Went out for a quick ride at lunch today as the sun was out and I'm in need of getting some mileage under my belt before Im on holiday and sans velo for over a week. Had to be the road bike as I fancied some speed/pace rather than woodland. Couldnt decide which route to take so I decided to just get on the bike and ride. Ended up going on a figure-of-eight loop around Bulphan and North Ockendon.
Ended up being a very decent lunch hour route. 14.58 miles, 53 minutes, 360odd foot of climb. Nice, will have to bank this one for more lunch rides to check for improvements of pace and speed. The last 2mile leg on the A128 was a bit so-so with all the HGVs and delivery vans; and there was A LOT of headwind when heading east...
The sun also seemed to bring out the SMIDYs ("Sorry mate, I didnt see you"). Had a few, managed to catch a couple on the helmet camera:
The first was 1 minute into the ride, she just wasnt looking for a cyclist when she started to pull out of her drive, but I could see that from a long way back so I pull out and slowed down. Thankfully she did stop and smiled an apologetic smile. 2nd one was stupid, the camera shot doesnt show how close I actually was to her; either she didnt look up the road she was entering or she assumed I was going a lot slower than I was. She did the classic if-I-look-dead-ahead-maybe-they-wont-see-me and sped off down the road. A few close passes (1 plonker on the phone in his aged Renault Escape whilst close passing), lack of indication and some engine rev'ers to get by you after you have filtered... never mind, I enjoyed the sun and the ride.
