The Joys of Riding Locally

[SuperHans123]

I only cycle locally.
Then again, I do live here:-

 

[JPBoothy]

I've managed to get my Xbox addict teenage son to cycle a local 8ml loop regularly on one of my bikes during the Corona restrictions and, I find that a 36x25 gear choice gives my legs a decent spin over that distance

I knew I'd spoken too soon, as I have had to become the teenager today and stay in bed after my rib muscles (Intercostals I believe) went into spasm last night and are forcing me to let out involuntary screams. The neighbours must be wondering what's going on! My wife is fuming as I slipped and banged the ribs last weekend (fixing her car BTW) but instead of resting them have been doing jobs. Where's that xbox 🤔

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Iv never understood this part of the guidance. Surely if your riding alone then the risk depends on the duration of the ride not the distance from home. In fact if you live in a city then surely the further you go from home into the sticks then the lower the risk.

Criticism to the policy makers here not the OP

I think they are basing it on the further you go from home and have a problem / accident etc the bigger the possibility of needing to bring other people in to help.
There are a lot of cyclist out there that if they had just a minor issue with the bike they would have no idea how to sort it out themselves and would need help rather than just being able to walk home.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I think they are basing it on the further you go from home and have a problem / accident etc the bigger the possibility of needing to bring other people in to help.

I think you are giving them too much credit, I don't think they have any clue, on today's briefing the medical lady spoke about the 'hordes' of cyclists out riding together crossing Westminster bridge

 

[8mph]

I went on my tourer at long last for a 10 minute dusk ride. (my first ride in a month. )

I've only got to ride this bike a handful of times before the lock down. It's a Martin muirwoods converted to drop bars, not the lightest of bikes but it's ideal for my local potholed lanes. Looking forward to getting out more, hopefully on daily rides.

 

[Drago]

I got the forest, the fields, the grand union canal, open countryside, more bridleways, byways, and single track roads than I can shake a stick at. Although I know the area in general I'm not a local boy, so unlike Mr Skol I didn't get to roam as a kid and don't know every little wrinkle, so local exploration regularly brings me something new to capture my interest.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Iv never understood this part of the guidance. Surely if your riding alone then the risk depends on the duration of the ride not the distance from home. In fact if you live in a city then surely the further you go from home into the sticks then the lower the risk.

Criticism to the policy makers here not the OP

They don’t want you driving far away to exercise. There is no such statement on how far you go if exercising from your home.

 

[sleuthey]

They don’t want you driving far away to exercise. There is no such statement on how far you go if exercising from your home.

Good, glad to hear it

 

[ren531]

Been cycling my local lanes for the past 25 years and never tire of them we have a large variety of choices but I am going down ones I haven't been down for years and using busy roads to get to them that I would never go near normally ,going down the road today from Garstang to Glasson Dock it was empty and a joy to cycle ,I only ever use it normally for short hops between junctions and would never contemplate riding all of it .

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Likewise I can see a lot within a 5 mile radius
Eg;
- a grade 1 listed (cast iron) aquaduct - reputedly what Sydney Harbour bridge was modelled on (& as a model for the Tyne Bridge)

- a (built in the last 5 years) hydro-electric generator, that's alongside a Victorian weir/sluice-gates

- one of only 4 bridge chapels, left in the country (this one dating, in parts, to the 1340s)

- one of the first purpose built lunatic asylums in the country (now flats/apartments - but probably still with the cells retained in the basements
(they're interesting, I've been in there, 'on a professional basis')

- the site of the first wagon-way in the country, that was open to anyone to load goods - not simply the owners coal (Lake Lock Railway)

- the first (allegedly?) 'new town'/suburb development in the couuntry (late 1700s) - St Johns

- Wakefield Manorial Court Rolls, almost complete from 1270s, to 1920s!! (at one time, the Manor of Wakefield, stretched to Todmorden, & the border with Lancashire (by appointment at the Archives)

- one of the earliest 'by-passes' in the country, 1830s, with Ings Road (to prevent Drovers taking cattle to market, through the town centre
(if anyone knows Wakefield, the big Royal Mail sorting depot is on the site of the cattle-market)

- Englands first purpose built buildings used as a bank

- the deepest cutting in the country, at the time of digging (Barnsley Canal in 1790s) at Notton ...... okay that is pushing the 5 miles a bit!!

And lots more.....................................

 

[8mph]

A ride from Hackpen Hill, along the Ridgeway, first going west to The Sanctuary and then back via Fifield Down, then east to Barbury Castle and back. The muddy, rutted sections that were so slow going over winter have dried out at long last.

 

[Brandane]

I've been re-discovering the joys of mountain biking in a local country centre. Hard going on the climbs, but the descents make it all worthwhile, as do the views in the current weather.

 

[simon.r]

I've been re-discovering the joys of mountain biking in a local country centre. Hard going on the climbs, but the descents make it all worthwhile, as do the views in the current weather. View attachment 517170

View attachment 517173

View attachment 517175

I’ve dragged my MTB out of hibernation as well and discovered some local trails - though no scenery as spectacular as yours!

 

[8mph]

I had a ride in West Woods, near Marlborough today. There are downhill runs but I mostly stuck to the gravel roads and had an easygoing ride with a little excursion into some of the surrounding fields.

Here in Wiltshire The Ridgeway is the obvious go to place if your on a mountain bike, so it was nice to get into the woods for a change. I'm a bit short on ideas as to where to go next.

 

[palinurus]

Tomorrow will investigate a short bit of bridleway I spotted on Tuesday's ride.

I did this. Managed to get lost in a very small wood. Had to retrace my tracks to get back to the road.

Will attempt starting from the other end of the bridleway and see if can find the way through!