I can't let Maggie go.....*

This morning I did the ride to work in a record 57 minutes. I'd decided to 'press on', riding faster then the '8-hours-a-day' LE-JOG pace, to build up fitness. More about having the acceleration to climb hills than stamina.

On the return journey, to celebrate England's unconvincing win against tiny Slovenia I detoured to Kenilworth, riding along Woodland Road and Inchbrook Road, where I lived as a kid. Weird how some things have changed, others haven't . Bizarrely, everything looks smaller now.

There's nothing better than riding home in the evening sun with a warm breeze, the aromas of the countryside and the evening sun on your face. Today I saw a hot air balloon over the Avon valley, the epitome of tranquility in a busy world.

For some people, the arrival of spring and summer are charted by the first sightings of birds such as the Swallow. For me, it's the sighting of classic cars.

On recent rides I've spotted a TVR Tuscan, MGB, Lotus Elan (1990s version), Austin Healey and TR6. And even a Hillman Imp.

* Apparently my titles are too oblique for some....this isn't a referrence to the Iron Lady, but to a 60's song by the Honeybus, used in a Nimble bread advert featuring a pleasant young lady rather implausibly taking off in a hot air balloon...

Under Pressure

Over recent weeks I've found myself involved in increasingly arcane conversations, usually with gentlemen of a certain age, about gear ratios, bottom brackets, cadence and the like. Also, my eyes now go first to the cycling mags at the news stand.....

Among the wisdom I've acquired are two nuggets relating to tyres:

1) cheap inner tubes are a false economy

2) a hard (100 psi) tyre not only reduces rolling resistance, it's less prone to puncture.

So, equipped with new Continental inners at 100psi I set out for work. The route has now settled down, and is basically Warwick - Leek Wootton - Kenilworth - Westwood. A wrinkle is that on the return journey I go up Malthouse Lane and past Kenilworth Castle, partly because Fieldgate Lane is now one-way, partly because it's a pleasant way to go..

So it was inevitable that, tackling the climb through Leek Wooton, I became aware of a regular hiss from a deflating rear tyre. Closer inspection revealed a hole in the tyre. Que faire? Rejecting all the sensible options, I hammered on, to see how far I could get before things became impossible. Sure, it was even harder going than usual, but I reached Westwood with a half-inflated tyre. Which was in the same state hours later. Strange....

And before you ask, 14.85.....