But, all is not lost! Having recently resumed the 9-5 grind I'm back in the saddle, despite cold temperature and early darkness. But all is not as I left it�

It gets harder

Needless to say, if you avoid any form of exercise for an extended amount of time one's cardio-vascular system takes a break as well. Just 6 months break from cycling and I'm wheezing like an asthmatic sloth on the morning slog to work. I've quickly regained most of my form, but if you slacken off the mileage, don't expect to be able to resume where you left off should you fancy a cycling sabbatical.

Pains in one's posterior

Further to the additional physical effort required, saddle soreness makes an unwelcome return as well. Despite having cycled relatively consistently for the last 10 years or so, a short break is all it takes for the cringe-worthy pains to return. Thankfully it's short lived, but for the first week or so it's a consideration. Perhaps it's just my saddle?

Rusting hardware

Whether you're riding your bike or not, the mechanism will still need TLC after 6 months. Air leaks from tyres, things fall out of alignment and generally stop working as well as they should do. Much like one's fitness and state of body, the bike itself often needs attention after an extended sabbatical.

Things are getting easier though - it's now been a couple of weeks, and I can feel the aches and pains fading and my fitness returning. If only it would stop raining!

Entitled 'How not to ride a bike', the video appears to be some kind of cycle courier race across New York - and how! There are more near misses here than I would care to count. I can't help be feel it's these crazy cyclists that give the rest of us a bad name...

We left Blackroad via Station road and headed through Horwich to Lever park - and to the lower Rivington reservoir. It was here that I started to take a few photos, such as this dramatic shot across the water:

Liverpool Castle

The paths through Lever park were not best suited to our road bikes, so we walked round the reservoir until we happened upon - rather unexpectedly - a castle. It was, in fact, Liverpool Castle - or, more accurately, a replica of the ruined Liverpool Castle that was demolished in 1725. The replica was built under the instruction of Lord Leverhulme himself - and was built between 1912 and 1925, Leverhulme's death. The replica ruins are interesting, to say the least, and make for an interesting landmark looking out across the reservoir.

A rainstorm passed overhead whilst we were looking round the castle, and we gladly took shelter in what remained of the tower archways until the worst passed. We then headed eastwards, towards Winter Hill, with the intention of making the summit before the fading light and dodgy weather got the better of us.

The ascent to Rivington Pike

Finding the path to the ascent of Rivington Pike was a task in itself - we eventually found a bridleway that took us indirectly up the advancing slope, to the cobbled path that weaved up towards the pike.

With the pathway dwindly from a rocky causeway to muddy fields, it was at this point that we elected to leave the bikes behind and tackle the summit on foot. The peak itself lies exposed on the hilltop at 1,200 feet above sea level - the massive television aerials a stones throw away to the east.

As we reached the exposed peak, one thing that we immediately noticed was the wind - it must have been gusting at phenomenal speeds, and one could certainly feel its effect - holding the camera steady was quite a task!

We were rewarded, though, with a glimpse of golden sunlight through the broken clouds, cascading over the landscape beneath us. An what a landscape - we could see Blackpool tower to our right, Liverpool dead ahead and Manchester to the left - an entire chunk of Lancashire in one fell swoop.

Quite aside from the view, the pike itself boasts another intriguing feature - a shelter and watchtower located at the very top of the hill. It provided some great solice from the gusts of wind from the north. The structure is visible for miles around, and yet stands only 20 feet tall.

The structure stands bricked up now, but in its day it was a useful shelter from the elements for shepherds and grouse hunters since its construction in 1733.

Homebound

With failing light and aching legs from the climb, we then set about on the descent - to collect the bikes, and to head into Horwich for a spot of grub before heading home on the not-so-regular trains from Blackrod to Manchester.

Although much of the second part of the journey was less bike-ride and more hike, the impressive views and dramatic lighting seen on top of Winter Hill made the journey worthwhile. It had been a very changeable day, in terms of weather - the only exception being the gale force winds blowing all day - but I made it home relatively dry, despite the regular showers.

It feels like we've only scratched the surface of Rivington, though - I may have to arrange a return visit sometime, and the next time I shall remember to take a map!

We ended up at Winter Hill, one of the highest peaks on the western Pennines, and a great cycle route - if you're not riding a road bike.

It turned into more of a hike than a ride, but the views from the top were impressive - I'll post more photos in the second part. For now though, I'll give you a run down of the part that involved most cycling, my journey from South Manchester to Blackrod.

South Manchester - Salford

I set off with considerable aplomb northwards on Princess Parkway, making good time on the quiet major road. Some of the routes through Manchester can be quite nasty at times, but the wide multiple lanes and quiet Tuesday afternoon traffic made my life easier. I got stuck in a jam on Deansgate, but this gave me a bit of a breather and let me work out the best route to the next stage of my journey, Salford.

Salford - Swinton

Getting to Salford was relatively trivial - it was well signposted, so I found the A6 quite easily. What I didn't expect, however, is just how bad the A6 could be.

As soon as you get out of the city, the A6 turns into a 50mph, 3 lane nightmare - all but a motorway, basically. With the strongest headwind I've encountered for a while, two lanes of traffic merging from the left isn't a pleasant experience. I decided to forego the direct A6 route as soon as I could get off it - which was some time after I actually wanted to.

I eventually managed to get onto a road that ran parallel to the A6 in north Salford, and provided a much more sedate cycling experience - I remember why I don't cycle round Manchester much!

The remainder of the journey to Swinton was spent traversing via subways and pedestrian routes - anything to steer clear of the increasingly busy motorway run-off on the A6. By the time I got to Swinton, however, most of the A6 traffic had branched onto the motorway so it was safe to travel onto the now-sedentary A6 for the remainder of my journey.

Swinton - Blackrod

Despite the traffic slowing down on this section, the headwind had picked up, now that I had escaped the shelter of the city, and with a slow climb out of the Irwell valley. The trip through the remainder of Swinton and Walkden was fairly uneventful, typical Lancastrian town cycling experiences.

After that, there was a tirade of towns with 'Hulton' in - Little Hulton, Over Hulton, Westhougton, Wingates - all the while the headwind picking up speed as I gained altitude and lost shelter.

By the time I got to Wingates I was knackered already - but I pressed on to meet my cycling buddy at Blackrod station for 5pm. It was slow progress, but I eventually covered the 25-30 miles (with only a couple of detours) in a pitiful 2 hours 40 minutes (11mph!).

We took a brief break in Blackrod, before heading towards the even hillier Rivington. Here's a photo of the Blackrod A6 junction:

Dull photo, I know - there are far better to follow in the second part. You can see Winter Hill in the background, though - we were to climb to one of the summits.

Click here for Part 2

1. Danger! Glass shards ahead!

Glass is a perennial danger for all cyclists in cities - the sharp shards left over from traffic accidents can wreak havoc with soft and supple bike tyres. Areas prone to the scourge of the clear sharp stuff should be clearly marked!

2. No overtaking bikes

Perhaps a little draconian this one, but limiting the speed of automobiles to that of the cyclist would make life a lot easier for us all. Perhaps designated non-overtaking zones could be established - particularly on narrow sections of road, where a tight squeeze during an overtaking manoeuver leads to being forced into a curb or worse still - a clip by an errant wing mirror.

3. Now entering bicycle theft zone

If only cyclists were alerted to high-crime zones! Perhaps then we can avoid leaving our bikes in places where they're more likely to go missing. Although, all things considered, the array of singular wheels and broken locks usually acts as a good indicator of the level of pilfery.

4. Danger! Vehicles parked in cycle lane ahead!

On those roads where on-street parking is permitted, with cycle lane, perhaps a warning to cyclists telling them they're entering a world in which cars reside across the so-called cycle lanes would help us to avoid these most troublesome of obstacles?

5. Car doors are in operation in this area

There's no greater risk of pain and humiliation in the cyclist's life than the car door opened by an unwary driver. Although bike-door collisions are thankfully rare, those areas in which drivers are particularly dim-witted could benefit from some warnings for cyclists. Perhaps some statistics might drive home the facts, as well? ('13 door-related casualties on this road this year', for instance)

However, in spite of the title this blog will not be dedicated to the vitriolic experience of riding on British roads (although this may feature occasionally!), but will encompass the pleasurable side of cycling as well - new bikes, gear and pics from rides in and around various parts of the UK.

I'm not one of those serious cyclist types - certainly not lycra-clad and shaven legs - but rather a cyclist borne though convenience - living in the urban depths of Manchester, I have little need for a car and instead rely on my bike.

I ride a yellow and black (2005) Claude Butler Milano racing bike (not pro-spec, but it's pretty fast and doesn't break the bank). I've been making the 5-mile commute to work for about 5 years now, come rain or shine - mostly rain in Manchester, of course - and I enjoy the occasional longer ride, given the time and clement weather.

Hopefully the pleasant weather will hold over August and I'll have some interesting tales and pictures from my rides - in the meantime, feel free to get back in touch with your thoughts at stu@rtbrown.org, and subscribe to the RSS feed here!