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UPDATED

Given that those pesky storms have decided to leave us alone for a bit, I though I’d ride into work again this week.

Allowing myself the luxury of a lie in (getting up at 7 instead of 6am) I had a very relaxed breakfast and set about finding random pieces of my kit before giving my bike another check over to ensure the tyres hadn’t mysteriously gone down overnight.

Once dressed, I hauled ass and bike down the stairs and out into the dark, dank, damp world of Tameside, pulled on gloves, poked several buttons on several lights until I was lit up like a Christmas tree and rolled straight out alongside static traffic and to the ASL a few doors down from where I live, all to the glares and stares from those people who just simply can’t live without their little boxes on wheels.

A left turn took me onto the roughest road in the area (surface not people…although some of the people are a bit trouble-making) where my poor cree torches set about rattling like they were in competition with a pissed off rattlesnake. I really need to find out why they rattle so badly and somehow stop them doing so as it’s really annoying! Demolition works on a church made one bit of road interesting to navigate, but I got through ok and I was soon turning off onto side streets and making my way to Ashton Old Road for the long straight(ish) run towards the city.

My ‘missing’ speed (I’d lost a lot of speed over the past year) returned as I scalped a trio of cyclists who, in the past, have left me for dead, only this time I was leaving them in my wake, and all too soon I was having to slow down in anticipation of my left hand turn onto another crummy stretch of tarmac, this time heading along Chancellor Lane and the right hand turn onto Higher Ardwick doesn’t fare much better with potholes you could fit a gorilla into which force you into the middle of the road unless you want to buy a new bike on insurance!

Still, I was soon onto the silky smooth Ardwick Green North, swerving behind a reckless pedestrian as she stepped out into the road without looking and while trying to cross diagonally across two roads! Then came the fun – trying to get across Ardwick Green South in one piece. I head along AGN to avoid a very busy five way roundabout and the necessary right hand turn I would need to take, but crossing AGS can sometimes be a game of chicken despite there being many many crossing points between Grosvenor St and the roundabout, they aren’t very safe to use. The traffic coming along AGS from the city tend to think of it as an extension to the motorway they’ve just come off too, so it’s not surprising that speeds of 70mph are often reached on here. trying to cross it on a bike can be a tad scary.

Obviously, the fact that I’m writing this is testimony to the fact that I got across alive and well!

Blurbage – outgoing

3.42 miles
31ft climbed
00:13:19
15.5mph average

Leaving work was pretty chaotic as Ardwick Green South was nearing bumper to bumper traffic, but I waited until a driver from next door was leaving the car park and nipped out with him. Once on the roads traffic felt less busy, which was odd seeing as the volume hadn’t changed after I began riding.

I took advantage of white van man as I made my left turn at the roundabout and set about hunting down the cyclist that whizzed round it before me. He’d disappeared by the time I got round the next bend.

There was a hilarious moment where I nearly fell onto a car as my cleat refused to let go of the pedal when a sudden red light forced an emergency stop – I was a mite tardy with the unclipping and had a sideways wobble towards the car next to me. Thankfully I unclipped before a full on wobble, saving myself from embarrassment, though I was still chuckling to myself as the lights changed and I made the right turn onto the stop-start road that is Ashton Old Rd in the evening rush hour.

Passing one cyclist pissed him off greatly as, while I obeyed the law and patiently waited in line for the lights to change, he just had to get in front of me by weaving in and out of the fairy bluebells traffic, only to find he’d not got much further on. Passing him again must’ve lit the touch paper as he got more reckless riding on the wrong side of what is a very busy multi-lane road. I could understand it, somewhat, if I was hunting him down, but I was merely riding at my normal pace home and happened to pass hm a few times. Egotistical boys eh!!

There was the odd muppet hogging the cycle lane in their car as I passed through Openshaw but a bit of grid hopping got me past her and into the upcoming bus lane to fly by the stationary cars til my turning took me onto the side streets and, after a compulsory one way loop, home.

Blurbage – homeward bound

3.42 miles
200 ft climbed
00:17:41
11.6 mph average