Active Early Retirement Ride #33 | 1 Hour Around Town Road Ride on the Merida Scultura Endurance.
Ride along with me on #33 of my Active Early Retirement cycling series, a peaceful 1 hour solo road ride around Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch.
This short early-morning loop is part of my ongoing effort to rebuild fitness and stay active in retirement. Shot POV-style on the Merida Scultura Endurance, it’s all about honest cycling, just the road, the ride, and a few midlife reflections.
Whether you’re returning to the saddle or discovering cycling later in life, I hope this gives you a gentle push to keep moving forward. It’s not about numbers—it’s about health, rhythm, and showing up.
Like, subscribe, and share your own cycling story in the comments. Let’s ride this road together.
Gear We Use…
CYCPlus E-Pump Tyre Inflator – https://www.cycplus.com/?ref=pmzusniw
MagicShine code: ​wheeler15 – https://magicshine.com/products/
Help us fuel the rides with coffee ☕. – https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wheelersatlarge
Stans Race Sealant: https://amzn.to/3n2zTKV
Dyna Plug: https://amzn.to/2WTslzj
Strava:
https://www.strava.com/athletes/31550629
https://www.strava.com/athletes/31550485
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Everything’s going to be a little bit clicky at the back today. I waxed the chain yesterday and it always takes about a mile to get back in to being smooth, you know, to clear the excess wax. Let the chain bend as it should. So, let’s see what we got. [Applause] Okay, everything’s woken up except me. [Applause] As you can tell, it’s still quite dark. Yeah. Oh, no. [Applause] I was supposed to have retired, haven’t I? So, why am I out at 5:00 in the morning? Honestly, I very quickly worked out that uh Okay. Yeah, I very quickly worked out that this idea that I’m retired and therefore I can ride whenever I like. Yeah, that was a dream, a fallacy. It doesn’t exist. And this morning, well, you can probably see the spots of rain on the lens. I don’t know. But, uh, there’s already been a little bit of light overnight rain and it’s supposed to be coming in about 7ish with actual proper rain. So, I’m going to take my chances while I can. I only need to do about an hour this morning, I think. Very windy. Look at that. Nothing happening. It’s always good. It’s 5:00 in the morning, isn’t it? [Applause] Yeah. So, I’m only going to, like I say, ride for about an hourish. We’ll see what happens with the weather. Let’s say an hour minimum. If the rain doesn’t come, it might be longer. So, we’ll see. I’m going to stay quite local today. Stay in town, [Applause] head down towards pool, work my way across the uh coast, probably on the road. I won’t go down to the beach. I’m on the road bike. I just keep pedaling. You know what I’m like. I like the pedaly rides. [Applause] Yeah, we’ll see how we go. If the rain doesn’t get any worse than this, it is just very, very light drizzle at the minute. Not that sticky wet stuff that gets you wet, but just, you know, spots of rain in the air. Yeah, it stays like that. Yeah, I can put up with that. Okay, what we got? We have a chance to cross. That’s what we got. There he is. [Applause] Woo. Gravel on the road. We’ll miss that I think. [Applause] Well, we’ve had some great news. Well, Julie’s had some great news. Her latest scan. Yeah. Everything negative, which is good. Or no sign of malignancy or whatever they call it. Lots of special ways they term things these days, they to cover themselves. But uh in essence, all good. Which raises the question, why is she so frantic and anxious and even though she’s really happy about the results? I don’t know. Yeah. So um [Laughter] yeah, there is lots of other things going on. We are going to get away from it all next week. I think more so than ever before, Julie needs a rest. And um when you’re retired, you think, “Oh, well, you know, let’s call it not working cuz you know, I think we’re probably stretching the truth, aren’t we, if we say retired?” But um yeah, I think everybody just assumes you’ve got time and that you’re available and that’s okay to a point, but um I think when you go away obviously then you are in total control of your own time. you’re not really available because you’re not there and people accept that. But of course, when you’re around, they automatically think you’re available. And I used to have that a lot when I had my own business. People just automatically assumed cuz I was the boss and could do what I liked, I was available, you know, which of course isn’t the case at all. That’s not how it works. Yeah. So, oh, it’s quite wet here. I think I’m riding into the rain. It’s wetter here than it was in at home. Yeah, it’s quite heavy here. I’m going the wrong way, obviously. Yeah. And I think Julie’s suffering from that now. When Julie worked, it was an office job, office hours. She just wasn’t available. And that’s the way it was. People accepted that. And it was the same for me at the garage. I was at work. That’s it. End of. Yeah, I’d take days off and what have you here and there for Julie, but ultimately for everybody else, I was at work. [Applause] Okay, what we got? Bumpy hill. This they’ve cleared it all and resurfaced it at the top. But yeah, this road gets used a lot. Surface is getting worn out. Right. Right. Yes. We got through there just in time, didn’t we? I think there’s nothing worse, is there, than stopping in the rain. Yeah. So, I’m doing an awful lot less riding, I think, since being retired. Sorry, since stopping work. I think that’s just the way it goes because you think, “Oh, it’s raining at the minute. I’ll go later.” But, of course, you don’t. Or, or oh, I’ll just do this before I go. And then of course you don’t go etc etc. So I’m afraid it’s back to the old ways. If I’m up and I’m ready or in the mood, just get out there. Don’t mess about with all the other things that need taken care of. You really can do those later. Supposed to be a a rainy day today. [Applause] So, you know what that means, don’t you? Means we’ll probably be stuck in the house. Which means we might actually get the aisle of white ride out. Yay. Oh dear. Yeah, I really thought giving up work would just give me more time to do the things I want to do. That hasn’t happened really. Not yet anyway. And I do kind of sometimes think to myself, maybe I should be still working. Uh, I know in the back of my mind that would be hard now. Oh, we still got a squidge. Okay. Still got a squidge on the crank. [Applause] Okay. So, One of these shoes does squeak actually a little bit. I can tense my foot up inside it. It stretches and squeaks and the other one doesn’t. But uh I think the uh the squeak I’ve got on the pedal is something more than that. I did reg grease the pedals yesterday. [Applause] So, I don’t think it’s that. We shall see. [Applause] Yeah, I had a ped uh chain off, didn’t I, the other day? So, I did [Applause] just realign everything. Di2, I would guess that possibly the um front derailer was maybe a tad high. They say 1 to 3 mm, don’t they? [Applause] I think it was probably on the high side of that. So, I’ve pulled that down. Okay. I’ve got a definite squid still. It’s not a not a creek. Yeah. I wonder if the uh drive side bearing is rotating on the axle. It’s the sort of sound it’s making. Not crackling, you know, that is dirt or rumbling. [Applause] We’ll see. [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] dog unit. Yeah. Home base here closed. Now, the one in Christ Church has been split into the range and a homebased garden center. Right, let’s go. I’m not going to trust him to have uh not seen me, but that doesn’t seem to have happened up here. But then there is a range only about a mile away. So yeah, that would be too many in one place, wouldn’t it? [Applause] Well, I’ll tell you what, amazing the difference waxing the chain makes. What a difference. All right, let’s do a little bit of climbing. I thought actually I’d do it as an easy ride today. Remember, for a chap like myself, yeah, the term zone 2 just doesn’t cut it. Oh, we’re going to get stuck here. And is it even going to know I’m here? Yeah, I doubt it very much, actually. That’s got all new lights with sensors by We’ll see. Don’t tell me I got to wait for a car. It’s still green over there. Absolutely nothing coming. And it’s still green. It just doesn’t know I’m here, does it? For flip sake, in this day and age really. No, it’s still green. It is ridiculous, isn’t it? Still green. Yeah, I can just see the side of the light there on the main road and it is still green. In the heck. Yeah, still green. Still green. Look. Still green. Yep. still green cuz he’s gone straight through. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Car’s just gone across again, so it must still be green. All right. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Yeah. So, um, from Julie’s point of view, from her health, from her, uh, surveillance, all good. But yeah, she does need to calm down a bit. She’s letting things other things get to her. quite snappy at the moment. Again, it’s that thing of balancing support and talking things through with coming up with a solution. I wish I could take something some of it away from her. It’s not really something I can do. In the end, I can see I’m going to have to no matter what sort of eruptions that causes, ultimately Julie’s health is more important than other people’s needs. All right. Compton Acres here. If you’ve uh you know come to Bournemouth and Pool on holiday ever, you’ll no doubt have seen adverts and you know suggestions for places to visit that include Compton Acres. We haven’t been there for a few years, but from what I Yeah. What I remember it was very much a a pleasant experience walking through the different types of flora and fauna I believe are the terms and definitely worth a go. Nice cafe and what have you as well. Not cheap, I wouldn’t have thought. But hey, is anything these days? Let’s be honest. I mean, people complain about cost of living prices, but uh I actually am quite astounded at how many people will drive down here, park their cars on the pavements in the double yellow line, knowing they’re going to get a ticket. But it’s, you know, just 60 quid spent on their weekend away. You know what I mean? I’m not talking about posh cars, rich people here. I think they’re going to start lifting them soon. So, it’s getting to the point where the traffic, especially along the clifftop, is just unbelievably congested. And uh people would just park on the pavement, you know, they go and come down and go to the beach. It’s the way it is. So, hey, let’s talk about putting the ticket price up because there’s so many buses and the train’s only a mile from the beach. And even if you get a hotel in Bournemouth, nearly always they’re within walking distance of the beach. And let’s be honest, the beach is the main draw. Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know what you can do. I suppose when you look at uh coming away for a weekend as a family with your kids, it’s going to be several hundred several hundred probably. Something like 500 maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know how much these things cost these days. Woo! that wind. Um, yeah. So, I guess 40 quid for a parking ticket. Yeah. Yeah. It’s a it’s a meal, isn’t it, for the family in a restaurant, right? Let’s have some gears. Yeah. So, not really a big deal the end of the day. I suppose our generation was like, “Oh, no. We can’t park there. We’ll get a ticket.” These days, it’s like, I’m parking there cuz I’m going to the beach. Cost me 40 quid. No big deal. It’s a cheap day out still. Yeah, that’s the bearing. Drive side bearing. Oh, Oh, heat. Yeah, windy today. Trees are all over the place. So, uh, we’ll stay away from the beach. And we’re into the wind at the minute. That was hard. Yeah, it’s getting worse, isn’t it? [Applause] I don’t know if you can hear it. Uh, let’s go. I normally would. What we got? So, at the moment I’m following a Garmin workout. Yeah, I’ve told it that uh even though I have a Wahoo. Yes, I have a Garmin watch. Don’t ask. Anyway, and I decided I very much needed some sort of uh accountability, let’s say. Yeah. So, I’ve told Garmin that I’ve got some epic 100mile gravel race in October that I need training for. It said, “Okay, do this and this and this.” So, And uh I did look at the Wahoo planned workouts and um I have got one running alongside but the Garmin one is much more focused on the bike. The Wahoo one is let’s do yoga and stuff like that today, which is fine, but I think I prefer to ride my bike. I might still do some of the Wahoo workouts in between. probably do a bit of yoga and stretching when I get back. Julie can stand there watching me have a laugh at my um lack of flexibility. I’m a bloke. I’ve got big strong muscles. Yeah, I don’t have the flexibility she has. That’s for sure. and women generally I think different physiology isn’t it I’m not saying I couldn’t be flexible but uh I think I’d have to work at it right what we got down to 60% on my D2 battery. I don’t think the uh the shifters ever run out, do they? Yeah. On the uh on the app they were green, green, and green. nothing to show that there was any kind of use but uh yeah the the system battery in the seat post is at 60% now that was on 100 when we went to Morca in April I uh yeah charged them up before we left. So, what are we? Yeah, a couple of months down the line now and it’s down to 60%. I don’t know how many miles that is. I’m not a spreadsheet kind of guy, you know what I mean? So, uh, yeah, I could go into Straa or Wahoo Element and work it out. I tend not to um I tend not to mark down what bike I’m using, but I usually have a good idea whether it’s road or gravel. because of the titles and very strangely. Even though I do have that middle-aged short-term memory thing going on, I can usually remember the rides just by looking at the map. You know, the layout of the route on Straa. I actually find the Wahoo Element app much more useful. I would have gone across the front there, but not in this wind. So, I’m coming into town. Go across town. All right. What we got? Yeah, no traffic right around 32 minutes. So, halfway through. We’ll head down towards Hangisbury Head. We’re into a headwind. I don’t know. You might be able to hear it on the microphone, but uh that bodess well for the return, doesn’t it? Sun’s coming out. They did say it would stop raining about now. It’s due to come back in at about 7. Oh, come on. Thank you. Well done, Bournemouth Council. At least this one’s set correctly. Right. Gym bunnies. No, not too many. [Applause] We’ll take it easy. Yeah. So, I’m not um I tell you what, let’s go. Oh no. Oh dear. Yeah, it’s either headwind and hill or hill. So, actually, I can’t really win here. I will be careful across the square though. I’ve got 32 mil tires. They are slicks. Yeah. And these pavers here, they always sort of strike me as being a little bit slippery. So yeah, pick your moments. Yeah, let’s go this way. We’ll not go up the hill at the cliff, but we’ll go up Bath Hill. It’s a bit more uh protected. [Applause] Yeah. And then it’s no, we’ll stay on the main road, but then at Bosam Gardens, we will go up to the cliff road. [Applause] [Music] Yeah. bumpy. Yeah. So, these 32 mil tires, the agile list panorasers, these are not the dura version, the p puncher sort of protected version. Yeah, these are the uh well, the originals, I suppose, because they’ve only just come out with a puncher protected version. And then I noticed they’ve just brought out some racing ones as well. Super lightweight, I’m guessing. Yeah. So 32 mil wide. They come up at just over actually on these rims. Cool. Flipping heck. Has to do that. Yeah. Yeah. Prime Primava 56s off the other way. off. Fasted ride, of course. Too early to get up and eat. That’s better. There we go. Just as you get a rhythm, get used to it. It’s like all the hills here. That’s what happens. Heat up here. Right. Wet roundabout. [Applause] Wow. [Applause] Yeah. So into the headwind. Looking forward to the return. Could be a bit of an easy pedal sprint, couldn’t it? The wind stays like this. And of course, if it rains, which it’s supposed to today, I’ve got an excuse to get my bottom bracket done. Come behind me. There he is. But I’ve got to come out. Come out early. He’s still a way back. Right. There we go. Thank you, Bennett. Another local family business. Been around for donkeys years. You got several places through town. I think it’s Parkstone, South definitely one in Winon. I think around half past 3. They put all their cakes on half price or just pennies to get rid of them. Unfortunately, it might be half price, but it’s still 100% calories. It’d be nice, wouldn’t it, if you could spend half the money and only have half the calories. Of course, that wouldn’t work for somebody like me cuz I just buy double, but you know what I mean. All right, up we go. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Oh, come on. Nothing anywhere. It’s almost like said, “Oh, look. There’s a cyclist. [Music] All right. No right turn except cycles. I think that’s me. Heat. Heat. Yeah, the more I’m listening to that noise bearing, I reckon the Delin sleeve maybe sliding where the bearings got stiff, corroded Maybe. It’s funny how it just suddenly happens though, isn’t it? Wow. One good thing about this wind, it’s blown the rain away. But of course on the flip side, it might be blowing some more in. Check out the van lifers. Free parking along here. You see, I don’t know how long that’ll last. They’ve even got their ramps to level up the van. Woo! Go on, get across. Don’t mess about. Go on, get on with it. Oh, what we got? So, we’re on 46 minutes. So, even if I turn around here, we’re definitely going to make the hour. Heat. Heat. Oh well, so much for an easy ride. Average what? 280. I do expect that to uh yeah plummet when I turn around. Heat. Heat. This is nice since they resurfaced it. This was a very bumpy bit of a clifftop road. Not these days. Heat. Heat. Funny, isn’t it? It’s that whole thing about getting a rhythm. All of a sudden, I’m doing 20 mph. You just gradually build up and build up and somehow back to your normal rhythm and cadence. Yeah, the heart rate’s higher. Yeah, the power outputs greater, but yeah, your normal gear, your normal cadence. So, I don’t know what happens there. [Music] How we doing? 13.4. Oh, we’re going to get some miles in, aren’t we? Just under 20, I would have thought. Yeah, we’re good. What we got? They’re on 51 minutes. Just clicked over 52 now. Crazy. Ah, yep. Something just went in me eye blew up under my glasses. Can you believe Yeah, I think what’s happened is as I’ve come around the bay, it’s turned into a side wind and I’m now fully into it again. It’s just gone silent. Right. So, that is wind speed right there. So, I’m just starting to get a little bit of headwind. So yeah, it looks like we’re into a 20 mph wind there. All guesstimation obviously [Applause] Now I need to make a point of staying active today. I’ve had quite a lot of stuff to do on the internet last couple of days and uh long periods of sitting. Not good. So I must stay active today. did go for a walk down to Castle Point and back last night. Dearly needed some new lens solution and uh yeah, it was good to get out. Hello Tony and Linda who we bumped into down at Castle Point. [Applause] And uh but other than that yesterday I was really quite yeah sort of let’s say dormant not sedentary dormant. I did get around a little bit, bits and pieces, wash the bike, stuff like that, but I didn’t really Yeah. move very much. I mean, according to Garmin, it was a rest day. Not quite sure what that means. Uh, right. Let’s go a slightly different way back. You’ve seen Eford Lane far too often. There we go. That’s my hour done according to Garmin. Anyway, My Wahoo says I got 3 minutes left. I wonder if I’ve accidentally pressed the button or something. I know. It’s still counting. Yes. I don’t know. I thought I’d switched everything off, so it shouldn’t be counting laps or segments. I don’t need any of that rubbish. Just a timer and something to tell me to go and do it. Whoops. Look a bit further ahead. Too worried about missing potholes. All [Applause] right. Careful. We’re good. Yeah, J was going to come out of me this morning, but two things put pay to that. Yeah, there you go. It’s just telling me I’m done. [Applause] are we changing or not? I don’t know. Yeah. No, I’ll take that as a no then. Oh, it is. Well done. And well done me for not losing my patience. What is it about a red light that is so much more tempting to go through on a bike than it is in a car? I wouldn’t dream going through a red light in the car ever. But that just looked so inviting, didn’t it? I mean, I know you shouldn’t, and I’m not saying you should, but it’s just a different mindset. I don’t understand it. I know statistics suggest that, you know, more cars go through red lights than bikes, but of course, there are a lot more cars on the road. So, how that actually pans out as a statistic, I don’t know. However, it’s just something, isn’t there? I think you’re a lot more aware of your surroundings on a bike, obviously, and you can see there’s no danger. You don’t feel like you’re scary to pedestrians because you’re effectively a pedestrian on a bike, I suppose. A lot more maneuverable. Need a lot more lot less space. Yeah. I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. Let’s just say sometimes the temptation is great. [Applause] Heat up here. All right, pedestrian. Yeah, we got room. I thought they might have cut just straight in the Yeah, in a straight line and into the bike path, but nope. Plenty of room in the end. [Applause] Well, he ain’t doing it right, is he? He’s on a bike and he looked really glum. We got Yeah. Nothing. So, that’s good. Let’s do that. Yeah. So, that’s it. It says I should do a 5minut cool down. I don’t even know what that is. What is that? I notice that today I have been sweating all over the lens. Or is it rain? I don’t know. Maybe a bit of both. Maybe a bit of both. [Music] [Applause] The Riverford live life on the veg. Yeah, it’s starting to rain again. I think we definitely got away with it, didn’t we? Oh, blow me. Traffic everywhere. [Music] Yeah. Right. [Applause] There we go. [Applause] Well, I think I’ve definitely broken the chain in, knocked off the excess wax. I don’t do anything special. No powders or that sort of thing. Just basic candle wax. Actually, it’s not about the watts. It is about keeping it looking clean, being able to just wipe it off after a ride. That’s really nice. Longevity. That’s nice. makes things cheaper and um not getting absolutely filthy if something happens on a ride. Being able to touch it, not getting covered in just black oily crap. I think that’s the difference between proper wax, as in real actual wax, and the stuff you buy off the shelf. I did used to use squirt or I tried it, but uh yeah, I didn’t think much of it to be honest. And um couple of miles into the ride, it was just black and dirty like oil. I think there’s a compromise, isn’t there? You make something that is liquid form to get into your chain, it’s going to pick up crap. It’s going to pick up dirt. But uh you submerge your chain in actual wax that’s going to dry. Nothing’s going to stick to it or very little. It’s just I don’t know. I quite enjoy doing it. Doesn’t take long. Yeah. If you make it the first thing you do. No, nothing there. Yeah. I mean, on the occasions where I feel it needs doing again, I’ll make a point of doing a bit more maintenance on the bike. Proper clean. Wheels off. So, if I put the chain on first, it’s nearly always ready. when I finished everything else to just put straight back on. So, I don’t really find it a problem. It sort of fits in. I just work the routine so that it fits. Yeah, it’s not a problem. There you go. I’m just using ordinary cheap paraffin candle wax and for me it’s doing really well. You know somebody my size I used to go through chain rings chains what have you like you wouldn’t believe when I was using wet and dry lubes. Now, I understand my situation is a little bit different to most, but uh I have found this wax regime I’ve got in place now just kind of works. [Applause] All right, there we go. We’re back. It hasn’t rained properly yet. It is only 6:23. Supposed to rain at 7:00. It is getting darker, so I think they’re going to be right on that one. There you go. The virtues of getting up and getting out early sometimes. It’s just what you got to do. Yeah. Julie was going to come out of me today. But yeah, first of all, she said, “Well, I’m not going out 5:00 in the morning.” Well, that’s fair enough. I wouldn’t expect it to. And then she looked at the weather, said, “Oh, it’s going to rain.” And I said, “Look, forget it. If it’s going to rain all day, I will go out early when it’s not raining, so don’t worry about it.” Yeah. And that was that. So that’s why I’m out on me own today. All right. Yeah. Thank you for joining me. Yeah. Please come and join me on the next one and um have a good weekend.