Tom 2 Weather 1

Yesterday (Monday) was a bit disappointing at first. I was determined to "do a bit" despite the weather but it was cold, wet and blustery. I checked the weather forecast for today and saw it promised to be a bit better so I chickened out. Live to fight another day as they say. So it was the equaliser for the weather, making it 1 - 1 in the series, and I managed to finish off a couple of jobs and clear the decks for today. I also continued my research for equipment and I actually found what looks like a decent bike, second hand, on Ebay. The auction finishes tomorrow (Wednesday). Lets see how that goes.

The paddy fields of SW Lancashire. 

This morning I had an early meeting and left home (by car) with a dark sky and a bitter wind. Amazingly, Brian, the chap I was dealing with has a place in Calis so we had to compare experiences and locations after the work was complete. Small world, or what? This meant that by the time I had finished on site the sky had cleared a bit and on the way home I thought I could squeeze a decent ride in if I got a move on. The sky cleared further and I left home (by bike) with patches of blue sky above. I felt good and actually ended up on a different route. It's good doing the same route because you can compare times etc, but I was in the mood for a change. I deviated from my normal route, turning right at Frederick's near Chorley and set off towards Horwich. Chorley Old Road, North of Horwich included a climb of 110m over 2km which is an average of 1 in 18. Don't laugh but that's about the longest steepish hill I have attempted this year and I managed it OK. I ended up doing a total of about 24 miles which was a pleasant result. I was very cold at the end though and thinking about maybe pushing the start date back to July! Not for long though. Anyway, I am now 2-1 up in the series. Yet another different training philosophy occurred to me on today's ride. With the weather not being so good, it is impossible realistically to plan ahead so it's best for me to just get out there and do it while I can.

Oops, rain has stopped. Got to go.