A very wet and windy ride through Herts today – the weather looked so
promising when we set out at 0830 but it soon closed in and we were
drenched to the skin for most of the time. 1Blind1Blonde is made of stern
stuff though,so we only took refuge in a warm buzzing café for 10 mins
before heading back in to London. Nics did a great job navigating around the
pools of oil on the roads and the omnipresent daft London bus drivers! Out
in the countryside, we really loved the smells of damp grass and horse
paddocks and of course the sounds of ancient church bells in the distance.
We were fast today and Stealth felt light and responsive as usual. Looking
forward to a serious roast dinner tonight!

It couldn’t have been a better start to the best month of the year with a
wonderful 80 mile round trip via Leighton Buzzard. Friends Bruce and Howard
joined us for the ride out, stopping in St Albans to soak up the spring
sunshine over a large hot chocolate and Lucy’s excellent biscuits. Boo
suffered badly with cramps on the way home despite guzzling packets of
crisps to keep up his salt levels – but he soldiered on supported by
Nichola’s brilliant pressure-pointing technique! We arrived home around 4pm
having set off at 0830 – a perfect day of sunshine, cool breezes and
reminiscences of training runs whilst preparing for our JOGLE ride last
year. Looking forward to retracing some more of our scenic rides from
2009/10. Watch this space for news of our ride at the end of August in the
UK.

Another cracking ride in the brilliant sunshine and cool breeze – perfect
conditions for a peg through Hertfordshire – beautiful pink and white
blossoms wafting in the wind and lots of yellow daisies crowding the green
verges. Stopped off for a welcome cappuccino and then headed off into the
middle of more paddocks and rolling hills. We really clicked today and it
brought memories flooding back about those long training rides in early 2010
when we just “got into the zone”!…hope we can enjoy weather like this next
time we’re out on Stealth. Now planning some annual rides through Europe to
raise money for the Fight For Sight charity – see www.fightforsight.org.uk

A really cracking ride on the first day of Spring! Blossom trees were out
in force and hundreds of beautiful wild daffodils waved us by. The horses
were in their paddocks and fellow cyclists passed the time of day as they
cruised by. Hertfordshire looking its best right now - plans to return to
Leighton Buzzard very shortly - the cappuccinos are fantastic there! Our
bike has had an MOT and it's feeling smooth and strong - up for the caning
it'll take this Spring and Summer!

It really clicked today with a fast peg through Hertfordshire and back to
NW6 in 3.5 hours - followed by a large tea with Lucy. It was a perfect day
for a hard ride - cold, sunny spells and dry. Not too many pot holes which
was a blessing, and traffic not too heavy except on the last mile home. The
1b1b team is now planning a "Coast to Coast" ride sometime in the Summer in
view of our postponement of the NZ Chellenge - our thoughts and prayers are
with everyone over there in the aftermath of the terrible earthquake. Watch
this space for more details of our plans and how you'll be able to follow
our progress.

We were out on the road for the first time in many weeks – just so
exhiilirating to breathe in lungfuls of air and feel the wind on our faces.
The trees are still bare but showing promise – Spring is just around the
corner! St Albans provided a welcome stop-off for cappuccinos (and maybe a
pastry or two!) before resuming the wide arc through Hertfordshire and back
to London. “Stealth” is going well after a comprehensive oiling but still
proudly bears the scars of our JOGLE adventure last summer!! Boo cramped up
20 minuttes from home – as usual, the ultra fit Nics administered pressure
pointing and peanuts and we made it back, determined to get out there again
as soon as possible. Ride through NZ now planned for October – sponsorship
permitting.

We’ve been out on several rides recently, wearing all the winter kit – thick
gloves, leggings and several thermal layers..low temperatures are just the
best incentive to keep on peddling! We touched 46.1 mph downhill which is a
record – we might well hit 50mph if we peddled even harder from the top! The
trees are now completely bare – all those beautiful autmn colours that
showed so brilliantly in the slanting autumn sunshine are a now a distant
memory! We’ll continue tomaintain our stamina levels during these winter
months in the hope that sufficient sponsorship for our planned NZ trip will
emerge eventually.

A wonderful 54 mile loop through Hertfordshire in the balmy Autumn sunshine
does wonders for the soul! We spotted our first “Blacksmiths” and enjoyed
the smell of woodsmoke and woodland undergrowth on the breeze as we passed
through endless picturesque villages with the ubiquitous common, pub and
string of paddocks! Mat Brown was a fantastic guide once again on his “hot”
bike, and I feel we made a better stab at keeping up with him this time! Boo
suffered no cramps at all this time due to the guzzling of peanuts and
sultanas provided by Nurse Nix!

Met up with Wullie the Wizard at the Bike Show Earls Court for a grand tour
of stands selling every gizmo, tyre tread and sci-fi helmet known to man!
Wullie’s encylopaedic knowledge of bike parts helped us make loads of
decisions about appropriate bike parts for our planned NZ trip next March -
roll on 2011!

A great ride out into Hertfordshire countryside – sun and showers. Teamed
up with a great friend Matt Brown on his hot “Trek” bike! We pushed hard but
couldn’t keep up with Matt on those “super-slicks”. Lots of variety in
gradients and a welcome cappuccino break in the rain! Boo suffered painful
cramps but Nurse Nich was on hand to administer some painful
“pressure-pointing” and ensure we kept up the pace! Check out our planned
Route through New Zealand by clicking on the Route link at the top of the
“Our Plans” page.