Your ride today....

[chriswoody]

So I'm currently down on the Greek Island of Thassos and I may have also sneaked my Mountain Bike down with me, so whilst the wife and kids were off elsewhere I headed up into the hills. It didn't take long to head out of the village and past Olive groves framed by the high mountains.

The trail is rough but steady going and slowly and steadily I'm gaining height. It's fairly warm and pleasant and I'm soon down to a t-shirt and enjoying being out. Before to long the village of Potamia comes into view and I'm soon into the narrow streets trying to find my way through.

A few false turns and I find myself on a steep hillside, houses all around precariously gripping the loose soil and rock. I follow a goat through a dense thicket pushing my bike until the path widens out a bit more. I start riding again as the trail heads in towards the mountains, I won't be going up there today, but they look stunning and inviting.

It's lovely riding for the moment through the trees as we keep gaining height, from starting at sea level I'm soon passing 300 metres and still heading up.

After 6 kilometres I finally crest the top of the climb at 351 metres. The views have opened out a little all around and it's time to point the bike back downhill. At first it's a lovely gravel road, steep but firm I start rolling down at a fair old lick, but before long it keeps changing it's character. A short rock garden section, gives way to a rougher section that has been washed out in places by winter storm, offering some good technical challenges and making me glad I'm on this bike.

It's tough going but fun and before long I'm back at sea level on the edge of the town of Limenas, the capital of this small island. From here I soon gain a rough unpaved road that will hug the shore and bring me back. A steady climb brings me up to 76 metres and the sea can be glimpsed through the trees, in the summer this road will be heaving with tourists, but in early spring I have it all to myself. After a good few kilometres I head down to Marble beach and popular tourist cove.

The picture doesn't do justice to how awful it was, just out of shot is the run down huts and beach bar all boarded up for the winter, two dogs are chained up and guarding the beach from trespassers, a large fence also deters the unwary. I stay on the path at the back of the beach and survey the sorry scene. A few metres further on there is a large marble quarry, which must provide a wonderful backdrop in the summer, it's really not my kind of place.

I'm soon moving on and enjoying the roller coaster ride along this coast path as it rises and falls. To my right are Olive groves and the tranquill Agean to my left, not a soul can be seen the air is full of the tang of sea salt and ripe goat. I round the headland and in front of me is Skala Potamis the end of my ride.

Before long I'm in town and riding back to where we are staying. A thoroughly lovely introduction to Mountain Biking on this lovely little island. I'm hoping to get out a little bit more over the next days, there are some interesting looking routes around.

Today was 31.6 km with 773 metres of height gain.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

A couple of rides from yesterday:

Early afternoon: The weather was properly Spring-like at last and the roads mostly drying out so I got the Raleigh out for its first ride of the year. This was also the shake-down ride for a few new components: Chainset, pedals and mudguards.

Setting out for Condover I needed a small adjustment to the saddle height as the new chainset has 165mm cranks. This is something I've been thinking about trying for quite some time as this bike has always felt like I couldn't quite get the adjustment completely comfortable. The shorter cranks don't feel out of place and my first impressions are that it feels easier to keep the speed up on the flat by spinning than it used to. On this test it also didn't feel like I was straining my knees if I pushed hard in a higher gear. As always with these things, time will tell. So far though I like.

The ride via Berrington went nicely but reaching Atcham I was reminded that the road to Berwick Wharf was closed. Drat! I went through Attingham Park for some thinking time and found the closure had moved up to the exit from the park so I was able to ask if I'd be allowed to walk through the closure - they let me but it was quite a long section to walk through so my average speed for the ride isn't what it could have been. I had a good run to Upton Magna, apart from having to slow for more roadside works. Approaching the pub I thought that there was a vehicle oncoming with main beam headlights on. It wasn't - just the A-board outside catching the sun.

I headed into town via Uffington then joined Sundorne Road and around cycle paths and back roads to Sydney Avenue and another road closure. This one has been caused by a council lorry falling through the road surface by the weir. I went round to be nosy but they've put screens around so I couldn't take a photo. Spoilsports. Someone elses photo on this BBC report: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz7z65301g5o Looks like I won't be using the tow path here for a while.
No problems on the way back through Abbey Foregate and along the cycle paths to Meole Brace. It's great using this bike again and I'm looking forward to racking up the miles on it.

20.69 miles at 14 mph average. Strava shows 669 feet of climbing so a fairly flat one.

Showing off the shiny new bits at Attingham Park.

...........................

Yesterday late afternoon: Gav had invited Doug and I to join him for an early evening ride. Using the Raleigh again was very tempting but I knew I needed to get the Hawk out and give it a good clean, plus it has the convenience of dynamo lights, so I used that one instead.

We'd started off towards the rendezvous when Doug found he couldn't shift gears. After a moment of investigation I found that the new handlebar grips on his bike were blocking the shift triggers on each side. That's a bit annoying and something I hadn't even considered when fitting them. A bit of adjusting and we were back on the road with working gears, only being a couple of minutes late meeting up.

Heading away from town through Meole Brace the traffic was fairly busy due to the time of day but there weren't any incidents of note (though I did wonder whether the one driver was lost or deliberately blocking us) After joining the road through Exford's Green it was quieter which gave more opportunity for chatting on the way to Stapleton.

The road to Gonsall turns out to be closed. We went to investigate anyway and found that whatever work was going on had stopped for the day and the only obstacles to progress were the barriers at either end. The rest of the ride through Condover to Weeping Cross had a gentle tailwind making things easier. After parting from Gav, Doug decided to press on for the rest of the ride making it an effort to keep up. Not a bad effort considering his last ride was on Boxing Day.

17.4 miles at 11.7 mph average. Another good ride and I hope Doug will come out more often now he's started again.

No pics from this one.

 

[8mph]

Following a knee injury I haven't been on the mountain bike since November. I'm also 6kg heavier than I was last year and been a bit bike shy. I bit the bullet today and went for a brutal ride on Dartmoor.

1 hour 45 minutes, which is OK, considering the conditions.

 

[theloafer]

new bike ride test all good still a few tweak's and every thing should be great... https://www.strava.com/activities/11008643244
Canyon grail on CF7 ..

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Last chance for a solo ride before the tandem tour, and had a wonderful Tour of the Peak guided by one of my oldest (as in longest acquaintance) cycling buddies.

First up the Cat & Fiddle, then over Axe Edge and down to Earl Sterndale. This is the "Peakiest" part of the Peak District, the ancient coral reefs of Chrome Hill and Parkside dominating the views.

Then through Monyash and down to Ashford in the Water, and the climb to Monsal Head.

Met three young women at the viewpoint carrying their road bikes up the path which is *very* steep, rocky and entirely uncyclable, cursing Komoot which apparently showed it as a cycling route from the Monsal trail(!).

Now Cressbrook Dale, Litton and to the rather posh Blind Bull pub in Little Hucklow for lunch. Happily, it promptly started raining then cleared just before we left

Down to Hope and up Edale into a blistering bitter headwind - it never got above 6 degrees all day - and up the glorious but tough climb of Mam Nick. Mam Nick to Chapel le Frith along Rushup Edge is very exposed and features a strong headwind whenever whichever way you ride it. I was very glad indeed to have a companion.

Finally a torrid struggle up the road from Whaley Bridge to the top of the Brickworks then down and home.

75 miles, 2200m climbing.

 

[chriswoody]

Thassos has the most amazing amount of geography packed into such a tiny island. The Eastern side where I am, is the highest area with mountains over 1000m high and only rough tracks head inland from the coast. This morning I decided to head up into the mountains behind the town, the largest at 1200m was not my goal, but rather a more modest 500m peak.

It's not long until the Garmin is beeping and telling me that the climb has already started and from here, over 6 km of uphill grind await me. As is normal, the trail starts through groves of Olive trees and the gradient isn't too hard. This soon changes though as we gain height and sections of the trail steepen so sharply that walking is the only option.

As we gain height the views are opening out, to the North I can see the highest peaks, off to my right I can see the towns spread all over the steep hillsides.

The Olive groves have long since given way to stands of pine and from time to time sawdust litters the trail where a storm felled tree has been cleared from the path. At around 400m I start to see another issue, the pines all around are charred and seared from forest fire, there seems to be a large area affected.

finally the last corners are turned and the last slopes ascended and we are there, a col at 520m. I could ascend the last 50m to the nearby summit, but it would be by foot, there's no way to ride a bike over the jagged rocks. Instead I sit down for a drink and flapjack to admire the view.

Soon I'm heading down and the way is steep and loose a much more experianced mountain biker would be going much faster, but I'm keeping it reined in I've no desire for a spill up here. I soon feel justified for my caution when rounding a corner I come across several trees across the trail. I pull up in time and push and heave my way through the branches. I look back and can see my uphill trail faintly tracing lines on the hillside I've just descended from.

More breakneck descent brings me to the olive groves again and here I struggle, so far I've been following a route I'd found online from a local cyclists, now though, I was meant to be following some amendments I'd made. Frustratingly the tracks I'd chosen seemed to be goat tracks that would peter out after a 100 metres or so. I found myself back tracking many times and following other trails I could see on my map. Finally I find a good trail that leads me out of this maze and back towards town.

I return to my accommodation after a fantastic 14.8 kilometers and 612m of climbing.

 

[Donger]

Looks like wet weather coming to Gloucestershire for the next few days, so I nipped out to get another 50km ride in. Rode out to Arlingham, where the tide was out. The field in the foreground isn't a paddy field, but is evidence of the tidal range around these parts.

I called in at Frampton on Severn on my way around, and got a nice shot across one of the duck ponds into a lovely old farmyard along the village green. The village has an open garden weekend every year, and we once went into this farm. I was much impressed by a massive fig tree in the courtyard (not in sight).

More recently, when we had my sister in law's little dog Cedric to stay for a week, I brought him for a couple of walks around the green at Frampton and he had the time of his life. Seems to be some kind of doggy scent super highway around there. Who knew? On the way back home I was held up for a few seconds by a flock of ducks waddling down the middle of the lane between Longney and Elmore, and I stopped for a picture.

That lean-to shed on the right side of the road is something of a miracle. When my dad moved us down to Glos from Birmingham in the early 70s, my brother and I used to cycle out from Epney to the edge of Gloucester and back. I remember sheltering under that run-down looking shed during a couple of heavy downpours. That has to be more than 50 years ago, and it still looks exactly the same today. Not repaired, not replaced, just hanging in there, held up by thick ivy roots and just stubbornly refusing to die. I think about it every time I pass it. 31.2 miles to add to my total today. A nice following wind on the way back.

 

[All uphill]

Just a short ride out to our favourite cafe today, building up my miles and fitness.

It was my first ride alone for a while and I enjoyed cycling at a speed that was comfortable for me. The Willowbrook cafe was great, as usual and I indulged in an ice cream, closely watched by the chickens and ducks.

The changed gear ratios on the Spa are a great success allowing me to stay in the big ring for much more of the time.
I'm now on 42/26 and 11/36.

Far more potholes than last year, but still great to get out.

 

[wafter]

Just a short ride out to our favourite cafe today, building up my miles and fitness.

It was my first ride alone for a while and I enjoyed cycling at a speed that was comfortable for me. The Willowbrook cafe was great, as usual and I indulged in an ice cream, closely watched by the chickens and ducks.

View attachment 725166

The changed gear ratios on the Spa are a great success allowing me to stay in the big ring for much more of the time.
I'm now on 42/26 and 11/36.

Far more potholes than last year, but still great to get out.
View attachment 725167

Great work - especially with the gear ratios which sound ideal for mere mortals. How did you achieve this? I'm currently looking for a hollowtech compatable, wide-Q-factor crankset od similar range to replace the 105 assy on the Genesis, but so far I'd drawn a blank.. I assume you're running square taper?

 

[All uphill]

Great work - especially with the gear ratios which sound ideal for mere mortals. How did you achieve this? I'm currently looking for a hollowtech compatable, wide-Q-factor crankset od similar range to replace the 105 assy on the Genesis, but so far I'd drawn a blank.. I assume you're running square taper?

Square taper BB for durability, Spa chainset, deore derailleur and 11-36 cassette. I previously had a Sora rd with a wolf tooth which worked ok-ish with an 11-40 cassette and 46/30 chainrings.

To be fair to Spa that was a work around during the parts shortage of 2021.

 

[chriswoody]

This morning I decided to head up into the mountains again and have an adventure. I started with a relatively gentle forest ride round to the village of Potamia nestled on the side of hill at around 140m. This also marks the start of the trial up to Ypsarion, the highest peak at 1204m and I'll be using the start of the trail in a moment.

The trail is immediately steep and unforgiving as we rise up and away, sometimes a rock garden, others a reasonably maintained trail. On the horizon clouds are building up over the ridges and peaks above.

After a couple of kilometres the trail branches and I leave the main Ypsarion track and start to track around the bowl formed by the high hills. The views are spectacular and occasionally I can see back down the trail to the sea, there's no getting away from the unrelenting grind though, it slow and steady progress.

After rounding one corner I start riding over a large area of Marble, the reflect glare from the white surface is intense and I wish I had my sunglasses. then on the ground I spot a strange sight, at first it looks like a strange thin snake, over a metre long. Looking closer I can see it's a thin line of dozens of marching caterpillars, all following the leader in a dead straight line.

Riding ever higher the route is snaking further around the hillside, the views around every corner are more impressive than the last. I can not only see down to the main port town of Thassos, but also across to the mainland as well. To the left I can also see one of the many marble quarries that are scattered around here, apparently Thassos Marble is highly prized and regarded and the extraction of it seems to be big business.

I've still only covered about 12 kilometers, but it feels so much more, I've still not reached the furthest point of the ride and continue upwards and forwards. Then finally the altimeter says I'm reached 740m and the highest point of my ride. I continue on for a few more kilometers gently rising and falling until a junction in the path marks the point I swing around and towards home. Looking forward I can see more trails snaking around the sides of the hillside ahead, but that's not for me today.

Initially I drop over a hundred meters on a wide forest track, letting the bike run over the ruts and stones, then we spend a few kilometres contouring the forested hillside. I can see another Marble quarry ahead and my path ahead snaking over the top rim.

The path is punctuated with sharp short climbs and equally sharp descents as it meanders around, overall though I'm losing little height. Then a junction signifies a nasty drop onto a rougher goat track where the path is deeply rutted and filled with large loose stones. Discretion gets the better of me and I know my limitations, so I get off and push the first fifty metres or so until it mellows out. The next kilometers are interesting as it traverses goat meadows and sharp drops on small stony tracks, all very challenging and fun. I'm back on wide forest trails after a breakneck descent and before long the village of Potamia is in front of me.

From here I'm flummoxed, my intended trail peters out twenty metres or so from the road and there really is no way through, not only is the undergrowth to thick, but the ground too steep to safely traverse. I backtrack and try another trail only to be thwarted again, finally on my third attempt I find a small goat track that leads me down into the edge of the village. From here I ride another new forest trail back to Skala Potamias and home. It's been another great adventurous Spring ride on this wonderful island.

I've ridden 30.7 kilometers with a height gain of 1069 metres.

 

[EltonFrog]

I haven't been on the MTB for a while, I don't know why I call it a mountain bike, it's never been anywhere near a mountain, anyway the last time I rode it was July last year, shame really it's a nice bike, I've owned it about ten years. I was in the mood for a ride, without dealing with traffi, drivers, pedestrians and dogs, so a bit of off roading was called for.

I dragged the Trek Superfly out the garage, bunged some air in tyres, got changed, I wore my new shorts, put me helmet on and then it chucked down with hail stones! It was a very quick passing shower, so I jumped on the bike and set off up the track that's almost immediately outside my house, no particular plan on which way to go, but I have hundreds of miles of rough track to play with.

The sun was out, but a strong bitter wind made me glad I layered up, by the time I got up the short steep climb I had warmed up, so I just pootled around along the byways, and a mile an half up a bloody car is on my back wheel trying to get past. FFS, I came up here 'cos you never see vehicles. I was in a belligerent mood, I stayed in the middle of the track pretending not to notice the car was there, eventually I turned off down a grass track and the car went the other way.

Another half mile and I was on another BOAT, with the wind behind so I rode to where the silos are and the old Didcot Southampton railway bridge is, passing a dog walker who didn't hear me call out, then the long drag up to the Ridgeway, a pause at the top for a photo and I decided to head in the direction of Wantage, but cut down beforehand to give me a 10 mile loop.

A couple of miles down the rutted track I noticed a vehicle that appeard to be stuck in the ruts across the track, I had to dismount the bike to get past, as I was walking past a woman got out of the a people carrier and said, " I appear to be in a bit of a pickle", " looks like it" said I, not wanting to get involved.

The driver asked me if I could help, I wasn't sure I was going to do any better than she was doing, but I got in the van, eventually got the thing out of the ruts got it in roughly the right direction only to get stuck again in more ruts, probably worse than the first lot. Anyway, very long story short, after about 45 minutes of trial and mostly error we got her going again, I followed along on my bike just in case she got in the Tom Tit again, which she didn't. The lady was very grateful.

I gave up doing my loop and made my way back home, I'd been out longer than I intended.

A smidge of 10 miles. Quite enjoyed it actually.

It looked like I was going to get wet, but the moistness stayed away.

That track was part of the old Didcot, Newbury Southampton railway.

Stuck in the mud.

EDITED: for tryping ellors.

 

[HLaB]

It was down to Brogborough for my first TT of the year. Something was rubbing and I didn’t like the conditions so I just stuck it in a middle’ish gear, sat up and pedalled round. I got stopped at most of the roundabouts but I wasn’t really bothered as I wasn’t on it. Not surprisingly I got a PW by nearly 3mins. The power profile and the my windsock CdA report says it all.

I was off at 14:42



I’ll need to take these contact lenses out and try and diagnose what the rubbing was.

 

[cyberknight]

Another metric century done and dusted , started off early straight into that wind pretty much all the way to the cafe at ramblers retreat in Alton.Ride buddy came on his gravel bike with 42 mm gravel tyres so he was struggling on the hills , combined with that wind and the hills meant we only averages 14.5 by the cake stop .
Fantastic place for a stop after 37 miles then back with a tailwind for a total of over 63 miles.

 

[Donger]

Fancied a little bit of a change today, so instead of my usual southward ride into the Severn Vale, I headed northwards, skirting Gloucester and out into the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire. Once past the Gloucester By-Pass, I crossed the Severn a couple of times at Over. (Here the bike is parked on Thomas Telford's old bridge, the middle one of three bridges that stand side by side):

I always get a bit of vertigo as I stand there, as the stonework only comes half way up my thighs. From there I followed the lovely riverside path as far as Maisemore, where I crossed it for the third time.

That path is not an option when there has been a high tide, as the river has been known to regularly flood the adjoining main road to a depth of over a foot. From Maisemore, I headed out towards Worcestershire via Hartpury, Ashleworth and Staunton. The roads grew quieter and the views kept getting better, the closer I got to the Malvern Hills.

Just before Pendock I acted on a whim and took a left and a right turn onto an extremely quiet little lane, still heading northwards. It was at this point, shortly before I was intending to turn for home, that I was attacked by a couple of dogs. One of them ran alongside for a couple of hundred yards attempting to bite my foot. Fortunately I was going slightly downhill, so I was able to outsprint it and get away. At the next junction (in a village called Lowbands), I hung a left, intending to make my way back to Staunton via a dog-free route .... only to be confronted by this:

Didn't fancy getting my feet wet, so I picked another direction, eventually turning up at the lovely characterful village hall in Pendock.

I saw another couple of cyclists head off across the crossroads there, and thought I'd give it a look-see. If I added another couple of miles, I could turn this into another metric half century. Ended up stopping for a drink and a snack at a nice little tree bench outside St Faith's Church in Berrow.

No sooner had I started to make my way back than I came across a couple of elderly cyclists struggling to re-inflate a tyre on an e-bike, so I stopped to lend them my pump and do my good deed for the day. Got a few more great views on the way back to Staunton. These are the sort of lanes I could ride all day. Just scenery, wildlife and very little traffic.

When I got back to the river-side path at Maisemore, I rang my bell to overtake a couple of walkers, and as they stepped to one side, one of them commented that they had passed me back near the Malverns when they had been out for a drive earlier. I guess they don't see too many cyclists my size! That's another 32.6 miles done, bringing up 220 miles in March and getting me back on track for a major target that I have lined up for the 25th November. Another great ride ..... despite the dogs.