66km. The weather was fine, some roads retained the recent rain more than others, and the bike really needs to be cleaned. It’s now embarrassing, though drivetrain remains quiet (for now), so I’ll figure how that’ll happen today.
The route was south-ish.
And the effort was all over the place due to a variety of factors – road conditions, stop lights and stop signs, but primarily fitness and unfamiliarity with the terrain (a fitting word for the roads nearer to and in Boston, though most pavement away from the city tended to be very good).
I did take some pics, but the GoPro app wants me to sign in and use 2FA to authenticate. The problem is I forgot to replace my Swiss phone number with my (nearly and perhaps more than three decades old) US number. I did see my first turkey – not a metaphor or derogative label – in the wild here, but I didn’t get a picture so that image isn’t pending.
On the gravel bike front, 3T Italy shipped the replacement frame to my LBS in Zürich yesterday. The brake calipers will need to be replaced as my 2018 frame had post-mount calipers, and I hear there’s a chance the bb will need to be replaced (will that mean the Quarq pm will also need to be replaced?)…
My subject is the US response to Russian political warfare in the early cold war, 1945-1965. The proposal came out of research for a book I’ve been writing for, erm, over a decade (that I was supposed to complete before starting the PhD per an agreement with my wife) and thus has overlap. (The book tells the story of the conceptual, practical, and legislative origins of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, and the evolution of the legislation through the recent present. Not a book that will appear at Hudson News at airports, but it rejects, with substantial evidence, much of the “accepted wisdom” and assumptions around the legislation that negatively impacts US national security today, an area I’ve been working in for nearly two decades.)
Nice. I hope you’ll get to the real thing and enjoy it in person (bonus points if you ride or run while there, but not necessary).
Looping back to today’s ride, my Garmin wasn’t thrilled with my 40mi effort that felt more moderate than difficult.
The only riding tomorrow will be taking my wife’s folding bike to the Boston triathlon (or is it a triathlon in Boston? I’m not sure of the name of this event) to cheer on a buddy. I need to stop being lazy and start weights and prepping to return to running of avoid an immediate (and long term) injury & failure.
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@Majoeric damn, that’s moving! Helps when it is pancake flat, though! (I used to live near Tampa.) Still a massive effort.
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Not much in the way of hills worthy of the name round our way - you have to go a bit further afield for that. And if you’re going to go this far out of your way to find one, may as well make it a ‘feature climb’, right? 
[Wahoo seems to have short-changed me on the climbing here - RWGPS and Garmin both reckoned about 1000ft more ascent.]
Passed a scarecrow festival, with a regal theme, in the village of Castle Eaton. Only spotted a few on my way through - seem to be pushing the boundaries of the scarecrow concept!
Forecast was for intense localised showers, which meant a lot of this kind of thing around.
And there was a bunny in the sky!
Baling was in full swing everywhere I went. Lots of shapes and sizes on offer, but I have a fondness for these round ‘combine poo’ style ones - they always seem to make for the best scenes.
Dodged the showers for 50 miles, but then…
Looks wet where I’m heading
And was it ever! Rode straight in to the middle of heavy freezing rain turning to hail just as I was approaching the drop off the west side of the Cotswolds. Could barely see where I was going, and no cover in sight. Eventually found a tree that gave some half shelter, but few minutes later an almighty thunderclap made me think that wasn’t the best place to be!
Pushed on as the rain eased onto a now super-sketchy descent: the first part on farm roads with a liberal coating of gravel and mud that were now like riding down a riverbed; then joining the main road with sections up to 14%, large rivulets running across it and one section of a couple of inches of standing water across the road. Rode heavy on the brakes all the way down, despite barely being able to feel my hands at all.
Reached the bottom and bailed to an earlier than intended coffee stop at The Old Bank in Dursley. Could have done with a proper mug to wrap my hands around, but anything warm was very welcome at this point, and the delicious apple and cider cake was a bonus.
Took about 5 miles after leaving the café for my teeth to stop chattering, and another 10 to regain all the feeling in my hands. Managed to avoid the showers on the way home - though I spent the last 20 miles chasing a hefty-looking one ahead of me, and riding wet roads in its wake.
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I live where it’s flat, and 26mph for 4+ hours solo with traffic lights, stop signs, etc., is still flying!
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I thought I was going to be soaked a few time on my ride today but thankfully every time it never came to anything prolonged. The worst it got was the cafe stop at Lyndon near Rutland Water (its a bit grey/cloudy in the pictures) and I thought it was wise to put the gilet on, but by the time I to Rutland Water its self, 15mins later, the sun was splitting again and it was too hot with the gilet.
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That’s a very decent looking scone there. Is that cheese, with marmalade?
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Cheese Scone with butter 
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