I woke rather early this morning, and was elated to see that conditions were well-nigh perfect for time trialling - quite warm, and virtually still.  Over at Tempsford (the event was on F1/25), I signed on and got ready to go and warm up.  Unfortunately I didn't even get out of Tempsford before suffering a rear wheel puncture.  Back to the car and a change of tube!  I availed myself of another competitor's track pump to whack the tyre up to pressure.  Sadly, the tyre didn't hold pressure, and with a substantial cut in the tyre casing, it was pretty clearly game over. This was pretty disappointing, given it was the only decent morning I've had this season for a time trial.Back home for a ride on the tandem.

Today was forecast as a hot and sunny prelude to three days of heavy rain.  Some disappointment, therefore, when the skies were darkly clouded at the start of this event.  It was at least warm, with a rather gentler breeze than we've had at recent time trials.  This event was nominated as the North Bucks Road Club's championship '25' time trial.  Disappointing that I was the only NBRC rider taking part.  I was off at #10, with only three riders ahead of me (and one of those was a DNS).

The event was on the F13/25, which runs along the A41 from Launton Road to the outskirts of Aylesbury and back, and isn't really a very quick course - it's quite lumpy, and the road surface (particularly around the new Aylesbury Vale Parkway roundabout) leaves quite a lot to be desired.  There's also the issue of the pedestrian crossing traffic lights in Waddesdon (directly outside the police station!) - racing through when the lights are at red is a disqualification offence.  And, yes, I've seen a rider DQ'd for running the red light there!  No such problems for me today.

Another windy evening promised a tough outward leg to Chicheley before the first turn.  But at least it didn't rain on us - we had heavy showers earlier in the day, but they'd all pushed off into the distance by the time the riders congregated at Astwood for this evening's North Bucks evening 10 mile event.  A bit of a disappointing turnout of 13 riders, and not many of those were NBRC first claim riders, for this counting event in the NBRC league.Having dashed up to Astwood after a day of seemingly interminable meetings at work (and with not having consumed much food prior to the event), I did feel a bit tired and jaded as I lined up at the start.  At least it was reasonably warm, though not quite what I would expect for a late evening in June.  I had a pretty uneventful ride, though the climb up to Chicheley (gentle though it is) seemed very tough into the headwind.  Once round the Chicheley turn, I was really just fighting my general lassitude.I crossed the line in just under 24 minutes (I made it 23:53, but I await the results coming in).  Not too bad in the conditions, but I clearly need to work a bit harder at the training!On a more optimistic note, Gerry and I have entered this year's Duo Normand.Results to follow.

This was quite a windy evening, and heavily overcast.  It also gave the distinct impression that the clouds were going to deliver some rain.  However, precipitation was limited to fine drizzly rain at the far end of the course, so that wasn't too bad.After Sunday's '50', I was interested to see how I'd fare this evening - I generally lose form, at least where racing speed is concerned, while off on cycle touring.  Sunday's '50' had been a bit of a worry and I'd ten spent two days working away from home.  There was a pretty small field, maybe due to the weather.I was last rider off, and found the outward leg fairly heavy going, but gradually felt a bit better, as I approached the dual carriageway section.  Once up there, I started seeing riders coming the other way - Jason was clearly going fast, near the turn, it looked as though Tony was gaining on Lindz (though in the end Lindz held him off!).  For my part, I was quite pleased with by time of 23:12, and reckon that my legs are getting back into the swing of things.Next open event is the Century RC '10' on Saturday.Results

There was a lovely start to the day - I set out under cloudless skies, but clouds gradually appeared, and by the end of the event we were riding in blustery wind and rain.  So the weather icon on the left is a bit of a compromise.  It wasn't particularly warm, given that this is mid-June, and when the rain arrived, it got still colder.This being my first time trial since going on what purported to be a cycle touring holiday (you can read more about it here), I didn't have huge hopes for a stellar performance.  Usually it takes me a week or two to get back into the swing of racing.  I'd received a link to the startsheet by email.  At first I couldn't find where I was - this turned out to be because I was the penultimate rider to start, one minute before the great Ian Cammish.  Well, two thoughts crossed my mind.  Firstly, just when would Cammish come roaring past me (reckoned by the time I passed Tempsford heading north for the first time), and secondly what a contrast to my last open event, where I was the first rider off!  Carol had ridden roughshod over my dopey plan to ride over to Tempsford for this event (and given how the weather turned out, how glad I was) so it was quite a leisurely trip over from home.  I wasn't feeling in peak of condition, for reasons that I won't bother with here, and hadn't slept well.  On the other hand, the morning was glorious, with quite a gentle wind from the south.As I lined up for my start, I noticed Geoff P. scooting up asking for a late start - given that he was number 46, this would have been about 45 minutes late start penalty!  Geoff and I are usually at a similar pace, and having him two minutes behind me could spur me on, but only if I had any oomph in my legs...Off I went, and up the lane to the roundabout that takes riders down the sliproad and onto the A1 southbound.  Hallelujah!  The Council has deigned to repair the dreadful potholes that have blighted this RAB so far this season.  Joy was not long-lived, as I felt just dreadful on that short southbound leg.  Indeed, I toyed with the idea of chucking it in.  However, I'm made of sterner stuff than that - my view is that packing in doesn't get you anywhere and that riding as best I could would at least represent a good training ride.  After rounding the turn, things got a little better, though not good enough to hold Cammish off until Tempsford...Rounding the Buckden turn for the first time, I found the headwind light enough, though by the time I reached the Black Cat, I was definitely feeling it.  Before then, I'd passed Steve T. on the roadside with a puncture.  The pattern was repeated for the second half of the time trial, though is was apparent when I can round the Buckden RAB the second time that the headwind had got significantly stronger.  It continued to do so until I found myself grovelling along for the final mile to the finish, trying to stay above a measly 20mph.So, not a good day.  I finished with 2:03:06, about a minute back on my last '50' on the same course a few weeks back.  I felt pretty crap then.  David Jones was on the course taking photographs.Results to follow.  If I can bear to reveal them.

I've written up an account of our 2011 cycle touring escapade, though really (as far as cycle touring goes) it was a bit unsatisfactory. The initial aim of touring the very north of Scotland came apart quickly when the tandem's freehub body shattered a few miles north of Scourie.

After yesterday's debacle, a new front tyre was needed, the spare we have being a bit aged itself. So it was back across the road to Escape Route Cycles, where we bought a 32mm folding tyre.When fitting the new tyre, it was pretty clear how lucky we were to make it back OK - the inner tube was badly worn by the choco-milk bottle tyre boot, and was on the point of puncturing. At least the choco-milk bottle tyre boot had stopped the tube pushing out between the tyre bead and the sidewalk!It wasn't until the afternoon that we set off in the car to Kinloch Rannoch, from where we rode round the loch. Weatherise, this was quite a change from the blazing conditions we'd had yesterday - we'd woken to rather cooler temperatures, and during the morning it had not only got cooler still, but the overcast skies had started to drizzle at times.Anyway, we left the car in what appeared to be a parking place for canoeists. We chose the unclassified south road to start. This was delightfully quiet, with only occasional cars, and we mostly saw fishermen in the Loch, with occasional tents by the Lochside. On this section, we saw another red squirrel, but once again could't take a photo.Once round the west tip of the loch, we returned to Kinlochrannoch, passing even more fishermen. We also stopped to photograph an exotic four horned ram in a field.When we returned to the car, we chatted briefly to a fisherman (I asked if there had been a fishing competition), then loaded the bike on the car and set off back to Pitlochry.We had dinner at the Auld Smiddy in Pitlochry, which turned out to be pretty good pub grub (onion and manchego tart, venison sausages on roast veg and mash, creme brûlée). I also had my first pint of Belhaven Best in a few years.One more night in Pitlochry before heading a bit further south.

This was a really warm and sunny day, and was forecast to be like this all day. I'd planned quite a long ride, encompassing climbs over Schiehallion and Ben Lawers, scenic rides on the Foss road and up Glen Lyon. In total this came to about 75 miles, and in the event brought with it some excitement!We set off quite early, and negotiated our way to the Foss road. Annoyingly (since this is a road that would particularly appeal to cyclists), it seems one has to venture onto the A9 to get there. After the A9, the road rolls up and down before running alongside Loch Tummel. The loch was particularly still, and offered near-perfect reflections of the other bank. It was particularly idyllic, with the sounds of birds and livestock among dappled shade and lushly green meadows and trees.Shortly after reaching Foss, we joined the road that winds its way over the side of Schiehallion - a lovely climb. Reaching the top, we paused for a snack bar and a drink before descending. At the bottom, we took the turn to Fortingall, where we stopped to look at the famous Fortingall yew.From Fortingall we pressed on up Glen Lyon. Here we saw a couple of red squirrels. The road up Glen Lyon is quite severely undulating, and I was sustained by memories of the tea room at Bridge of Balgie - memories disputed by Carol. However the tea room did exist, and we tucked in to scones with jam and cream, washed down with tea. We also bought a bottle of chocolate milk, which will assume significance later.From Bridge of Balgie, a little single track road ascends Ben Lawers - a delightful climb, and passing motorists helpfully used passing places appropriately (except twerp in a delivery van that occupied more than the width of the road). The descent to Loch Tay was rather steeper, and I had to brake rather a lot. This had disastrous consequences just as we were reaching Loch Tay. The front tyre decided to explode, presumably from braking heat. Somehow I managed to stay upright and bring the tandem to a stop (not easy with the front rim running on Tarmac). I set about repairs. The rim was far too hot to touch, so we shared the chocolate milk before starting. The tyre was quite badly shredded, with bad damage to the bead. I booted the worst section with a small piece of tyre carried for the purpose, but had to leave the other. With the tyre only pumped up soft, we pressed on, nervously. At this point, we had about 30 miles to go.A few miles down the road, we stopped at Fearnan to see how the tyre was getting on. It was developing an alarming bulge. We scratched our heads for a while, considering how best to keep the show on the road. Eventually I remembered the now-empty choco-milk bottle. We cut a section, and used that as am enormous tyre boot.From Fearnan, we had a pretty uneventful ride via Kenmore to Aberfeldy, where we stopped for a quick drink. The tyre was bulging alarmingly. On to Logierait, where we rested briefly before joining Cycle Route 7 to Pitlochry for the last 4 or 5 miles back to Pitlochry.Beer this evening was very well-earned, as was the curry!Tomorrow we'll see about getting a new tyre...

From Helmsdale, we set off in the car- destination Pitlochry. This was Plan C, in which we stay three nights, for four rides in Perthshire. This was a rather dull drive down the A9, though broken by a supermarket visit in Aviemore.Good weather all day!Once in Pitlochry, we looked for a B&B for three nights, though we actually went for a self-catering house instead. After getting unpacked and buying a few supplies, we set out for a short ride over to Loch Tummel and the Queen's View. Along the way, we stopped to eat one of the meals we'd taken for the tour. For this we stopped next to a sandy bank where sand martins were nesting (much too their dismay!)

We sat in the B&B breakfast room looking out at the weather blasting in from the sea - howling wind and lashing rain. Having a broken tandem suddenly seemed not so bad...After our excellent breakfast (the best so far on this trip), we set off in the car for Thurso, via Durness. We stopped in Durness to go down and look at Smoo Cave, which turned out to be pretty impressive - the waterfall inside was a raging torrent after all the recent rain and was generating clouds of fine spray. Somewhat damp, we returned to the car and drove on to Thurso.At The Bike Shop, we described the problem (bust freehub), fetched the tandem and set about the repair. This wasn't trivial, as Shimano have changed freehub design. Turned out the bolt that holds the freehub body to the hub had shattered. In the end, one of the bike shop guys sacrificed his own hub. Amazing service.After getting something to eat, we decided to head south (in the car), eventually reaching Helmsdale.Quite how we'll proceed from here is still to be decided! But we probably won't be heading north. We may base ourselves in Pitlochry for a few days.