Lune-atics! The annual Glasson Dock/Conder Green ride from Spring Wood, Whalley - Sat, 1st Apr, 2017

[ColinJ]

I'm staying off the bike today to rest my legs for tomorrow, but is a lovely day here so I think I will go for a stroll round to the shops now to buy provisions (chocolate!) for the ride.

I'll check in here this evening and again when I get up tomorrow to check for any messages. Last minute messages - text me.

See you in the morning!

 

[ColinJ]

I forgot - Carrie and Kevin have invited another pal of theirs to join us - Peter. They should all be waiting for us at Spring Wood.

So, that should be 7 of us for the main metric century loop, and 4 of us doing the imperial century.

Fingers crossed that the rain is not TOO bad!

 

[ColinJ]

Well, it has been raining but it isn't at the moment, an hour before the ride!

I went to bed late AGAIN last night and ended up dreaming that I had done the ride yesterday. When the alarm went off this morning, I thought it had been left set from that ride ... I was fumbling about with my phone trying to work out how to silence the alarm when I read the associated text - "WAKE UP - RIDE!!!" It slowly dawned on me that I haven't actually done the ride yet ...

 

[Pale Rider]

A late decision to ride from me based on an improving weather forecast which proved accurate.

Colin and the three other centurions arrived on time to meet us 66-mile wusses at Spring Wood.

Some intermittent drizzle, but we were confident there would be no downpours.

It some became apparent both @mythste and @doughnut are strong cyclists as we set off at a good pace, which was to be maintained throughout the ride.

Colin took us on a different route to the cafe, but as with all his rides it worked well.

We trundled down a 'Quiet Lane' and through a country park, which someone thought to create on top of a hill.

As Colin's friend Bill remarked, the manky conditions meant it felt like being in a cloud up there.

"Up" featured a bit too heavily for my liking, the way out in particular is one climb after another.

Descending is not my forte, but my latest ebike feels well-planted and a glance at the trip computer indicates I hit 34mph somewhere - plenty for me on familiar roads, let alone unfamiliar ones.

The pace meant we reached the lunch stop in time for lunch, and as in the past we were well looked after.

The ride split on the way back - one of the fast lads had a train to catch - so I bowled along at a slightly more relaxed pace with Colin and his friend Kevin.

I was even allowed a cigar stop.

Colin's ludicrously bike fit friend Carrie kept with the fast group which meant she had a 20 minute wait for us to arrive at Spring Wood.

Kevin runs a camper, so he and Carrie were able to rustle up a very welcome mug of coffee for a by now fairly tired Pale Rider.

Colin bashed on to Todmorden solo to complete his 100 miles for the day.

Another grand day out on the bikes, and a 'well done' from me to the centurions - 100 miles in those up and down conditions is a good effort.

 

[ColinJ]

Well, that saves me typing all that out !

Yes, it was a good day out on the bikes. The weather could have turned really grim on us, but we got away with it. There was actually a lot of sunshine later on, which I appreciated.

I was just short of my imperial century when I got home so I nipped back out to an ATM for post-ride pizza cash. In the end though, after a shower and a pot of coffee, I decided not to pig out. I had a bowl of porridge instead and will save the pizza credits for next week some time.

I was quite surprised to find that the total climbing for my 100 miles was 6,700 ft or about 2,040 metres. ***

Thanks for the company everyone!



*** If that sounds a lot to those of you from flatter areas, next weekend's Spring Into The Dales audax event packs about 10% more climbing into less than 75% of the distance!

 

[mythste]

Thanks for today Colin, sorry to not have said a proper goodbye but the lure of chasing down Carrie was just too much!

You'll all be disappointed to note I didn't make it to the pub in the end. What a shame.

To next time!

 

[doughnut]

Yes, excellent ride out yesterday with great company. I was completely spent by the time I got home. My miles for the year so far have now doubled! Many thanks for organising another good ride, Colin.

Last 3 posts at 9, 10 and 11pm. By that time I long fallen asleep in front of the telly.

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks for today Colin, sorry to not have said a proper goodbye but the lure of chasing down Carrie was just too much!

You'll all be disappointed to note I didn't make it to the pub in the end. What a shame.

To next time!

She is impressively fit, isn't she! She catches out a lot of competitive male riders who want to show off in front of her. It has been years since I was fit enough to keep up with her

Yes, excellent ride out yesterday with great company. I was completely spent by the time I got home. My miles for the year so far have now doubled! Many thanks for organising another good ride, Colin.

You did well with so little riding before that! Hang on, I bet you have been blasting away on the turbo trainer instead for the past 3 or 4 months ...?

So, it is Spring Into The Dales next weekend. Recommended to anybody who wants a hard, scenic metric century ride. If you fancy that and are not too quick, you'd be welcome to join me in the relaxed pace*** CycleChat group. (There are usually 3 or 4 of us.)

My next forum ride will be on the 22nd April. It a tough, scenic route starting and finishing in Todmorden - LINK. Again - relaxed pace***.

*** Typically about 15 kph (9.5 mph) average including stops.

 

[Littgull]

Great ride account from @Pale Rider and glad you all had such an enjoyable ride.

I'm encouraged that my bad back is mending. I managed to come through a flat 12 miler without anything other than a few twinges this morning when I cycled over to my son's house in Newhey and then took an extended detour back home via quiet roads and the canal towpath. My first ride for nearly two weeks since the injury. Planning to take in a few local hills with @ColinJ on Wednesday which will hopefully confirm I am sufficiently pain free to tackle SITD audax next Sunday.

 

[ColinJ]

Great ride account from @Pale Rider and glad you all had such an enjoyable ride.

I'm encouraged that my bad back is mending. I managed to come through a flat 12 miler without anything other than a few twinges this morning when I cycled over to my son's house in Newhey and then took an extended detour back home via quiet roads and the canal towpath. My first ride for nearly two weeks since the injury. Planning to take in a few local hills with @ColinJ on Wednesday which will hopefully confirm I am sufficiently pain free to tackle SITD audax next Sunday.

That's good news, Brian!

My back was giving me a few twinges yesterday and I kept thinking that it was a good job that you didn't risk this one.

I will doublecheck with you by PM on Tuesday to arrange our ride. The weather is looking settled for the next week, so that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Pale Rider]

Great ride account from @Pale Rider and glad you all had such an enjoyable ride.

I'm encouraged that my bad back is mending. I managed to come through a flat 12 miler without anything other than a few twinges this morning when I cycled over to my son's house in Newhey and then took an extended detour back home via quiet roads and the canal towpath. My first ride for nearly two weeks since the injury. Planning to take in a few local hills with @ColinJ on Wednesday which will hopefully confirm I am sufficiently pain free to tackle SITD audax next Sunday.

You couldn't meet a more agreeable riding companion than @Littgull, so me, Carrie and Kevin were all genuinely disappointed he couldn't make it.

When people say nice things about you behind your back they must be true.

Hope your back continues to improve - your ride was presumably around hour or so on the bike, so very little reaction to that does sound positive.

I was told you've had a couple of knockbacks/jolts to the system recently, so let's hope the back being on the mend is a sign of things generally getting back on an even keel again.

 

[Littgull]

Awww, thanks for your good wishes chaps and looking forward to riding with you again soon.

 

[ColinJ]

I bumped into Bill today. He was telling me how Carrie'd had a rush of blood to the head and set a strong pace all the way back to Spring Wood. He reckoned that if she had known the way then she might have ended up disappearing off up the road but she needed doughnut's GPS to tell her where to turn.

Bill was pretty complimentary about my route back to Longridge. He didn't know that section because every other year he has gone home solo and taken the obvious but less interesting A6.

 

[doughnut]

Got to say I was tempted to send Carrie the wrong way for a bit, just so we could get a breather.

 

[ColinJ]

Got to say I was tempted to send Carrie the wrong way for a bit, just so we could get a breather.

She usually sends herself the wrong way! She 'gets into the zone' and just keeps on riding, sometimes straight past turns that she should be taking. Bill, Kevin and I all have experience of her disappearing into the distance and getting lost.

On the Season of Mists audax a couple of years ago I gave her very explicit instructions NOT to go beyond the T-junction at the end of the Long Causeway without me. I don't know what more I could have said than "IF YOU GO PAST THAT JUNCTION YOU WILL GET LOST", so ... she DID and she DID! I eventually got to the junction and there was no sign of her. I carried on down into the fringes of Burnley and suddenly she rode up behind me, having done a complete loop round Burnley and somehow ending up back at that T-junction again!