What happened to April?

Hmmm, 4 weeks to the day since my last entry - blogging seems to have taken a bit of a back seat during April - and it all started so well...
Anyway there has been plenty of cycling in the last 4 weeks.

13/4: Lakeland loop sportive, 69 miles - 5:23 when I was aiming for 6 - decent weather, stunning scenery, and the ascent of Hardknott which I managed without stopping - yay!

20/4: Had a terrible ride over to Settle and back via Halton Gill - 68 miles. Felt dreadful

Had to buy a new back wheel to replace the 8 month old Fulcrum 7. It was completely worn out - hub and rim. It has been a tough winter, so I guess I shouldn't really complain. It had done about 2500 miles in some awful conditions. Got a shiny Shimano replacement at the same price point as the Fulcrum 7. Black with red flashes so matches nicely with the Fulcrum front wheel!

27/4: Very wet ride up Wharfedale and back, almost, but not quite, taking in Fleet Moss - 62 miles. Felt much better than the previous Sunday, which was quite a relief.

Have had a cold this week, but managed a solo ride on Tuesday morning in the sunshine with Storiths and Hazelwood climbs, short but steep (>20%). Missed Wednesday as I felt pretty rough. Out again this morning - woke early and saw the clear blue sky through the bedroom blinds so got up and went straight out at 6am. Rode up to Barden on the main road then over the river and back via Storiths again. Was going to do Hazelwood but another broken chain link scuppered that plan and I limped home trying not to put too much pressure on the pedals.

Todays broken chain link has now forced me into the (long) planned/overdue drivetrain upgrade. I have Ultegra levers and mechs from another bike so will match them with chainset, bb, cassette, chain, brake callipers. It's not going to be cheap...

Got new shorts recently as my old ones were completely knackered, padding worn out and ripped etc. Comfort-wise though I have been disappointed. Didn't seem to make any difference last Sunday with a great deal of discomfort from the 35 mile mark onwards. New saddle maybe required.

So 5 weeks to go before the White Rose Classic and 9 weeks until the Etape.
I feel ok about it, but I think I need to turn up the intensity now. I've been getting in about 100 miles a week for the past month, but the vast majority of this has been in one ride on a Sunday.
I will aim to get out more in the week in May. Actually Sundays are going to be harder this month due to family/social arrangements so I will definitely need more weekday riding. I cannot afford to let the cycling slip at this stage.