Badass

Rule #9 and all that.  I could hear the rain as I chose what to wear this morning, so out came the Rapha softshell and the new super lightweight jersey that my wife bought me recently as an anniversary present.

The Met Office claimed it was 70% chance of rain all day and the Basso won the coin toss as it is still fitted with the Crud mudguards. A quick check of the tyre pressures, swap the Lezyne seat bag over and I ventured out in the rain and puddles for the third Chinook-O pedal (without my Chinook again). I hadn't gone a mile and my shoes were full of water but when I arrived at the ride start point at Marston Vale I was shamed by Rick who was wearing a short sleeved jersey and shrugged off the foul weather like a true Badass. Respect.

It was Rick's turn to decide today's Chinook-O route and we set off into the headwind to explore the lanes around Northamptonshire.  We passed through many beautiful villages with homes built in the local sandstone, skirted Castle Ashby and ended up in Salcey Forest cafe for cake and coffee.

A 70+ mile pedal, with a reasonable 16.5mph average showing on my Garmin Edge 705.  Great route - thank you Rick :-)

Stats for the week:

• 3 Brompton commutes = 33 miles, with an attempt at the Lower Thames Dash on Strava matching my 6th place time
• Weight = a bit heavier, possibly due to the 14 (of the 18) bottles of wine I brought back from France being consumed in the last 3 weeks ;-)
• Bike upgrades = the hydraulic, braided brake hoses have been replaced on one of my mountain bikes
• Shopping list = I must remember to get a Dura Ace bottom bracket for my Van Nicholas as the Ultegra version I fitted just last year is clicking loudly.