Like with anything you do a lot of you get better at it. At one time it would take me a good 10 minutes to climb some of the hills outside of my town, but recently I've started to ntice a marked improvement. Old Kiln Lane is a sod for any new cyclist; not only is it quite steep but it's also quite long. I noticed the improvement on a wet Sunday afternoon; initially I turned back when the rain came but thought I'd brave it out. Old Kiln was beaten in under 3 minutes which is a huge improvement to my starter times.
Having carried on in the rain I found myself getting wetter and wetter (common problem with rain it seems), so I decided to head back. Scooting along Scout Road I slipped down a small road that takes you to Barrow Bridge Village, from there I passed Moss Bank Park and flew along Captains Clough smashing full tilt into a huge pothole which punctured my rear tyre. I was not impressed! Luckily the wheel itself was okay, so a flat tyre and slightly annoyed I walked back home.
Monday was lovely, tad cloudy but overall perfect cycling weather. I went up Old Kiln, past a novice cyclist who was huffing and puffing her way up. I tried to give her some encouragement but she didn't seem interested and turn back downhill. Shame really, she was doing really well. I moved onto Scout Road to do the Pike Circuit, a nasty lil run around Rivington, into Horwich then back up Chorley Old Road and into Bolton. Man it was windy! Every direction the wind buffeted the bike like an oddly shaped kite.
The next outing will likely be towards Peel Monument and up around that area. It's quite a nice area and in summer really lovely.
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