What made the climbs really hard work was that I’d been fiddling about with my rear gear adjustment to try and get rid of a mysterious ticking noise. After that, the bike kept slipping out of gear on the steepest ramps whenever I put a big effort in. It’s really tiring suddenly losing all your momentum when the chain slips and it must be really bad for the chain and sprockets. I was having to do the climbs with the gear lever forced over to the left to keep the bike in gear; it was really uncomfortable. Eventually, I’d had enough of it and dismounted to sort it out – I’d confused myself as to which direction to turn the adjuster so I had been making the problem worse rather than better!

I can devise many little loops round here taking in very tough climbs so I can pack a lot into a short ride if I’m pressed for time.

There are a few places that don’t see the sun all winter because it is so low in the sky that it doesn’t ever get above the surrounding hills. There is one of them on yesterday afternoon’s route. It’s not so bad on busy roads because they get gritted by the local councils, but minor, sheltered roads like those can be lethal.

I did the same loop in mid-winter once and came upon a sweeping bend covered in a river of black ice. I had to walk the bike past it and as soon as I got round the bend, I encountered a motorcyclist coming the other way at speed. I managed to flag him down before the bend and warn him; it was a good job I was there or he’d have had a nasty spill. Soon after that I did the same for a couple of car drivers.

Yeah, some of those roads are best left alone in winter!