Day 8, ride 8 - although it's back to work tomorrow after a week off...
Looking at the map and trying to decide where to go, I felt almost like Alexander The Great as when I saw the saw the breadth of roads cycled, I wept for there were no more roads to conquer.
Then I realised that I could head out to Wike and have an explore round there. That said I am getting short of new routes...
With the forecasters predicting wall to wall
Scorchio 
it was out of the door at just before 8am into low cloud and rolling mist. None too warm either...
I was glad I'd put my knee warmers on (admittedly to protect my sunburnt knees from yesterday...)
Anyhow, I quite fancied adding another metric half to the weeks efforts, so off up Coal Road (traffic lights still not detecting bikes...) and across the A58 to Shadwell, before the climb up to Wike, where I was passed by a small but friendly group from Monk Fryston CC. At this point I was thinking that maybe I was overdoing things a bit - I'd ridden 40+ miles on Friday, 63 miles yesterday and my legs were telling me all about it on anything approaching an incline.
Anyhow, right and along Wike Ridge Lane to East Keswick and the climb up to the A659. Down to Collingham and then up the A58 to Wetherby.
Those are two "A" roads I won't be rushing to ride again.
It's a shame that the bridge at Linton is likely to be out of action until the end of the year as that is a much nicer route and opens other options out too.
Into Wetherby over the bridge and a quick tootle round the farmers market (they were just setting up, although the aroma of bacon butties almost tempted me to stop), then over the A1(M) bridge and out to Thorp Arch and the bridge over to Boston Spa.
From there to Clifford and down the hill to Bramham, where despite my tired legs I decided to tackle the Col de Town Hill, just because it's there. Back round to the main road where I stopped for a photo and a drink as the sun finally started to burn though the haze:
Refreshed and back in the saddle I set off down the poorly named Paradise Way, where I passed a very cheery peleton heading in the opposite direction from (I think) Knottingley Velo, resplendent in orange and black kit. I hope you guys had given the A1246 a wide berth - "surface dressing" at it's very worst on there at the moment
Round the roundabout at Bramham Crossroads and down to Aberford, carrying on straight through the village and then down to Garforth, before climbing up Long Lane to Barwick and then up (again) to Scholes. Realising I was going to be short on distance for a metric half, I carried on through Scholes and out to the A64 for a life and death sprint to Thorner Lane, then Skeltons Lane, Coal Road and on to home with a final spin around the block to make sure.
32.02 miles (51.53 km) in
2hrs 17m at an average of
13.9mph, with
1,778 ft climbed. It was blooming hard work at times, but I stuck with it and got it done. Plus it means that I can now sit in the sunshine with a cold beer and not feel guilty about it
So, for the month so far that gives me 233 miles which is a new record for me - that includes three metric half centuries and one metric century, so I'm going to class that as a good week
