No today, but yesterday. Had to use up some holiday before the end of the month, so have taken the next three Friday's off. I was planning on staring at a breadboard trying to make weird noises, but realised that it was a good opportunity to get some miles into the legs before the WRT. While the forecast was for a pleasant day, I awoke to find a proper pea soup outside. So instead of heading out at 06:30, we rolled out of the driveway at 08:30, just after the fog had burned off in the village.
While the village was clear, the rest of the surrounding countryside wasn't, and we were soon plunged into the cold water vapour. Cue lots of wiping of glasses and thanks for wearing warmer clothing.
The fog didn't stand a chance though, and was soon burnt off, although the air temperature was still on the chilly side, especially on what passes for a downhill around here. It was shaping up to be glorious and I'd initially planed a 160KM route, but was having second thoughts, as I have cycled that kind of distance since my aborted BB200 attempt last October. Rather than sticking to one of the three routes I'd mapped out, I turned the navigation on the Wahoo off and just rode around trying to remember where all the roads went, as it's not like I haven't been down them all before.
I did get a few junctions mixed up though and at one point, ended up faced with a couple of miles of a major A road, so I beated a swift retreat and found a different route. Due to these slight miscalculations, my distance was also getting to the point where it would be close to 160KM, but not quite. So it was time to bite the bullet and ensure we popped over the mark. The first bad junction choice also meant I'd run out of water well before my expected first resupply point, and my legs were not too happy about the lack of electrolytes being ingested. Thankfully I spotted a tap on the side of a pub, and managed to quench my thirst, although the damage had been done, and I really struggled on the last forty or kilometres.
As the main point of this ride was to get miles in the legs in preparation for the WRT, it seemed sensible to get some practice in raiding a SPAR...
The only real issue came at around 135KM or so. I was making my way down a single track back road and had pulled over to let a car passed. They stopped and informed me that the road was closed and I'd probably have to turn around. After they'd riven off, I pushed off, but the pedals wouldn't turn, stomping on them just cause the chain to skip and jam, so I quickly stopped, least I ripped the derailleur off like I did last spring. After five minutes of swearing, I suddenly realised that the bottom jockey wheel was jammed and not turning, so I took it off to see what was wrong. It was pretty obvious what was wrong the moment the jockey wheel was out of the cage, as one of the bearing plates was deformed and you could see some of the ball bearings inside had attempted to escape. I didn't realise that the GRX jockey wheels even had proper bearings, I just though they were those shitty push fit jobs. After ejecting all the balls, including the ones that had jammed solid, I put the plates back on the jockey wheel and fitted it into the cage, crossed my fingers and continued.
I bought a load of
lovely Garbaruk kit last year, that I was planning on fitting t the start of next month in preparation for the WRT. So slightly unamused that I'm going to have to find a replacement jockey wheel for the next few weeks running around on the road.
We finally made it back home, slightly the worse for wear, as the legs had been making all sorts of announcements about impending physical breakdown. I started the ride with knee warms, a full windproof jacket, winter gloves and a headband. I finished with pretty much everything in my jersey pockets, drenched in sweat. It was definitely one of those days where you really needed to carry three outfits, as you were a bit too cold at the start, but a bit too warm in the middle of the afternoon. It was great to get out and get a long ride in though, and I'm now wondering which direction to head in next Friday for more of the same...
https://www.strava.com/activities/6843656520
Distance: 164.71km
Moving time: 6:51:48
Elevation: 1,281m