England : Lancashire ColinJ's 103 km or 107 mile 'Back from the Dead' forum ride Sat 29/03/14

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MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
Last one for tonight.
@SlowerThanASluggishSloth <-- don't be fooled, he can move fast enough ;)


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EetuSkQKGP0
 
OP
OP
ColinJ

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Snipe is one chilled-out dog!

I like those pictures (and all the others and the videos in earlier posts). I'll be honest and admit that I had got so fat pre-illness that I was always worried what unflattering post-ride photos might appear. It is nice not to have to worry about it now!

I especially like picture 037 which is an action shot of me coming off that steep descent a few kms on from the Trough.
 
Last one for tonight.
@SlowerThanASluggishSloth <-- don't be fooled, he can move fast enough ;)
I know it's really weird, but sometimes, like if I'm on a looooooong down-hill stretch, and when the wind is right behind me, I dunno, I just seem to get into some sort of, like zone, y'know, or, or bubble, and I like feel I'm not really myself any more, like, I'm a proper cyclist, and, man, it feels soooo good, and I feel like I could, like, go on forever - or even longer. God, it's awesome and like, I'm awesome. :becool:





And then I meet a very shallow uphill gradient and I'm slower than a sluggish sloth again. :cry:
 

coffeejo

Ælfrēd
Location
West Somerset
In the land of low-signal, looking forward to seeing your photos when I get home.
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
Now I've got a bit more time to write it out properly - here's what the day looked like from my point of view: I started early with the 2.5 hour drive up to Whalley arriving with just enough time to spare to set the bike up and meet a few of the many folk that turned out.

I've only done one group ride before which was the Tour De Ludlow, a 5 mile fun ride, so this was a fairly new experience and I was quite impressed with the pace we were all keeping up quite easily, which was helped by the tail wind. I spent so much time in the big ring that I forgot I was in it as we reached the initial climbs on the approach to the Trough of Bowland. Explains why the gears made funny noises as I changed down.:blush:

As big climbs go, the Trough of Bowland wasn't too bad and after regrouping at the top the wind assisted descent the other side was fantastic. I got up to 37 mph which is fairly quick for me but others were much faster. Apart from a slight sat-nav glitch (not mine - I wasjust following the chap in front :whistle:), meeting a tractor on a narrow bend and some sort of incident behind us that led to a rider (not from our group) screaming abuse at a car, it was a smooth run into Glasson Dock and the cafe stop at which those sat outside had to hold on to their mugs to stop them being blown across the table :laugh: and @coffeejo tried out a bike about 6 sizes too big.

That blustery wind hadn't died down by the time I left with the slow group. I thought it was only fair to give some company to those at the back so spent some of the return leg with @hopless500 and @Pjays666 and some riding in the faster part of the group. There was a bit of confusion when a couple of riders went on ahead and we thought they'd been left behind, so a bit of time was lost while Coffeejo and Potsy went back to check. There was the landrover and trailer that overtook us despite not having a clue what was coming round the corner ahead (nothing fortunately) a couple of close passes (@coffeejo didn't seem to bat an eyelid when one car passed about 3 inches from her elbow) and Hopless500 finally had to call it a day at just over 48 miles.

A break at the supermarket in Longridge helped perk everyone up, as did the nice fast descent out of town to Ribchester. Possibly it was a mistake to race @potsy and @coffeejo up the climb after Ribchester but it was fun at the time (hurt a bit on Sunday though). I recorded 64.04 miles at 11.8 mph moving average.

I finally got home about 8.45pm with the legs stiffening up pretty well after the drive back.

For me it felt a bit odd having been riding through scenery that I usually only see from the motorway on the way to/from the Lake District. Very enjoyable though.:thumbsup:

As already mentioned, my photos weren't the best this time but here is a selection:
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Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Recumbent riders welcome! :thumbsup: (I imagine that climbing steep hills is a bit tricky on one, but descents a lot of fun? :whistle:)

Climbing isn't that much harder than on an upright, if you're recumbent fit, but it can be very slow - by which I mean, you can't fall over on a trike, so you can ride at under the usual stalling speed, and stop and start more easily.

And yeah, descending is fun. I'll go much faster on the trike than I dare to on two wheels.

Ok, so if I get fit again...
 
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