Nice ride. I didn’t realize it had only 3500’ of climbing across the 31 miles. The elevation profile and your narration made it seem less flat. 
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There was a chance of snow on my commute today which I substituted for an Endurance workout so I took the gravel bike with the intention of testing out some bridleways on the way home. I never got the chance it snowed all the way there and all day and night, so I stuck on the road.
I was quite glad to get a coffee at the station to warm up.
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A bit different from me this Saturday. After the snow of the last few days, there was a thaw yesterday afternoon but it all froze overnight. When I got up it was still icy so I gave the club ride a miss (I think everyone actually did). I went out an hour later and headed to the Talbot cafe stop on the off chance someone was out (tbh I didn’t expect anyone).
It turned into a glorious morning so I loaded up the workout Electra. I was going to turn to the old A1 and have one decent but I decided to stay on more interesting rural roads. Id forgotten how many descents there are on them. I probably never hit the target on some of them.
Just as I was about to turn back to Peterborough I decided to make more of the better weather and head to the Old A1 for Cheaha. Lol, ‘Sod’s Law’ I finished the work out just as I got there. I should have took an earlier turn to it.
When I got back to Peterborough the Rowing Lake (Flood Basin) which was clear in the morning had totally flooded over the cycle path next to it in the afternoon At first it looked clear and it looked like folk were walking on and I couldn’t quite see past a rather rotund bloke on a mtb. As I got closer to him he was blocking my view more, and when I eventually caught him he was about to talk to the pedestrians, they had some how got stuck on one of the few bits above the water. It was only 3 or 4 inches deep but in cycling shoes and my poor post chemo circulation and off the path being several feet deep, I let out a “please don’t stop”! Fortunately I got by him. It actually got deeper after that point so Im glad I did. The bike will need cleaned now but I am catching up on today’s pro cycling races first.
The whole thing (minus the flooded section) after joining it together for Strava.
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Epic day running in the snow of North Wales
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You got lot of snow at your side of the country, further east I don’t think we got more than 3cm. ‘Massive travel chaos’ 
back to reality…
Was really hoping when we got back we would be feeling like winter was ending vs. still feeling like we’re in the middle of it.
This was a miserable ride. When the winds come from the East, I don’t have much choice but to enjoy the tailwind at the beginning of the ride and then suffer to the finish. Averaged 18+mph going out and ~13mph on the return 
Snow overnight tonight so long day on the trainer tomorrow. 
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The bike desperately needs cleaned but I am fooked. Paris-Nice is all the excuse I need to stay sat on the sofa as today’s gravel ride was indeed a workout.
We headed out to Brigstock into a strong headwind. A couple of my mates had had enough after that headwind and headed straight to Oundle. We also went to Oundle by Fermyn Woods to Lowick, the wind was just as strong but we were protected by the trees and were motoring. We just missed them at the cafe.
After the cafe we cut back off through the Ashton Estate to Warminton, before going back off road again at Eaglethorpe to Elton. From Elton we came back on road to Peterborough and we finally got the advantage of that wind.
A well balanced workout 
4 days to recover I might watch the Tirreno before cleaning the bike.
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@hlab looks like a hard ride, well done.
@Benwgoodfellow nice trail run with good company.
Yesterday (Sat morning) was a run, instead of bike, because of snowfall late Friday night as winter made its last gasp after days of spring-like weather. We haven’t had much of a winter locally, with the relatively poor conditions at Swiss ski locations making the news, so this was nice. It was likely my last run in the snow here in Switzerland. It wasn’t much, but it was scenic. Below are two pics from opposite ends of the same pond. The run was 6.75mi with and relatively flat at 800’ of ascent. This used to be the “short” distance 3+ years ago, now it’s my “long” run as I continue to rebuild.
Today was another run to build on yesterday. I don’t usually run back-to-back days, but I have a 50k in 6 weeks, so it’s time to start training. It started raining last night, and it continued raining this morning. Besides wanting to get more time on the feet, I didn’t feel like cleaning the mud off the gravel bike. So it was a 5.3mi run, also reasonably flat (including a lap around this pond) with 510’ of ascent, with no snow on the trails and only a bit struggling to remain under cover of trees. My dog didn’t join me for either run, this time.
A revision to the family schedule means I can no longer do the D2R2 gravel ride August 19 as I’ll now be traveling.
However, I am now signed up for the Belgium Waffle Ride in Kansas (an event I looked at because of @WindWarrior’s race report) as I can schedule a planned research trip to the Truman Library, an hour away, around the BWR.
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My youngest is moving to Phoenix, so yesterday I was looking at BWR UT in August, and returning to BWR AZ next year.
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Well, the snow is completely gone and at 65F in the sun, time for short bibs. I did wear a not-lightweight long-sleeve top, which was good for the shade but not good for the sun. Heat training.
Did some hill repeats on gravel, which was fun.
Saw many gravel bikes today. More than I think I’ve ever seen in an hour, or in a day for that matter. Good times were had.
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nice looking repeats!
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Im currently drying of on the train but I am lazy when it comes to cleaning the commuter as its got guards.
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What happened when your Quarq / SRAM power meter died? I’ve got a SRAM Red crank with power, and before every ride do a zero reset. Its usually between 110 and 130. A couple weeks ago it popped up to 150ish, and then back to 110 to 130. On Friday it read 565, so I called Quarq and they answered within 5 seconds even though it was 5:55 in South Dakota and they close at 6pm. Guy tells me the normal range is -1000 to 1000 and to call back if power is wacky.
So I start my warmup, super easy pedaling and apparently I’m transformed into a pro:
So I pull the Panasonic battery, replace with a Duracell, and now the zero reset goes negative at -130. And now on Friday the power is seemingly back to normal.
So yesterday pre-ride I call Quarq again and they guy says “yank that Duracell, its got a special coating to stop kids from eating batteries” and of course I happily comply and put another Panasonic made in Japan battery into the meter. Zero offset -129, so at least its consistent. And normal power readings during my endurance ride. Appears to be working. I dunno what to think.
Tried comparing to a new pair of Garmin RS200 but the right side was reading a little high. I think it was over-torqued slightly because I discovered my torque wrench only works one direction. Going to fix that today.
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I seem to recall seeing something on this … maybe @dcrainmaker … but can’t remember exactly. However, Quarq’s advice to go to a non-coated coin cell battery is what I recall. 
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yeah I had read that before.
My inner geek was having trouble with zero reset value going from:
- positive 110-130 over 1+ years
- 150
- 565 and I was suddenly transformed into having pro power
- negative 130 (-130)
Its that back flip from +130 to -130 that has my head spinning.
Told the Quarq support dude I was an engineer, and he explained the strain gauges are sensitive little buggers and as long as power wasn’t wacky all was good if zero reset values were between -1000 and 1000. But don’t hesitate to call back for an RMA.
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The first of two times my Quarq Dzero died on me, the “minor” swings repeated for several to many riding days before the calibration number went wild and into five digits (as in -32000). The second time, on the same bike with the warranty replaced unit, I did not get the same heads-up. I want to say the calibration numbers were off, but they didn’t go nuts like they did with the first failure. During an outdoor TR workout, my power wattage shot up to 700, 800, 1000, 1700, 2000 etc, which was neat to see, but not helpful.
By the way, support was great though on the second time there was a bit of a delay as they couldn’t believe I killed the replacement (in other words, that I killed two PMs on the same bike). Fortunately, both were covered and thus free (excluding LBS labor).
Good luck!
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