Day 85 - The Asparagus Run

I was away this bank holiday weekend without my steed so neither managed my early constitutional on Saturday nor this morning. I did, however, manage a 30 minute power walk first thing today, around the particularly sunny and leafy Coventry. I lived 5 years in Coventry and never saw it as green as it looked this morning.

With a 3 hour return journey to Seaton this afternoon, the last thing I thought I'd be wanting to do was to go for a cycle. However, with the sun still blazing and the sea so blue, I actually could not wait to get  out on my bike. I had in mind a cycle over to Beer for a pint of the same. It had been a long hot drive and I was parched. There is a pub in Beer which has a garden overlooking the sea and the draw of this, being able to sit out with a beer watching the sun go down, after an exhilarating ride, seemed a perfect end to the day.

I head out up Seaton Down Hill, a hill I'd not taken since Day 28 when I first made this climb. Pleasingly, I took 9 minutes to make this one mile and 320 ft assent, taking 4 minutes off my last and only time. Turning then left from the Tower out along the main A3052 for two miles before returning south towards the sea along Holyhead Road into Beer. Once in the village, I weaved through the crowds of weekend tourists who were still out enjoying the last rays of sun, arriving at the pub at the five mile marker. I paused looking for a suitable sunny spot in the beer garden, but alas there were none. Meanwhile, while pausing my ipod, I'd managed to close Endomondo! This is one 'feature' of Endo that really does annoy me; the way it closes down at the slightest provocation.

I rode up and out of Beer taking the Coast road and took a slight detour down Beer Hill into Seaton Hole. The reason? .. Asparagus!  Yes, my ' Portuguese' aunt has some asparagus which should by now be bearing produce if not even going to seed. I thought I'd take a look. The crop was not as expected, just 4 small offerings.

Has there been someone else gathering in the crop or is the poor weather we've had to blame? Anyway, finding a new use for my water bottle, I secured the four shoots on my bike and headed off back onto the coast road to complete my somewhat broken circuit.

Stats: 8.67 mi, 49m 47s, Avg 10.45 mph, Max 29.3 mph, 551 kcal

Day 64 - Bank Holiday Weekend

I'm away from my steed this Bank Holiday weekend and while a foldaway bike may look a bit naff and not ride well, I can now see the attraction when it comes to having limited space in the car. On my recent travels, I've been eyeing up the available car transportation systems - bikes unceremoniously strapped to rear bars or mounted proud on the roof - but I just can't get over how precarious they look.

So, for the time being I'm having to remove the front wheel and fill the rear passenger area and boot space leaving little room for anything else, hence us being separated for the weekend.

The first few days of May have been beautiful and perfect for getting out on the bike. I've also been able to shed yet another layer as the Day-Glo wind cheater is no longer required to protect me from sub zero temperatures and car drivers struggling to spot me in the misty morning gloom. The new month started for me on Thursday, Wednesday having been a rest day. For the morning run, I was not feeling my best and so decided to use it to explore a new and so far uncharted circuit, taking in the single track of Barnards Hill Lane, past allotments I never knew existed, to join Harepath Hill. This is a route my neighbour shared with me over a beer the night before and one I can see will appear in future circuits.

Stats: 2.68 mi, 15m 15s, Avg 10.5 mph, Max 27.9 mph, 169 kcal

Later that evening, I joined up with my neighbour for a 7 mile duo ride out across the northern and more extensive area of wetlands that I'd not covered before, an interesting cycle ride over rough ground and along wooden duckboards, avoiding the marshy water below. Great fun, although in the evening I did find a higher volume of flying things in the air than during the cooler morning circuits; keeping my mouth shut to avoid an unpalatable meal of insects was a real challenge!

And now for the route art .. can you see Yogi Bear walking from east to west along the coast to Beer?

Stats: 6.90 mi, 1h 06m 22s, Avg 6.21 mph, Max 20.0 mph, 736 kcal

As I was going to be away for the Bank Holiday weekend, Friday morning was to be the last ride for 3 days so I thought I'd make the most of it with a circuit including my three hills, the promenade, wetlands and the length of Harepath Road.

Stats: 4.96 mi, 29m 27s, Avg 10.01 mph, Max 26.0 mph, 326 kcal

For Sunday, it was time for something different ... a walk! What an idilic walk in the sun it was too. Rutland Water, once a valley containing a village which in 1976 it was flooded to form a massive reservoir and popular water park, has a number of beautiful walks and cycle tracks and today it was swinging with all manor of cycles and water craft.

If only I'd remembered to power Endomono on at the start, as I missed a good half mile + of the route, but still pleased with the result!

Stats: 4.96 mi, 29m 27s, Avg 10.01 mph, Max 26.0 mph, 326 kcal

Day 31 - Switching to Biped Mode

I left the bicycle behind today in favour of a sociable power walk with my wife. To keep the my Tour de Fitness records straight, I switched Endomondo into walk mode. Interestingly, to me anyway, this app also has a table tennis mode .. I've got to try that one day!

We headed out towards Beer, along a wooded route I have yet to do on the bike. Then taking the non-cycle route through the park and past the labyrinth, we dropped down to the beach and walked out to the marina. From here we returned along one of my well worn routes via the wetlands and the cricket pitch to conclude a very enjoyable and energising walk. This exercising is getting addictive!

Stats: 3.84 mi, 1h 04m 54s, Avg 3.5 mph, max 4.8 mph, 412 kcal