Well, I finally got back on my bike! (I had done one ride since mid-December but the lurgy, gale force winds, and freezing weather kept putting me off doing more.)
Last week, I started a thread proposing a 'half century a month challenge' for those who didn't want to do a full century, or who didn't have the time, or maybe lacked the fitness. The thing is - I was in danger of not even getting my own half metric century in during January! I decided to prise myself away from my gas fire and out into the cold this afternoon to do a 50 km ride.
The ice danger was too great to risk minor roads so I settled for a main road route. Which was: Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Cragg Vale climb, Blackstone Edge, Littleborough, Todmorden, A646 up Cliviger Gorge to the Ram Inn, then I u-turned and rode back down to Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, and a loop round the block to get my distance up.
It was only just above freezing, and with the windchill, it were right parky out on the tops!
No messing about - I did 50.1 km. I would have skipped the last 100 metres but I needed to do them to get back into the warm.
I tried to take some photos but the cold got to my phone camera! It kept giving me memory card errors, which have mysteriously stopped now that I am back indoors. Suffice to say that the snow-capped moors and the semi-iced-up reservoir looked very nice in the winter sunshine!
Unfortunately, I had set off a bit late and I was soon losing what little warmth the sun had been offering. I had a rear light on the bike, but no front. It was getting well into dusk when I got home so that was a bit naughty of me. I had lost the mount for my front light, but found it last night when searching for a screwdriver - I just didn't get round to fitting it!
In mid-ride, I was engrossed in calculations, trying to work out how far I would have to ride up the Burnley Road in order to get my 50 km in and that distracted me from the important task of preserving my own safety on the road. I got too close to some parked cars and one driver started to open his door just before I got there. Fortunately (for once!), the driver had his wits about him and spotted me, waiting for me to pass before opening the door more than an inch or two. It gave me a scare though. My mistake. (Strictly, the driver shouldn't have even started to open the door, but I'll let him off this time!)
I'm glad that I did the ride, but I didn't exactly enjoy the cold and the traffic. I'm looking forward to an ice-melting rise in temperatures so I can safely venture back onto my hilly local lanes.