> women were still imprisoned for having children out of wedlock? Do you? Do you remember nostalgia? Nostalgia’s great, isn’t it? A quick recovery ride around the Phoenix park for old time’s sake. Handy for practicing skills too, there are no tricky root sections on the canal. 2/3

Morning recovery spin in the park for old time’s sake: Do you remember the ads on TV? Do you remember when the ice creams were bigger and had racist names, and crisps were 8p? Do you remember the old 50p coins? Do you remember when > 1/3

It’s been a tough few weeks at work so between that, the tyre shenanigans, and having not enough time to get out, I was worried that I might be too exhausted for next weekend in Galway. But this was good, ultimately! And I’ve dropped even more weight. > 2/3

Morning Gravel Ride to Ferran’s Lock: Maximum effort! Chat, I totally smashed it to Ferran’s Lock and back, I was so nervous. Felt like good power output, consistent, worked the lungs hard. Just didn’t have time for more. 1/3

Fast canal roll on new tyres: As Björk would say, AaaauuueeeeHHRRAAAUUUNNNNN EEEK, and that sums it up pretty well. I haven’t seen the numbers yet, but I suspect it was fast, if not as far as I’d have liked. Yes, yes, tyres again. I received new Continental > 1/4

Morning Gravel Hammer: Up early(ish), out on the canal to see how far I could go before the first meeting of the day. Not that far, apparently. Pushed relatively hard all the same. I should have gotten out yesterday but a tyre swap went badly sideways and ended up with > 1/3

Fast, fierce early roll to Maynooth: Just needed to blow the cobwebs off. Barely two weeks to Galway! Anyway, you know already what was the main focus on this ride, so we won’t discuss it. Getting tiresome at this stage, hoho.

Short late morning canal ride: A short ride because time and slept in, after struggling to find time to top up the goop in the tyres. So not even to Maynooth but it was good to get out. 1/3

Morning Gravel Ride with a hole in it: The plan was a two and a half hour towpath ride, left the house a bit late, and then a few kilometres in realised that I had a puncture. It shouldn’t have been a problem but I was determined that the goop should seal it and that I should go on. 1/3

54km Royal Canal ride to Kilcock and back. Didn’t have time for a Big Cycle this weekend. One of you was preaching about interval training, from the Book of HIIT I guess, so I was sort of giving that a go. Pushed as hard as I could in increments. I used to have a set of rollers, you know. 2/3

What is love: People don’t really give waves or nods to fellow cyclists any more, do they? When I was young, everyone was nice to each other, and everything was free, and you could leave your door open. Do you remember nostalgia? 1/3

The Dublin Trans Pride parade, it was massive and loud and magnificent and militant and great to see. It went on forever and that’s no bad thing.

I’m still amazed that putting my hands near the centre of the bars and hunching a little is worth up to 2km/h. It’s just simple aerodynamics, but it really makes a difference. 3/4

Some of the Grand Canal is very rugged and hard work, a few unexpected chain drops, I crossed the Liffey four times today, and three canals. It’s been a week with a sad event so also a good chance to ‘sit down and have a chat with myself’. 2/4

Blues at Barrow: I decided to do a long haul on the Grand Canal on Saturday morning to bring my distance up before I get back to hills (only a month and half to go before Galway). The end of the Barrow Blueway where it meets the Grand Canal, which I’ve wanted to get to for a while. 1/4

He was a mischievous, pesky, wilful, vocal bestest boy who wasn’t with us for nearly long enough. We’re missing him terribly already.

I was wrong, it Microsoft Teams wanting to know where I am, very specifically my exact GPS location while I'm posting memes about bad AI to my colleagues, or even work stuff

So still easing back in to the routine in between being unwell and busy at work, early mornings avoid the heat, lungs still not optimal after the break. The ShockStop is proving itself, and I put on BBB CoreCap valves. I don’t know why. It became a low-key obsession. 300% extra airflow > 2/3

Tin man gravel ride to Kilcock: Today I was like the Tin Man; I had no heartbeat. More specifically, my phone and head unit refused to cooperate with each other. I had even tested it recently to make sure the connection was good, but today? Not happening. No heartrate data. 1/3

I like my logistics like I like my humour: Repetitive but with variations, like a strategically broken pattern

A rare photo of my father, Jacques. A complicated man, 14 years gone. I was relating the story of his last couple of years to my kid this morning, still makes me well up to relive the emotions. >

> with an almost identical previous effort. Not much to remark on other than refining the fast early start to get out for medium spins mid-week. It was a bit mucky on the Royal Canal. The worst part of the Deep Sinking has been covered in gravel. > 2/3

Royal Canal to Grand Canal, short version revisited in the early morning: The canal loop short version, revisited (early morning edition). I probably won’t get out this weekend for a long spin so this is a maintenance spin, with the added bonus of comparing > 1/3

> on Tyler Chadersly in Gravel Unbound Extreme Grind or what have you. I’m feeling it! As with Enfield a few weeks ago, the previous milestones are becoming… places I pass on the way to a bigger milestone. It’s an odd feeling. 2/3

Number go up: 97km, out to the Boyne Aqueduct on the Royal Canal. It looks like I have a plan of sorts! A long mountain cycle, a longer canal/greenway ride, try to match that distance in the mountains, and so on. Within a month or so I should be good to take > 1/3

Massy’s Estate, Cruagh Wood via Kilakee, Glencullen to Annacrivey and back, Three Rock via The Gap, and home. I went back to the heart rate app I used previously and all was well. The only problem was that on the way home the head unit decided that I needed to do the hard part a second time. 2/3

Dublin Mountain Roast Well, that was a banger. 75km across the Dublin Mountains, and this time succeeded in returning by Three Rock with a refined route and improved fitness. It was hot, I kept moving, my echolalia was solid on the way home, everything went well. 1/3