Your ride today.... (part 1)

[Peteaud]

Decided to do a route today ive never done before so a bit of planning and away i went.

From Chard i headed to Taunton and along the canal to Westonzoyland before heading back through curry Rivel and Ilton to give a nice 48 miles.

Scooby doo Church

Canal

The Mump

The hill into Curry Rivel

Got back about 1/2 hour before the rain came.

 

[Saluki]

Short bimble today. Just around our usual Wattlefield Loop, the one we do when we are pushed for time as its only about 8 1/2 miles around. For a change we went anti clockwise and then added a bit extra on the end to make it up to 10 miles. So 10.24 miles in 47 mins & change.
Nice little pootle about after 40 miles yesterday. Our legs were aching today, not because of the riding but because we did all the hoovering and dusting this morning.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Two rides today. The first was quite a gentle affair - a trip into town with my brother so he could get measured up and choose a new saddle from Dave Mellors. Purchase made (he went for a Specialized Riva), we rode back through The Quarry where the marquees are going up for Shrewsbury Flower Show next month.

First impressions of the new saddle are good. We'll see how good over the next few rides.

This trip was 8.3 miles done at 10.4mph.

A very pleasant scene viewed from Porthill Bridge

Looking up towards St. Chads and the first few marquees are up for the show.


For my second ride I headed south via Condover and Longnor towards Cardington. I didn't go into Cardington but turned off towards Yell Bank where there were some fabulous views, then headed back via Ruckley and Acton Burnell before retracing my steps through Longnor and Condover. I was quite chuffed that I was able to climb the whole way to the crossroads at Folly Bank fairly easily, two gears higher than I usually do. Must be building some muscle in the spindly legs.

I've been tweeking the saddle again. Still haven't found the perfect position but have got it a lot better . Oddly, in order to relieve pressure where there shouldn't be any I've had to tilt the saddle nose up a bit, which defies logic but is more comfortable.

25 miles for this one at an average of 14.4mph. Not too bad for a hilly trip.

Approaching the climb to Folly Bank with Caer Caradoc in the background. The new saddle angle is nowhere near as extreme as it appears in the photo.

Up at Yell Bank now and looking towards the Clee Hills.

And looking over the Shropshire Plain from the next viewpoint.

Held up on the way back by a bit of rural traffic.

 

[arranandy]

101.5 miles today including Sanquhar, the Mennock pass and Wanlockhead (the highest village in Scotland) then home via Crawfordjohn, Lesmahagow and Stonehouse. Great conditions - warm, sunny and light winds. Still felt pretty fresh at the end. 6 hours and 6 minutes in the saddle

I shall enjoy my beer and pizza later on

 

[coffeejo]

48 miles. Two coffee stops. One puncture. A *lot* of rain.

 

[ColinJ]

The rain that was forecast for this afternoon seems to be holding off until this evening so I went for a walk in the sunshine with a friend who was on her way to work. I'd just got back from that when she phoned to tell me that she had forgotten to take some cottage cheese that she had bought at the request of her employer. Would I be a dear, and take it to her? She was only about 3 km away, but 1.9 km of that were up the Heptonstall Road at an average gradient of about 10%!

After the success of yesterday's Cragg Vale ride, I decided that I would try a bottom gear grovel up the hill on my bike, the first one in 12 months. It went better than I expected. I felt horribly unfit, but I didn't feel ill. My heart rate and breathing were those of an unfit rider rather than a poorly one. I didn't fancy riding up over the cobbles though, so I turned left just before them and rode round to the cafe on smooth tarmac.

I handed over the cottage cheese and enjoyed a really nice piece of flapjack with my coffee. It seemed a shame to go straight home after the cafe stop so I decided to ride to Blake Dean and back on lovely Widdop Road.

Now then ... If any of you are thinking of coming up here for the 2 Yorkshire Tour de France stages next July, you will find that most hotels, B&Bs and self-catering lets in the area have already been booked but it may still be possible to find places to camp instead. There is a campsite in a fine location on Widdop Road, on a hillside overlooking Hardcastle Crags, about 4 miles from Hebden Bridge. If you like the sound of that, take a look at the photographs below and give the owners a ring!

Nice spot, eh? You can get down to Hebden Bridge by bike in 15 minutes if you crack on. Getting back up would take 30 - 60+ minutes, depending on how fit you are and how hard you tried!

Here are the compulsory shots of me and my bike overlooking Blake Dean ...

I'm feeling a bit more upbeat today. My well-documented health problems have given me a bit of a psychological battering over the past 12 months so it is nice to be back walking and cycling round here in the sunshine and not suffering too much.

 

[coffeejo]

I'm feeling a bit more upbeat today. My well-documented health problems have given me a bit of a psychological battering over the past 12 months so it is nice to be back walking and cycling round here in the sunshine and not suffering too much.

That's good. Here comes the nagging bit about taking it easy and not doing too much....!

 

[ColinJ]

48 miles. Two coffee stops. One puncture. A *lot* of rain.

Well, that's better than one coffee stop and two punctures!

I think we will get the rain later, but I'm back home now and already in my PJ bottoms - they are the most comfortable thing that I have to wear around the house in warm conditions and I am not going out again today!

 

[GrasB]

great fun.. 622x23c tyres, hard-pack trails & waterfalls were involved

 

[ColinJ]

That's good. Here comes the nagging bit about taking it easy and not doing too much....!

I forgot until I was halfway up the hill! That's a good sign though, because even 2 weeks ago my breathing was still laboured.

I decided to press on but at the slowest speed that I could manage without wobbling all over the place, and I was using a very low gear (26/28).

 

[coffeejo]

I forgot until I was halfway up the hill!

 

[Peteaud]

Give him a good boiiocking and tell him to do as he is told/

 

[ColinJ]

Give him a good boiiocking and tell him to do as he is told/

I've been really patient up to now, but this is the first decent summer in the UK since 2006 and I am not going to waste it!

I am being moderately sensible. There has been no sign of me organising forum rides in the past 12 months, has there? It took me over 6 months to even organise a walk!

If I make phenomenal progress and we get a long spell of decent weather, I might be up for something in September or October, but I am really thinking in terms of trying to be fit by next Spring.

 

[Peteaud]

Just enjoy but dont go mad

Or @coffeejo will be turned loose on ya hide

 

[Licramite]

60miles 9hours, - sounds rubbish but you have to factor in A) no flat bits, infact many uncyclable bits, B) crap map reading. 0h don't forget C)knackered old fart.
been dying to do this route since last year, so pick the only day in our long hot spell were it pissed it down.
still felt great. - I even passed some scouts, admittadly it looked like an entire camping department on their bikes. -