Weekly Weight:
Its Weigh-In day today. I’m not going to dwell on the fact, as my weight has fluctuated between 12st 6 and 12st 3 every week for the past 3 or 4 weeks. This morning I was 12st 3lb.

Morning Commute:
Total Distance: 13.26 miles
Total Time: 51m 01s
Max Speed: 26.3mph
Avg Speed: 15.6mph
Avg H/Rate: 144bpm
Cadence:80rpm

The race to nursery was a close one this morning, but I didn’t have my 30 second head start as I forgot to switch on the Garmin. I still won, but only by a whisker!

The day after I’ve played footy on a Monday tends to be a slog to get into work. My legs won’t work as well as I want them to, and I could sleep in until 11am.

This morning was slightly different as my daughter woke me up at 4:45am and wanted the TV on. I wouldn’t let her and eventually she drifted back off to sleep, but this left me awake, so I shoved on American Dad on the TV and drifted in and out until up time.

This should have made me even tireder, but for some reason it didn’t. I didn’t break any records coming into town – but the time was respectable, as where most people on the roads today.

Not a single incident to report bar the odd ASL and cars sticking their noses into cycle lanes, but that bothers me less now due to tips from youtube and redbikes.

I even saw another cyclist signalling and waiting at traffic lights like the good person he’s supposed to be – which made my day!

One douchebag in the centre of town caused a bit of havoc by parking in a cycle lane at a set of traffic lights, forcing cars to stop and indicate and try and get out. As I got past, the lights where on green – as I slowed to turn round and read out the number plate – I hadn’t noticed the lights had gone on red, and started to head over the tram lines… Big mistake!

A hoot of the horn from two tram drivers made me realise I was in shit! Luckily for me, the had stopped at their lights and where only just setting off, so I had time to sprint out of the way.

Lesson learned.

Evening Commute:
Total Distance: 9.63 miles
Total Time: 43m 13s
Max Speed: 27.80mph
Avg Speed: 13.37mph
H/Rate: 169bpm
Avg H/Rate: 149bpm
Cadence: 79rpm

I set off at a good pace and was surprised at how an hour earlier makes a huge difference in traffic (in town anyway), and got to Plymouth Grove quite safely. There, a car indicating turned into me and missed me by mere inches – I wasn’t aware that there was a carpark where he pulled up and bumped up onto the kerb. I stopped and as the passenger got out I mentioned that there where 2 seconds off hitting me and he replied “we where miles in front of you mate”.. I laughed (as you do) and said “fair enough mate”.

I “could” have took the lane (cycling down the middle of a busy road in Manchester is going to get me knocked off my bike) and I could cycle much more slowly BUT the guy came from behind me and knew I was there. I couldn’t go anywhere else apart from straight ahead! Anyway, further up Plymouth Grove a learner driver decided to veer her car left towards me whilst I was in the cycle lane – the instructor shit himself and grabbed hold of the wheel and steered her away from me!!

Ah well – at least one person was looking out for me :)

I circumnavigated all the way to Kirky Lane whereby, as I turned a corner, I heard an almighty horn beep and a skid and as I turned round to see what the hell had happened (or if I’d done something bad) I saw a car had shot right in front of oncoming traffic – this distracted me and I ended up cracking into the pavement and nearly falling off my bike!

Denton Roundabout was navigated with 2x RLJers and a woman in a jeep tried to kill me in Hyde Town Centre by driving right at me from a side road.

Apart from that – I made it home!