# Reach for the Sky ...



## Arch (30 Aug 2010)

Well, last week was a bit of a washout, mileagewise. One or two evenings I had a commitment after work, and the commuting miles suffered in my rush to get home and showered and out again. I could have forced myself to do more, but the mojo wasn't working. I'd been feeling pretty lethargic the week before, so I took an executive decision to have a rest-week. The result: 27.99 miles (dammit I didn't even manage the extra 0.01). Still 10 more than the basic, but a bit of a drop from 50. Not even any work-trike miles, as I worked the electric truck every day.

Back on track so far this week, with 10 today (plus 2.7 on the trike today). I have a day off from Velo Vision on Thursday as Pete does Eurobike, so I'll have to make sure I get some miles in that day instead of the commuting - I might even go out for a longer ride, but I want to fit a haircut and other domestic stuff in too...

I did get some extra at the weekend though, courtesy of the Leicester Skyride. Leicester was my home before York, and I combined the ride with a visit to Mum. I was helping out for Cyclemagic at their festival, and duties included setting up 3 different gazebos (each with a different method of erection, of course) and helping to survey lady riders on the Velo Belle stand. I also found time to chat to a couple of CCers - 3tyretrackterry and Tigerbiten among them. I borrowed a neat little folder to do the ride once I was off duty.

The route this year was rather longer than last year - a 9km (5.5miles) minimum loop, taking in the city centre and the Belgrave flyover. It was even longer for me, as I got myself onto the optional extra King Lear loop (it ran out to Watermead Park, which contains King Lear's lake) without meaning to - I missed a sign at a corner (as did a lot of others, I think the sign might have got twisted round in the wind). This extra bit took us away from town, on a route I know slightly, but the signs got a bit sparse after a while and people got a bit confused. When I realised that I was heading out to a hub and then faced a return on the same paths, I turned back - I hadn't intended to be gone long... It amounted to an extra 3.5 miles I worked out later.

Anyway, once back on the route proper, the signage was fine, and most of the route was barriered off from the remaining open road lanes anyway. It was a ride for pootling though - with novice and family riders among the keener cyclists, it paid to keep your eyes open and your brakes covered. Still, it was nice to ride through bits of town I normally only see as a pedestrian. I stopped off in Abbey Park for a rather late lunch (it was getting on for 3pm!), and then the last short hop back past the giant inflated ribbed condom that is the National Space Centre to the Abbey Pumping Station and the Cyclemagic festival site - which was, owning to the rather stiff breeze, rather less fulsomely gazeboed than it had been when I left....

I had a chat with Velvet Curtain and Mrs VC, and made myself useful fetching icecream for the Velo Vision party, and then helped pack the stand up before getting a lift home with them. Including a shameless KFC motorway service station stop.

So, about 37 miles in total for the week. The first week I've come under the 50 mile a week target since I set it, but I think I maybe needed just to ease off for once. We've got some potentially hard weeks coming up at work, with our rounds changing over, and there may be more weeks when stuff gets in the way. I hope it doesn't matter too much...


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