Your ride today.... (part 1)

[i hate hills]

Ok i'll admit i spent one of the best days that there has been for cycling on the golf course .....i did however manage another 3 to 4 mike pootle this evening......does this make me a bad person ? If it helps to balance it out i caught quite a bit of sun and now look like a swan vesta match....

 

[jhawk]

Managed to get the MTB out for a bit of a test run.

Me and a mate managed to get lost in the trails - for three hours... The trails aren't that well maintained around here, and it was an ATV trail - so it was all muddy and washed out in some parts.

My chain fell off twice, and my gears no longer shift up and down... Thinking the chain's too long.

Anyway, only managed a couple of post-ride pictures.

 

[IDMark2]

For me this thread is 'Your ride yesterday..' I'm just too tuckered to do a report on the day...

Right, took newly-christened Del for an explorer ride, followed my nose as usual doing lanes in a mixture of knowing them and not knowing them and making the overall route up from places it seemed a good idea to go to next rather than actual plans. I wanted to get up to Bystock nature reserve first, that included getting to the top of Woodbury Castle and down the other side, my route only took me 17k, in my head it was further but I took the chance to sit and take it all in. The reserve centres around some lilly ponds, they're not in flower yet but I think just as pretty in this light anyway. Dragonflies and rare butterflies and birds are to be found here when you are properly equipped to do that.. but I was stopping off here on a ride and my 10 year old digital compact camera which was a bit flaky anyway had taken this opportunity to stop zooming and I hadn't packed my binos...



So after a quiet sit, contemplate and calorie top-up I headed off downhill to Otterton via Yettington and East Budleigh, which you may have seen crop up before, although my route to them was different and caught me out as I shot out of a T-Junction at the bottom of a descent into the paths of some oncoming cyclists...I may have missed a give-way sign but there was no marking to flag up 'the lane stops here', so having realised it was a junction coming I had slowed as hard as I dared from about 10 metres but overshot it. If they'd been a vehicle... Well there's many 'what if's?' that I already felt stupid about but it ended with just the three of us knowing about it and no blood was seen...

Normally at Otterton I take a lane following the River Otter homewards but today I was on a climbing mission so went past the junction and headed up Peak Hill on the clifftops above Sidmouth, breathtaking views but a bugger of a climb to get there... I think Del may be a little overgeared for relaxed pottering...


An eye-watering brake block-melting twist of a descent opens out into a straight and let-go-of-everything one a little bit further onwards down into Sidmouth, the whole thing is over in about a minute but the change from outright fear to andrenaline pumping 'lets do that again' makes it a great one.


From Sidmouth over to Honiton, the longest climb of the day at 3km and 135m rise at average 5%, descent back into Honiton and then pootling around the back lanes homewards, except I decide to add on a detour over to Ottery to see if my sister is in so I can get a cuppa. No luck so head back home via Talaton.

So I have to sort out gearing on the bike a bit, shorter stem is on order but the bombproof nature of Dels wheelset is letting me not worry about the surfaces as much as I would with a lightweight machine but it's pilot needs a good shake every now and then as well . 76k, 1017 metres up and 3 pieces of flapjack gone.

 

[EltonFrog]

It doesn't look like I'll be going for a ride today, it's chucking down out there amd my back has been agony today. I went for swim at the local pool earlier instead, that usually sorts my back out. Here's hoping!

 

[cyberknight]

Drenched commute home at 5.30 this morning, you can bet i had taken my waterproof leggings and overshoes out of the panniers because it had looked nice although i dont think it would have made any difference as the roads were nearly rivers.
11 hours later and everything is still soaking .

 

[Old Plodder]

Thankfully, it was on the way home, cyberknight......

 

[EltonFrog]

I did get a little ride in the end, I had a pootle on the hybrid to the polling station then took a short ride long way back. I don't know how many miles, no cycle clothes, no helmet, ordinary shoes, no sat nav, tucked me trousers into my socks and no mobile phone! I felt very naughty.

 

[ColinJ]

I'm doing 'Your Ride Yesterday(s)' too! I found it impossible to keep up while I was away but I am back home in Yorkshire now, so here's an update on my 8 days away ...

Wed. and Thu. last week - 140 miles: Hebden Bridge to Nottingham plus Nottingham to Coventry. (Already posted about above.)

Sat. - My Cotswold challenge ride - 117 miles. (Already posted about above.)

Mon. - Coventry to Towcester. I had another sunny day for this 37 mile ride, but there was a 15 mph SE headwind virtually the whole way so it was hard work. I left Coventry on familiar roads through Earlsdon, down Green Lane and on to Stoneleigh, then on fairly quiet roads through Weston, Hunningham, Long Itchington, Stockton, Napton, Priors Marston, Preston Capes, Blakesley, and Greens Norton to Towcester.

I sometimes forget how green Warwickshire and Northamptonshire are. Lots of fields, and lots of trees ... very nice countryside for cycling. Just enough undulations to make the rides a bit more interesting, without being legbreakers.

A Warwickshire lane.

View from the hill above Priors Marston.

Rape field and masts.

Tue. The forecast had been a bit iffy and the skies looked grim, so I dithered about going out for a ride. In the end, conditions looked slightly better so I decided to chance an evening ride. It was windy again and overcast. I felt slightly chilled the whole time I was out and the light was not great so I did not stop to take any photos on that ride. I ended up doing 30 miles in a loop through the local villages: Towcester, Silverstone, Dadford, Biddlesden, Syresham, Wappenham, Weedon Lois, Woodend, Abthorpe, Towcester.

Wed. I rode back to Coventry by the reverse of the route I had ridden down on Mon. The wind direction was hard to fathom so I would guess that it was a crosswind most of the time. It seemed to hinder me a little bit, and not help much of the time, but going was much easier than it had been in the other direction.

Today: My original plan was to ride to Coventry station, catch a train to Preston, then ride home but the weather here 'oop north' was a bit unpleasant - cool, wet and overcast. I decided to treat myself to a lazy day, and changed to the Hebden Bridge train at Preston. All I did then was ride back from Hebden Bridge station. Only 2 miles today.

So ... In 8 days, I rode a total 363 miles, many of which were done in warm conditions under lovely blue skies. That's the best week I have done on the bike since a holiday in Spain in 2007.

The forecast is not good for the weekend so I am going to take it easy and rest my legs, but bank holiday Monday is looking more promising and I have a tough little forum ride planned to Wharfedale and back - yippee!

 

[Saluki]

Nice ride tonight from home to Wattlefield, turned off to Spooner Row and then headed back to Wymondham. From there I rode down to the hospital to meet Hubster from dialysis. I averaged 15.3mph which wasn't bad seeing as I wasn't feeling the love for the first 5 miles. I did the 14.9 miles in 58:20. I wish that I had ridden the extra 0.1 of a mile. I would have if I'd looked at the Garmin properly.

Had great fun even though I'd banged my head earlier this evening.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

wet & windy...

and I have finally found a bike stand that is worse than butterfly bars... looked great and really good right up until you tried to get your bike into it.... in theory you only needed a thick padlock for it... but well the front wheel thingy was too narrow... the bit that the rear wheel was meant to go by was useless because of the location of the bar that you needed to extract, you had to lift the crank up and over 2 other vertical bars because they were too narrow to wheel the bike into and then you had to fit the bar you removed into your frame over the crank. this left both the front wheel and the rear wheel unlocked and then neither of the 2 locks I had with me were small enough (yep small and thin enough) to fit the lock hole for the bar across the crank through the frame.... ahhhhhh Have no idea what they are called, but can't find a picture of them online either. totally useless for locking your bike in. Ended up with the front wheel on the D Lock on a metal loop that was in to the ground, and then using my other lock to hold the frame & rear wheel in place (deterrent nothing more!)...

33.2km and now needing a towel to dry off... http://www.strava.com/activities/144603783

 

[EltonFrog]

Wet, windy and grey.

What a dull day, I wanted to go for along ride but i wasn't feeling the love with the weather today.

I needed some tea bags and tinned peaches, so I thought I'd pop the five miles into town on the Whyte do the shopping and see how I felt from there. On the way back I decided to go a slightly different way, then I remembered seeing a bridle way sign a couple of weeks ago so thought I would investigate and see where it went. It took my along side the M40 towards jct 10 it was a bit wet and bumpy and rutty, the juxtaposition of the lovely country side on my left and the noisy motorway, which I could not see, on my right was most odd. Further along I could see the Aynho waste incinerator that's being built after much controversy, it's an interesting looking building.

After couple of miles I was back on a road,I found another bridleway, this was more hard pack and concrete leading to what looked like a derelict farm, the BW didn't look like it was used very often, it was overgrown in places so badly that I missed a turn, after that I was back on familiar territory towards Tusmore Park and Hethe, I decide to cover some more BW tracks and take a long way home, so through Tusmore, then Juniper ( where Flora Thompson lived) then through a Solar Farm to Newton Purcell, then country lanes to Stratton Audley and back home. Two miles form home it peed down, I got soaked.

Once home I discovered a locked myself out, I had to call the estate agent to come and open the door for me. Not a very nice ride really, lots of head wind, lots of stopping to open gates, rutty tracks, and it was grey, windy, wet and muddy. I was glad to get back for a cuppa and cheese on toast.


23.3 Miles today.

A grey day

Incinerator in the distance.

Trow Ponds

Well, it looks nice.

M40 along side on the right.

Railway Crossing

Not sure what those birds are.

Only part of the route, I forgot I had this App on my phone

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Wet, windy and grey.

What a dull day, I wanted to go for along ride but i wasn't feeling the love with the weather today.

I needed some tea bags and tinned peaches, so I thought I'd pop the five miles into town on the Whyte do the shopping and see how I felt from there. On the way back I decided to go a slightly different way, then I remembered seeing a bridle way sign a couple of weeks ago so thought I would investigate and see where it went. It took my along side the M40 towards jct 10 it was a bit wet and bumpy and rutty, the juxtaposition of the lovely country side on my left and the noisy motorway, which I could not see, on my right was most odd. Further along I could see the Aynho waste incinerator that's being built after much controversy, it's an interesting looking building.

After couple of miles I was back on a road,I found another bridleway, this was more hard pack and concrete leading to what looked like a derelict farm, the BW didn't look like it was used very often, it was overgrown in places so badly that I missed a turn, after that I was back on familiar territory towards Tusmore Park and Hethe, I decide to cover some more BW tracks and take a long way home, so through Tusmore, then Juniper ( where Flora Thompson lived) then through a Solar Farm to Newton Purcell, then country lanes to Stratton Audley and back home. Two miles form home it peed down, I got soaked.

Once home I discovered a locked myself out, I had to call the estate agent to come and open the door for me. Not a very nice ride really, lots of head wind, lots of stopping to open gates, rutty tracks, and it was grey, windy, wet and muddy. I was glad to get back for a cuppa and cheese on toast.


23.3 Miles today.

View attachment 45965

A grey day

View attachment 45966

Incinerator in the distance.

View attachment 45967

Trow Ponds

View attachment 45968

Well, it looks nice.

View attachment 45969

M40 along side on the right.

View attachment 45970

Railway Crossing

View attachment 45972

Not sure what those birds are.

View attachment 45973

Only part of the route, I forgot I had this App on my phone

Canadian Geese (link)

 

[FeistySquirrel]

My ride started off like this... I had re-fitted my Garmin mount the wrong way round after fitting the camera mount...


So I knew it wasn't going to be good.

3 Miles in I started getting stomach cramps... So did a nice 30mph sprint down the sea front, and then went home and ate my tea.

Top speed; 30.9 mph
Moving avg; 18mph

Total distance; 5.8 miles

 

[theloafer]

today I showed @Ruthie some of the lanes to the west of darlo was very grey and windy but the rain stayed away till we got back .. very pleased we arranged this ride as other wise I would have not ridden today thanks again ruthie pleased you enjoyed the ride 33 miles http://connect.garmin.com/activity/505436138

 

[Saluki]

Having had a busy work day, I knew that I would only have a few mins to ride inbetween getting home and going to my guitar lesson. Then I had this idea I would ride to Leigh's for my lesson and Hubster would bring a change of clothes, guitar and some beer

Within the first mile I had been scalped by some skinny 20 year old on a fixie, so I kicked a bit and drafted him for a mile or so. Nice bum so worth the extra effort. Fixie chap turned off towards Wymondham Abbey and I carried on to Hethersett and followed the route to the hospital until I got to the outskirts of Eaton where I went through Eaton, up and along Bluebell Lane but had to stop as I had a bit of a sugar crash and went a bit wibbly. I drank a load of my squash and then pushed on. Turned right towards the city and doglegged to Earlham Road, then doglegged again to Dereham Road and then whipped around the Inner Link Road to Magdalen Street where I stopped and got in the lift with my bike.

On the 3rd floor I tapped on Leigh's door, hoping that Hubster was already there with my jeans, tee shirt, guitar, music etc. Sadly he wasn't and there I was, 2 stone overweight, glowing like a pig, and in lycra in front of the hottest bloke in Norfolk. Bum He was seriously enamoured with my bike though and the pupil that is always in the lesson before me was astonished as he'd not seen a modern road bike in the flesh, so to speak.

Oh, the beer (in case you are wondering). I get really nervous playing in front of Leigh so I took beer and we had a bottle each and spent 45 minutes in lesson and an hour and a quarter giggling and putting the world to rights. I was dressed in jeans and a tee by then.

11.76 miles in 49:10. Averaging 14 and a bit mph