Stats first – Total distance ridden in April was 270.78km. Off road was 97.53km and on road was 173.25km. Zwift didn’t get a look in last month.

Well April was a month of two halves. It started off strong on the 2nd of April with the best day of Mountain Biking I’d had for ages which I delved in to in my last post. https://thedecliningcyclist.com/2025/04/15/when-a-ride-just-starts-to-come-together/

After that due to a combination of work (boo!) family commitments over the Easter holidays and yet another bout of man-flu I didn’t touch my bike again till over two weeks later on the 22nd when I got back out on the hardtail Cotic Soul for a decent blast round the Blue trails at Delamere Forest. I’m really starting to like Delamere for a quick off road fix, the blue trail sections of single track are fast and fun and if you time it right in the early evening / late afternoon the forest is getting quieter so weaving round the dog walkers and families on the fire road sections that link the mountain bike only sections is less painful. I know there’s more trails to find in other parts of the forest and even a short 4 cross / downhill track somewhere that I remember riding years ago with my kids so I’m most definitely planning some more rides there over the summer to try and find the rest of the good stuff.

I only got two road rides in during April but luckily my days off last week dovetailed beautifully with some really nice weather for once so I managed my first 100km ride for several years. I didn’t set out with that goal in mind but it was such a beautiful day I just kept extending the ride out further and further. I was woefully under fuelled however and at the 85km mark after having consumed the only energy gel I had with me at around 50km the proverbial tank was more than a little empty so I stopped at a local farm and ice-cream shop and inhaled a large flapjack, a large ice cream and a can of Coke while sitting in the sun happily watching the world go by. Unfortunately my legs responded to this little rest stop by cramping up so viscously that when I got back on the bike it really did feel like I was pedalling in squares for the first mile or so…… I’ll expand on this sun soaked epic (for me ride) in a future post.

In non riding cycling based activities my Sabbath Ti framed roadbike has been exhumed from its winter hibernation and had some time and attention lavished on it ready for the summer, again the post about this is in the works so watch this space.