the stupid one
Über Member
- Location
- NWUK
I took the mongrel bike out this afternoon - the old Ridgeback with the new butterfly bars - planning to do my first grown-up fifty (may have done a fifty to Bala as a teenager, but I never measured it). I have a dream of doing a cycle tour, perhaps a coast-to-coast using mainly the Trans-Pennine Trail, and a longshot dream of touring the Netherlands, so I need to get fit enough.
Joined the Wirral Way at West Kirby, came off at Neston and headed to Net's Café for coffee and cake, then on to Hawarden Bridge and along the Dee into Chester. At the marina I moved onto the Shropshire Union canal towpath and headed for Ellesmere Port. The towpath is tarmaced, but much of it is quite broken-up and gravelly so it wasn't so easy on the seatbones. I hadn't put the fat comfy saddle on so I was beginning to smart. It's seven miles long, too. Met a couple over from Groningen in the Netherlands, as luck would have it, returning from the Boat Museum at E. Port.
A session on Google Streetview last night had prepared me for leaving the towpath and cycling across town, and that went very well with no wrong turnings, and before too long I was passing the Vauxhall plant and heading down to Eastham Ferry for a drink and some biccies. Thereafter I trusted too much in the signposting for the Wirral Circular Trail, missed a few, took a couple of wrong turnings, and then hit the noisy part of the route from Bromborough Pool to Woodside. There's a horrible crossing to make at the Birkenhead end of the New Ferry bypass. And roadworks between Woodside and Seacombe Ferry. Nothing I couldn't cheekily ride through, mind you.
By Seacombe Ferry I needed some time out of the saddle - the old arse was sobbing for a break (not weeping, that would have been horrible!) and I was slightly regretting not jumping onto the train home at Hamilton Square. I knew I had another ten miles to go, I also knew the same route took me 45 minutes a couple of weeks ago, but I wasn't so wrecked then. Anyway, I dropped onto the front part of the butterfly bars and found that the pain was somewhat eased so I pushed on and it did only take me 45 minutes. I was pleased with that, and Mrs thestupidone got to leave the house in time for whatever nonsense she gets up to on Mondays, so Yay me. Fifty-four miles, especially if I count the mistakes.
Couldn't do it again tomorrow though - more practice needed.
Joined the Wirral Way at West Kirby, came off at Neston and headed to Net's Café for coffee and cake, then on to Hawarden Bridge and along the Dee into Chester. At the marina I moved onto the Shropshire Union canal towpath and headed for Ellesmere Port. The towpath is tarmaced, but much of it is quite broken-up and gravelly so it wasn't so easy on the seatbones. I hadn't put the fat comfy saddle on so I was beginning to smart. It's seven miles long, too. Met a couple over from Groningen in the Netherlands, as luck would have it, returning from the Boat Museum at E. Port.
A session on Google Streetview last night had prepared me for leaving the towpath and cycling across town, and that went very well with no wrong turnings, and before too long I was passing the Vauxhall plant and heading down to Eastham Ferry for a drink and some biccies. Thereafter I trusted too much in the signposting for the Wirral Circular Trail, missed a few, took a couple of wrong turnings, and then hit the noisy part of the route from Bromborough Pool to Woodside. There's a horrible crossing to make at the Birkenhead end of the New Ferry bypass. And roadworks between Woodside and Seacombe Ferry. Nothing I couldn't cheekily ride through, mind you.
By Seacombe Ferry I needed some time out of the saddle - the old arse was sobbing for a break (not weeping, that would have been horrible!) and I was slightly regretting not jumping onto the train home at Hamilton Square. I knew I had another ten miles to go, I also knew the same route took me 45 minutes a couple of weeks ago, but I wasn't so wrecked then. Anyway, I dropped onto the front part of the butterfly bars and found that the pain was somewhat eased so I pushed on and it did only take me 45 minutes. I was pleased with that, and Mrs thestupidone got to leave the house in time for whatever nonsense she gets up to on Mondays, so Yay me. Fifty-four miles, especially if I count the mistakes.
Couldn't do it again tomorrow though - more practice needed.
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, whats the next target
