Hi from Birmingham

[NickNick]

Been a bit naughty and have done this as my second post having forgot to introduce myself

I'm fast reaching the end of my 20's,, used to ride a mountin bike quite a bit as a kid, loved the mechanical side of it and doing all my own repairs but was never overly enthusiastic about riding. I did however on a couple of occasions ride a mate's brother's road bike (would have been 10-11yo) and absolutely loved it, but never had the chance to have my own.

Pretty much stopped riding throughout my early 20s until I got hold of an old Raleigh racer someone had chucked in a skip, spent some time doing it up and got the riding bug. It was however very heavy, always having mechanical problems (not helped by a slightly bent frame ) and as a result outside of commuting didn't ride too much.

This all then changed about 6 months or so ago when a friend gave me an Ammaco XRS700 road bike, its shockingly bad as I now know, but free... its a crap bike & frame, but the difference in weight, handling and reliability (for first month or so) compared to what I'd ridden to date really gave me the riding bug.

Before I knew it I was fitting clipless pedals, upgrading the crap componentry to a tiagra groupset, swapping the deep rim (bikes are £400 new, so you can guess their quality!) wheels to some shimano ones after the freewheel died and enjoying it more and more.

I started commuting across London with it when down there for work instead of using the tube to get around and the 12miles felt like a huge journey . Then I made the move to lycra and bib shorts after commuting for 20-30miles a day 7 days in a row with a rucksack full of tools. Chafed doesn't even begin to touch on the damage done to my groin that week!!!

I've been getting 120-200miles of riding in a week now, pretty much all pleasure riding, having worked out a nice quick route out of Birmingham and onto some nice country roads. I've had a bit of a slack week due to work commitments and illness but can't wait to start getting some more miles under my legs again.

I'm now starting to save up for a decent frame and hopefully in the next 12 months will be swapping the good bits off my crap bike onto a good frame! Although this could come sooner as I'm having some serious bottom bracket issues that could write off the frame according to the guy at my LBS.


Anyway sorry for huge intro!

 

[Racing roadkill]

Welcome

There are some nice routes around Brum and the surrounding areas. Enjoy the riding.

 

[raleighnut]

 

[welsh dragon]

Hello and welcome from a former Brummy

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Anyway sorry for huge intro!

No need to apologise - a good intro' can go a long way in life (as well as on here).

That's some solid mileage you are putting in there.

Hope you enjoy the forum.

 

[Lilliburlero]

Great introduction @NickNick

 

[tribanjules]

Hi from B13
Canal down to stratford upon avon is scenic if muddy this week.
cannock for mtb and cake
peak trails. ..ditto
lLoads of great quiet lanes south west e ast north etc.....

I use mio sat nav "suprise me" function and had some great runs out

 

[NickNick]

Hi from B13
Canal down to stratford upon avon is scenic if muddy this week.
cannock for mtb and cake
peak trails. ..ditto
lLoads of great quiet lanes south west e ast north etc.....

I use mio sat nav "suprise me" function and had some great runs out

B13 as well, sparkhill/hallgreen edge as opposed to Moseley. I've got quick access to the nature corridor along the river Cole which is interesting to explore. My first >25mile ride was along the Cole through to the Ackers, then onto the grand union canal. I cycled the tow path up past the Knowle locks which were pretty mind blowing on a sunny day. The surface condition of the tow path was pretty brutal from Catherine De Barnes onwards but it was worth it.

 

[NickNick]

If anyone can recommend some routes, areas or towns/villages to cycle to from Birmingham would be much appreciated. Really like getting onto country roads but don't really know the surroundings well enough and my trips can be a bit hit and miss and tend to keep ending back up in towns & bigger roads.

Recently I've been cycling out towards Whitlocks End or Earlswood and then just zigg zagging around the smaller roads that look appealing but would be great to get some suggestions (in the 20 - 40miles region would be ideal) for some more picturesque journeys.

 

[graham bowers]

Have a play with the cycle.travel website, its a route planner that will send you down quiet roads if those options exist.

You can drive it in several ways. For example, put in your start point then ask it to suggest a ride. Alternatively, and this may be better in your case, route between two points, then ask it to do a round trip. The attachment shows a route using the latter method. To navigate the route you can use paper maps, but better to produce a navigation file (gpx for example) and upload to a gps device. The reason I say gps is better as sticking to the quiet roads tends to produce routes with lots of turns, making navigating by paper a bit tortuous IMHO. It may be possible to use a phone to navigate by the way but I haven't done that.

 

[Racing roadkill]

https://velobirmingham.com/the-route/

This was a cracking route.

 

[NickNick]

Have a play with the cycle.travel website, its a route planner that will send you down quiet roads if those options exist.

You can drive it in several ways. For example, put in your start point then ask it to suggest a ride. Alternatively, and this may be better in your case, route between two points, then ask it to do a round trip. The attachment shows a route using the latter method. To navigate the route you can use paper maps, but better to produce a navigation file (gpx for example) and upload to a gps device. The reason I say gps is better as sticking to the quiet roads tends to produce routes with lots of turns, making navigating by paper a bit tortuous IMHO. It may be possible to use a phone to navigate by the way but I haven't done that.
View attachment 376274

Thanks, that round trip option looks like it will be of much use! Sadly don't have a GPS yet, focusing on saving for new frame first, so currently using my phone with a handle bar attachment from Decathlon for navigation which just about does the trick. Will look into what options there are for loading gpx files.

 

[NickNick]

https://velobirmingham.com/the-route/

This was a cracking route.

Funnily enough bumped into that with the other half on our way to visit her brother in Kidderminster, looks like a great day and have pre registered for next year and hopefully will get a place.

 

[HLaB]

 

[BrumJim]

Out by Packwood House is very popular with cyclists, so it must be nice around there.

I'm more out west, so look for Worcestershire as opposed to Warwickshire.