First of all have got a Taylor Made R7 425 driver coming off Ebay, quate pleased about that so I am. Also been and done 9 holes of golf this evening, hit all sorts of shots, some cracking drives, some rubbish. Been playing the 60 degree wedge out of bunkers and it's bloomin magic, just thwack the hell out of the ball and it comes floating out on a bed of sand, it's the business.
Taylormade R7 425, new driver for a bit, at least!!
The Diverison
I use a bit of online software called http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/ from time to time. It's designed to make routes for the Garmin Edge cycle computers really but I like to use it to compare bits of road to work out whether it makes sense to go a little bit further on a gradual climb or shorter and steeper. An example of this I tried out this morning for when I bike to work again in a few weeks (sooner if weather looks promising!!). There's a hill into Hulland Ward if you're approaching on the A517 from Ashbourne that sucks big style. So I went a bit of a diversion which is longer but don't hurt your legs one bit - the images below are the diversion then the gradient profiles for the two.
Yellow line is the hard route, Blue line, is the new easy route!!
Hulland Ward the hard way - 45 metres ascent in the last kilometer.
Hulland Ward the Easy Way - same climb spread out over over 2k - that's the way to do it and only bit of a mile longer overall!
Morning Ride
Got up earlyish, answered a comment on the blog (many thanks to 'Taxi for Thaksin' am going to try your suggestion re. caffeine,although it won't be easy!). Then went out on the FCR1, did my biggest run for ages, which was good. Dropped a package off at the postbox up town, then went up the A517 to Hulland Ward with a new diversion (see google map below) that takes out that rotten hill that goes past the turnoff for Hulland Ward - a bit of advance planning for when I ride to work again when weather is a bit more reliable.
From Hulland Ward I went past Aggregate's concrete works where two of my golfing buddies work, then over to Brailsford and back to Ashbourne. Somewhere between Aggregate and Brailsford I passed a sign that said 'Halter Devil Chapel', I thought "now that's odd" - devil worship in darkest Derbyshire?? But no, according to Wikipedia - 'Also nearby at Muggington is the interestingly named Halter Devil Chapel, built in 1723 onto the end of a farm house by Francis Brown, a reformed alcoholic, who one night attempted to halter his horse, mistakenly caught a cow, and thought it was the devil.'
Not a particularly fast ride as I'm out of biking shape a bit but an acceptable 4:16 pace. Anyway, it was grand, next to no traffic about, weather good (chucking it down now, ha ha) and it was nice not to have the pressure of being back home for 7am to get off to work too.
However, back was burning when got home so had a long bath with a China Mieville book I got off Ebay for half an hour, bloomin grand. Am definitely into these bank holiday weekends, they truly rock. Also jumped on electronic scales 14st 10.4lbs - which I'd accept - but it's be at least two pounds heavier with clothes/shoes etc. but at least not 15stone I'd hope.
Above: Motionbased stats for this morning's ride - check out the gradient profile on bottom-right
Just seen Tyrone Mear's goal for Derby against West Ham in April's goal of the month on MOTD, there's a thing! A derby player? Goal of the month? Who'd have thunk it?
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