---json
{
  "title": "Manchester - Blackpool 2024",
  "date": "2024-07-23T10:30:00.326Z",
  "tags": [
    "cycling"
  ]
}
---

Just a few shots from this year's Manchester - Blackpool (and back) ride. There was no finish line photographer last year, so this year was the first time I've had any photos of me on my bike.

It was a great ride, although the rain was pretty bad in places. I rode halfway there with other members of my cycling club, but managed to get separated for the last 50km. The ride back was a bit easier, and the weather held out. Overall I mangaged to improve my average speed by about 3km/h over last year, which I'm really happy with.

It was my first ride using my new Elitewheels Edge carbon wheels too, and I'm _really_ happy with them. They're incredibly lightweight, at about 1350g for the pair, but feel really stiff and roll very well. I did get a slight mechanical on the way home, with my chain getting stuck between my bottom bracket shell and the chainring, which unfortunately led to stripping off a lot of the paint on the bottom bracket shell 😔.


![Me, on my Ribble road bike, approaching the finish line. I look tired, and iot's clearly very wet weather](./src/images/manchester-blackpool-1.jpg)

![Me, on my Ribble road bike at the finish line, looking very tired](./src/images/manchester-blackpool-2.jpg)