In praise of the pootle

[JPBoothy]

Hooray, so it's not called getting old and lazy after all then. Over the past five years I have gradually slowed from Sportives rides, to Audax rides, to Charity rides, to "bye dear, I'm off out for a Coffee" rides.

My last ride was on New Years day when I just happened to find myself a new cafe in Parkgate (Wirral). It is definitely about the fresh air, no PB's and as many car free routes as I can find these days. I have a couple of cross bikes so the muddy/leafy bridalways and woodland tracks are my favourite pootling terrain.

Keep on pootling folks

 

[Andy in Germany]

I've just discovered my cycling style has a name. This is basically what I do, whether commuting, getting the shopping (You can't to anything but pootle on a Bakfiets, trust me) or just going for a ride.

When I was going to college once a week I used to Pootle there and back. My colleagues thought I was wierd, but they would come in late and cold, complaining of problems on the road, traffic lights, etc, and I'd had a gentle trundleover the hills and only had to brake for a fox that wasn't expecting me. I used to spend the whole day looking forward to the return trip...

You both beat me to it with the bimble vs pootle cunundrum. I’d crafted a thought or two but now realise I’m not the only fish in this thought-pond.
But in the spirit of the bimbleur (all the best cycling is Frenchified, n’est pas?) - akin to the Slow Food movement - I’m happy to just be along for the ride, at whosoever’s pace is slowest, till we reach some conclusions. Or go off down a cul de sac if we choose.
I was imagining a sportive des bimbleurs, and working out a slogan for the posters. “Anyone found finishing will be asked to not come back.” Think it could catch on?
Might rush off and secure a few domain names....

I think the German for this would be "Bummeln" which roughly translates as 'stroll' or 'ramble'. Especially as a local branchline is known as a 'bummelbahn'

 

[Andy in Germany]

View attachment 390174 View attachment 390173 View attachment 390172 View attachment 390171 I love to pootle.
(Very) occassionally take the road bike out for a “faster” ride though.
Some of my best pootle pics

That blue bike with the orange mudguards is lovely. Scenery is nice too...

 

[Andy in Germany]

I also managed a Bimmel on new years eve, just a short one around the fields between storms.

HH_16 by Andy in Germany, on Flickr

HH_07 by Andy in Germany, on Flickr

Where a Zeppelin made an emergency landing. If the pictures on the stone are historically accurate, nobody was wearing any clothes at the time.

HH_06 by Andy in Germany, on Flickr

I tried out a Bike trailer too.

 

[screenman]

In fact, I'd go as far to say that, unless you pootle at times, then, within a couple of years, you'll end up not enjoying your cycling.

50 years of cycling and never pootled, I still enjoy riding my bikes. Each to their own and all that.

 

[Andy in Germany]

50 years of cycling and never pootled, I still enjoy riding my bikes. Each to their own and all that.

Fair enough too. As I say to the younger and faster riders: Don't forget to wave as you go past...

 

[FishFright]

50 years of cycling and never pootled, I still enjoy riding my bikes. Each to their own and all that.

Give it a go , you don't know what you're missing. It's a lovely way to spend a few hours finding things you sped past many times before.

 

[JPBoothy]

I'm such a care free cycling rebel that I even have a bell and regularly stop to talk to Walkers too.

Shhh, I think the 'real' cyclists would tar and feather me for such a sinful act but, I'm wild and I just don't care

 

[screenman]

Fair enough too. As I say to the younger and faster riders: Don't forget to wave as you go past...

I always have it nod.

 

[screenman]

Give it a go , you don't know what you're missing. It's a lovely way to spend a few hours finding things you sped past many times before.

Maybe one day when I grow up.

 

[subaqua]

How many fellow pootlers have we got on CC then?

Pootling is what it’s about . Not giving it beanz and missing stuff . Rather do a 25 mile pootle and see stuff . A pootle of 10 miles to a trig point does more for my wellbeing than a100 mile riding like a loon for a willy wave time to post on the tinterwebs.

Not that racing is a bad thing . Just enjoy pootles more

 

[Andy in Germany]

Maybe one day when I grow up.

Gosh. When do you plan to do that? I decided growing up was very much overrated and left it well alone.

 

[screenman]

Gosh. When do you plan to do that? I decided growing up was very much overrated and left it well alone.

Hopefully the day before I pop my clogs.

 

[JPBoothy]

Does anybody (sorry, any pootler) know of a good book that shows the best bridalways and ex-railway routes that could possibly be linked for a decent length ride? My local one is the Wirral Way and, I have recently discovered the Whitegate Way which can apparently be linked to Delamere Forrest without too much trouble.

 

[Alan O]

Very much a pootler here too, yes.