SDM Is

Back to grey skies and cold feet. The decreasing water temperature is a bit more noticeable too.

The sea temperature was 16.4°C.

Where was this? 49.4478,-2.5303

The sea temperature was 18.7°C.

As I haven’t posted any of these for a time, I added in this morning’s lovely start. We seem to be in the midst of jellyfish season, so there is no way I’m going near the sea.

There was a crazy thermocline in the pool, making the water very blurry with very distinct warm and cold zones. It made the first few lengths more of a play than a swim 😊

We pushed our distance to 1700m today which was comfortable. The sea was flat calm. We did our first bay crossing and then back again.

The sea temperature was 18.1°C.

Where was this? 49.4944,-2.5539

This weeks swim was a bit different. We decided to do a swim around the Rousse area so we went from the slip to Secret Beach and back. 1250m total.

The sea temperature was 17.5°C.

Where was this? 49.4942,-2.5541

The sea was flat calm and low this morning. A summery stillness in the air. Perfect for a swift 1100m.

The sea temperature was 17.2°C.

Where was this? 49.4479,-2.5304

We did about 1000m in the chop today. The weather went a bit grey when we got out. The sea temperature was 16.6°C.

Where was this? 49.4478,-2.5303

It’s not often I get out at lunch for a swim, but with the stifling air in the office, it was hard to say no today. We popped down to Rousse and did a few laps by the slip. I would have stayed in all day if I could.

The sea temperature was 16.6°C

Where was this? 49.4975,-2.5530

We celebrated the summer solstice with a swim at sunrise. The skies were clear and the sea flat calm. Other than a 4:15 alarm, this was a great start to the day.

The sea temperature was 15.9°C

Yes, there’s a slight gap in the timeline here. I’ve been trying to get something working on another edition, which has resulted in a number of posts being published in a different place. Nothing is exciting or interesting about them… unless you find my musings of interest. The point is… things should be coming back here while I work on my next good idea.

With the photo library project slowly progressing and many other projects creeping along, I figured I might as well post the odd image that crops up to keep things a little fresher here. I can’t say there will be a fixed schedule at this point, but I’ll aim to be a bit more active. I may try and organise the posts into a better format if I can manage to get more images online.

To kick off this new series, here’s a shot from way back in 2010. It was part of a photo shoot on the beach for the BW R1200 GS and an adventure website that was built at the time. It was taken on my favourite camera of all time, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, through the exceptional Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens.

Just getting over a cold so taking it easy with a 36 km group ride on Zwift today. Would like to get back in the sea tomorrow.

Another day, another swim! The tide was high, and the thunder had stopped. Went in for a 1200m swim. The water is warm now, but I suspect it will cool down quickly over the autumn.

Latitude/Longitude: 49.44785,-2.53029

Low tide now. Great for a rummage around in the beach.

The morning started off a little rainy but it soon dried up. Managed to get in for a swim at least. Habit building is the hardest part of fitness for me. There are too many interesting things to choose from.

I entered and completed my first Zwift Insider Mini Series today. I’m in a low category at the moment, but I was pleased with my 17th position out of 44. As Mr Lewis would say, “above average”.

My goodness. The next time I’ve had a few ales and I’m asked if I fancy racing 200 miles across the UK I must remember to say no…. especially when said race is just a few weeks before I attempt a 100 Mile Sportive like the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100.

I’d intended to write about my training adventures as I got bike fit again but this has turned into a bunch of drafts that I never finished. The idea was to motivate myself into getting out on the bike. I did manage to get a reasonable number of rides in but nothing, except participation, can prepare you for something like The Crossing. On their site, it is advertised as:

3 DAYS, 2 COASTS, 1 HELL OF AN ADVENTURE
Get ready to tackle 200 gnarly miles over 3 days as you take on the fully waymarked, stunning tracks that span through the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors sampling some of the UK’s finest mountain biking as you go, alongside jaw-dropping scenery.

After the aforementioned ales, I’m pretty sure that all I saw was this:

3 DAYS, 2 COASTS, 1 HELL OF AN ADVENTURE
Get ready to tackle stunning tracks alongside jaw-dropping scenery.

… and figured it sounded pretty good.

Route details

Beyond that, some of the GoPro footage was partially usable and that can be seen here. Sorry for the shakes… GoPro didn’t have stabilisation at the time.