psyclepath

[psyclepath]

A couple of recent events, so I decided to buy my girlfriend a bike of her own, she's been saying she wants one for a while. So I found a well priced, vintage style bike for her.

Unfortunately it came a little out of tune and with some damage, and missing pedals. But it's sorted now. Good job someone knows what they're doing around here 😏

Since the bike arrived, we've been on a few small rides together as she gets a little more confident each time we go out.

And also today, I decided to go up World's End again, this time, armed with my new gravel grinder! And it out-performed my expectations!

I managed to beat my last trip along the same route by almost an hour, which was unexpected.

As ever, the Welsh countryside looked beautiful in the sun lit valleys, and even though there was some wind, it was an almost perfect day for a ride.

[psyclepath]

New bike day has arrived!

So, after everything I've been through over the years, I've finally overcome my mental illnesses. And I decided to reward the new me with a little present.

The gravel bike I've researched for months, and was prepared to put together myself, finally appeared on the screen in front of me, in an affordable manner! So I clicked 'Order now' and now I have a machine that can do what I want it to do!

Now my adventures can really begin!

[psyclepath]

And my update for the Maggie’s charity ride... Due to my accident, I didn't get it finished in time, but I got close. I won't be attempting anything like that again until I'm fully committed to riding my bike no matter what.

[psyclepath]

So this week I head out for a short ride to Chester and back with Kris.

After coming off my bike a couple of weeks back, I've been struggling to get the motivation to go out for a ride again. This was mainly because I actually had a run in with a car on a back lane, the bike survived, but I just don't feel confident on it anymore.

So I ordered a new bike, a more sturdy, capable and fit for purpose gravel bike. Now my adventures can really start.

But anyway, I digress. As I said, it was only a short ride, but I still saw plenty of roads and tracks I'd not seen before now. As is the point of adventure cycling. 2 hours later, I was back home, continuing to eagerly await the delivery of my new bike (photos a plenty to be taken when I get it home).

So this should hopefully be goodbye to this old thing, as well as she's served me, she's going to a better home, with my brother. She's perfectly capable of putting up with anything he'll throw her way.

[psyclepath]

Also, here a quick update after Week 2 of my Charity riding for Maggie’s Centres.

I never got around to riding to Ellesmere Port unfortunately, as there was a technical hitch... I'd just gone downhill, quite far downhill, and my partner let's me know she's coming home from her camping trip a day early....

But she didn't take her keys!

So I had to head back home, at which point, after climbing all those hills again, I really couldn't be arsed going back out.

But I digress. So, I'm just over half way, I may need to crank it up a little to avoid having to do too much in one go in the final week of August. But with a couple of different people interested in going for a spin, that shouldn't be an issue.

[psyclepath]

So my most recent excursion on the bike was with a new friend, Kris, my first accompanied ride in a long time. And we smashed 45 miles travelling to Whitchurch and back.

Doesn't sound like a lot, but considering 95% of my riding thus far has been commuting, I think we did pretty damn good! We headed first to Bangor-on-Dee, then on to Malpas, and after reaching Whitchurch, came back through Holt.

The weather wasn't the best, but the rain held off for us, and the cooler temperatures helped when hitting the climbs. Overall, the views were pretty limited, but this ride wasn't about the views, more so, it was about camaraderie and finding a comfortable pace.

I didn't take many pictures this time unfortunately, as I was too busy chatting and riding instead of enjoying the countryside.

[psyclepath]

I am planning to ride 500km in aid of Maggie’s Centres, and, after the end of Week 1, I don't think I'm doing too bad. I am riding from Wrexham to Ellesmere Port and back tomorrow (8/08/20), so that should ramp it up a bit.

This is a screenshot from my Strava account, and a separate challenge entirely, but I'm using it to track my progress for charity.

[psyclepath]

So, yesterday (6/08/20) I headed up to World's End, Minera Mountain. Pretty much around the corner from where I live.

It took some getting up there, but once I was there, the views were breathtaking. These are views I've never seen properly because I've always been driving.

After descending back in to the valleys, I made my way back up the hills to the Panorama, overlooking Llangollen, and could see Dinas Bran Castle on the hill in the distance.

I was starting to realise one bottle of water wouldn't do, and I should probably make my way home. I was still out for a good 3 hours overall.