🚵 TORQUE, MARQUIS DRIVE AND THE GREEN TUNNEL

There are two ways of analysing a bike ride.

The normal way is to open Bosch Flow or Strava, look at the big numbers and say:

12.5 miles.

814 feet climbed.

20 mph maximum.

Lovely ride.

Then there is my way.

My way involves uploading the actual Bosch FIT file and GPX track into ChatGPT and effectively saying:

“Treat Torque like a crashed airliner and find out exactly what the silly old bugger riding it was doing.”

And that is precisely what I did.

This was my ride on Tuesday 7 July 2026, starting just before 10:47 am and finishing shortly after 12:07 pm.

Bosch recorded 12.52 miles — 20.15 km, with 1 hour 12 minutes 57 seconds of timer time and just over 1 hour 20 minutes elapsed.

The GPX route calculated slightly shorter at about 12.29 miles, most likely because GPS geometry can cut tiny corners between recorded points.

For the headline figure, I’m taking Bosch’s distance.

Torque was there.

⸻

FROM MILFORD INTO THE GREEN TUNNEL

The GPS track begins around Milford, on the northern edge of Cannock Chase.

One minute I’m in familiar Staffordshire surroundings.

Roads.

Houses.

Cars.

Then I point Torque south and the landscape starts swallowing me.

The ride begins at about 265 feet above sea level.

Almost immediately, I’m climbing.

Trees close in.

The horizon disappears.

Grey gravel, green bracken and woodland replace the everyday world.

This is what I think of as the green tunnel.

And while I’m admiring it, Torque is quietly recording my first technical weakness.

My speed through the early climb is a very steady 9–10 mph, but my cadence sometimes drops to around 52–53 rpm.

That’s low.

Torque has a powerful Bosch motor, and I appear to know it.

😂

Instead of changing down early and spinning the pedals, I’m occasionally letting Bosch help haul a bigger gear uphill.

It’s exactly like approaching a hill in a loaded 44-tonne artic and thinking:

“It’ll pull.”

Yes.

It will.

But the clever driver changes down before the engine starts complaining.

Apparently I need to explain that to my cycling legs.

⸻

HIGHER INTO THE CHASE

The route continues south into the wider Marquis Drive and central Cannock Chase landscape.

The exact trail names are not stored in the Bosch file, so these locations are inferred from the GPS track.

But the geography is clear.

I’m riding deeper into woodland, open heath and the higher ground of the Chase.

And this isn’t just pretty countryside.

Cannock Chase is a landscape full of history.

The wider Marquis Drive and Brindley Heath area is connected with the huge First World War military camps that once occupied the Chase.

Today there are walkers, cyclists, dogs and people queueing for coffee.

A century ago, parts of this same landscape were full of soldiers training for war.

That’s the strange thing about the Chase.

It feels peaceful.

But there are stories underneath the gravel.

⸻

THE PROPER CLIMB

Between roughly 3 and 4 miles into the ride, the climbing becomes serious.

Over one sustained section, altitude rises from about 521 feet to 674 feet.

That’s roughly 153 feet gained in only 0.62 miles.

Several 250-metre sectors average around 4–5% gradient.

Yet my speed stays remarkably consistent at about:

9½ to 10½ mph

More importantly, my cadence improves into the 65–70 rpm range.

Human rider power sits mainly around 84–101 watts.

This is some of my best riding of the day.

I’m not pretending that 95 kg of John plus an eMTB is climbing Cannock Chase purely on my heroic 90 watts.

😂

Bosch is absolutely helping.

But the power data proves I’m working.

I’m applying steady pressure.

Torque is multiplying the useful effect.

The bike and rider settle into a rhythm.

This is exactly how an eMTB should feel.

⸻

THE HIGH POINT

My highest Bosch-recorded altitude is:

717 feet — 218.6 metres

I started at about 265 feet.

So from the beginning of the ride to the highest point, Torque and I gained around 450 vertical feet.

Bosch recorded total ascent of:

814 feet — 248 metres

and total descent of:

801 feet — 244 metres

So this is essentially a climbing loop.

Up from Milford.

Into the Chase.

Across the higher ground.

Then back down.

At 717 feet I’m not exactly summiting Everest.

Nobody is offering me oxygen.

There are no yaks.

😂

But the scenery has completely changed.

The lower Milford landscape is gone.

I’m now surrounded by woodland, open heath and big Staffordshire sky.

⸻

THE 66-SECOND MYSTERY

At approximately 6.3 miles, something happens.

I stop.

Properly stop.

The bike remains stationary for about:

66 seconds

What was I doing?

The data cannot tell me.

Checking Komoot?

Having a drink?

Looking at the scenery?

Reading a trail sign?

Fighting another bramble?

Conducting high-level negotiations with a squirrel?

😂

The GPS location puts me well inside the Chase, so an urban traffic-light explanation makes little sense.

The safest conclusion is that it was a deliberate trail-side pause or route interaction.

The black box says:

I slowed.

I stopped.

I restarted.

Cause unknown.

Forensic rules apply.

⸻

MY PEDALLING SIGNATURE

Bosch gives me an average cadence of:

68 rpm

Maximum cadence:

103 rpm

When I’m actually pedalling, my positive cadence averages around 67 rpm, with a median of roughly 69 rpm.

My natural riding style is obvious.

I’m a torque-biased pedaller.

I like feeling some pressure under my feet.

I don’t naturally spin at 90 rpm.

My sweet spot appears to be around 65–75 rpm.

But the really interesting moment happens at about 10 miles.

My cadence suddenly rises.

84 rpm.

92 rpm.

Then almost 100 rpm.

Speed climbs towards 14–15 mph.

My human power rises too.

For a brief section, Torque and I become noticeably smoother and faster.

The bike is carrying momentum.

My legs are spinning.

Bosch can respond efficiently.

This is probably the clearest evidence in the entire file that I should occasionally ride one gear easier.

My target on sustained climbs should be:

70–80 rpm

Not frantic spinning.

Just slightly quicker, smoother circles.

⸻

JOHN IS DEFINITELY WORKING

Bosch reports average rider power of:

107 watts

Maximum human rider power:

361 watts

Important point:

This is my power through the pedals.

It is not motor power.

Most of my working effort sits roughly between 50 and 150 watts.

I don’t repeatedly launch massive surges.

My maximum 361-watt effort happens early in the ride at around 1.3 miles, moving at roughly 11.6 mph.

It looks more like a short forceful acceleration than sustained climbing.

Very HGV-driver behaviour again.

The cycling equivalent of seeing a gap and deciding:

“Right then. We’re going.”

😂

Overall, my power profile is controlled.

I don’t attack every hill.

I apply pressure and keep moving.

⸻

GRAVITY CLOCKS ON

My strongest technical skill is momentum management.

The ride contains several long coasting sections.

The longest lasts approximately:

86 seconds

During it I cover just over:

0.3 miles

at an average speed of about:

12.7 mph

with virtually no positive rider power.

There is another coasting section of around 70 seconds, plus several more lasting 40–60 seconds.

I don’t pedal just because the bike has pedals.

😂

When gravity is doing the job, I leave it alone.

From about 11 miles onwards, altitude drops from around 600 feet towards 275 feet.

My power repeatedly falls to zero.

Cadence disappears.

Yet speed remains around 11–16 mph.

My maximum credible speed is:

20.0 mph

And it happens close to the finish with:

0 watts rider power

That’s gravity and momentum.

Not John suddenly becoming Tadej Pogačar.

⸻

THE NIX COACHING REPORT

Speed management: 9/10

Very consistent. I cruise rather than repeatedly surge and collapse.

Cadence: 7/10

The 68 rpm average is respectable, but I let cadence fall too low on some climbs.

Gear selection: 6.5/10

My clearest weakness. I sometimes change down after the gradient arrives rather than before it.

Climbing: 8/10

Steady speed and controlled power. Better cadence would make me smoother.

Descending: 8.5/10

Controlled and sensible. No ridiculous speeds.

Momentum management: 9.5/10

My strongest skill. I let Torque roll and preserve free speed.

Stopping and arrival control: 9/10

The final approach is calm. No silly sprint. I arrive under control.

⸻

THE NIX VERDICT

So what sort of rider am I?

After opening Torque’s electronic black box, the answer is surprisingly clear.

I’m a momentum rider.

I like getting Torque moving.

Then I hate wasting that movement.

I cruise.

I coast.

I let gravity work.

I don’t constantly chase maximum speed.

Cannock Chase suits me perfectly because the landscape is constantly changing.

Milford.

Woodland.

Open heath.

Climbing.

High ground.

Descending.

Then back towards civilisation.

My biggest strength is momentum management.

My clearest technical weakness is waiting slightly too long to select an easier gear on climbs.

And the single most useful thing I can try next time is ridiculously simple:

Change down one gear earlier.

Then aim for about:

75 rpm

Let my legs spin.

Let Bosch work efficiently.

Let Torque climb rather than haul.

Because after analysing thousands of Bosch records, the GPX route, cadence, power, speed and altitude, I’ve discovered something quite amusing.

Torque isn’t struggling up Cannock Chase.

I’m just occasionally driving him like a 44-tonne artic.

🚛😂🚵

John & Torque.

12.52 miles.

814 feet climbed.

717 feet at the high point.

20 mph maximum.

And one very expensive Bosch motor quietly thinking:

“Lovely scenery, John. Now change bloody gear.”

😂