Your ride today.... (part 1)

[coffeejo]

I was dreading today's ride but it turned out to be the best one I've been on for ages - the banter and laughs with everyone else, the relief at discovering I'm not as unfit as I feared (3500+ ft of climbing and I lived to tell the tale), the Most Excellent home-cooked food served up by one of the cycle group members, not forgetting the home-made brownies supplied by another, and it didn't rain!! Oh, and I managed to hit 37mph on one descent.

The light was awful and the sky was dank and grey from start to finish (but it didn't rain!) so there aren't any photos of the scenery, but here's the soup that warmed us all, body and soul:

 

[400bhp]

Love soup

 

[ColinJ]

If there isn't any meat in that soup, I would definitely like some of it!

 

[HLaB]

Drank a bit much on Friday night, so Saturday was just a pootle into town to pick up my fixie (I'd left it rather than cycle on Friday) I did end up gong on a meander and ended up in the village of Glinton. I had decide to head to Ufford but the blue sky's were no more so I cut down to Ferry Meadows (cue a lot of track standing round peds but I wasn't in the mood for the A47). When I was half a mile from the flat my decision to cut the ride short was validated as a thunder, lightning and hail storm was overhead and in that short distance I was soaked. http://www.strava.com/activities/108841994
The soaking continued on Sunday and I was quite glad when the lads just wanted to do a short ride. When it finally stopped raining I went out for a longer ride, which was pretty rapid at first (although it was into a strong headwind), to try and cover as much flooded ground as possible in the light. It was then pretty cautious in the dark (I'd picked my route well though, there was no more flooding).
Dried out on Monday.
On Tuesday a friend has asked me to go on a night ride and I felt strong (maybe the more relaxed weekend helped)
Tonight was just a short test run to get milk, testing the brakes Id fitted to the fixie and the set changes I had made.

 

[Justiffa]

Thx for sharing the rides & pics peeps... just love 'crossing borders' here at CC

 

[ScotiaLass]

I needed to get out today and blow some cobwebs away, so despite being zero degrees, I wrapped up and went.
A very chilly, but enjoyable 12 miles. The usual route and hardly anyone about (not that it's ever busy!).

The seat post height adjustment and seat tilt seemed to have worked....no sore butt, but I did slap some Morgan Blue on
My thighs felt like they were working harder and ached a little bit, nothing very bad at all, so I'm guessing it's just me getting used to the slightly adjusted riding position.

I was going really well up the cemetery hill, about ¾ the way up, when the chain slipped off.
Put it back on in about 30 seconds, hopped back on and straight to the top. I wasn't even huffing as hard as usual.
Maybe this cycling thing IS working and I am getting fitter!!
Well the post master seemed to think so...I had something to post but was ready to go out before I remembered.
So, I ran across the road (literally...we live a stones throw from the Post Office) in my lycra and he remarked how slim my butt was looking

A good ride and I feel better for it.

 

[potsy]

Another jaunt today, trip to my mum's to do an errand and then came back the long way along the muddy TPT.
Cold out there now

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I haven't been out on the bike since saturday so with today having the best forecast for a few days I took the chance to get out for a look at the current floods. It was one of the regular routes - Condover, Atcham, Upton Magna, Uffington, Shrewsbury town centre and home.

My first obstacle was on Lyth Hill Road where they are finally doing the surface patching that was marked out almost a year ago. Unfortunately what they have done is to remove the marked sections of tarmac along the whole road first and presumably are coming back at some point soon to fill it back in. It's not currently a surface that is ideal for cycling on. (To be fair there are "ramp" warning signs up, so it isn't a complete surprise.)

En route to Condover the drizzle that I'd set out in turned to rain and I had to stop to put on the rain cape. I was glad I did because the rain got heavier, then turned to sleet then to wet snow. I think the weather has it in for me at the moment. Fortunately it only lasted for a couple of miles.

My road into Atcham was closed due to flooding so I had to take a small detour. I've seen it much higher, but the flooding still looked impressive here.

When I got into town I had to take more detours as the riverside route I would usually take was deep in water as you might expect. I went to a few places off the usual route to get photos before heading back as the light started to fade.

Just shy of 21 miles this time at 11mph average.

They've had such a dull day that even a chap taking off a rain cape seems fascinating.

Atcham old bridge.

On the flood plain at Atcham.

You'd think it was a lake, but this is usually fields.

No chance of using Sydney Avenue today.

The Buttermarket night club.

Where shall we park? Shallow end or deep end?

Porthill Bridge and The Boathouse Inn

 

[nickyboy]

Sorry for lack of photos; phone seems to have a bug, whenever I take a pic it switches itself off. So it will have to be "narrative" instead.

A tale of Cheshire flatlands and a mechanical mishap.
There was an ice warning for high ground today so this gave me the ideal excuse to have a whiz around Cheshire for a change. But Glossop being Glossop you have to get there....and that involves hills. Chunal to kick off, then the rollercoaster from Whaley Bridge to Macclesfield.

Out the back of Macclesfield it is pretty well pan flat. Now this is a real treat for me. The only way to do 30kmh in the Peak District is downhill with the brakes on so scooting around the lanes at that speed was great.

About an hour from home it felt like the gears were playing up. Stopped, flipped the bike and there it was. One of the chain links was kaput, just holding together on one side. Two options (repairing out of the question as I had no tool), taxi it home or try to ride it and hope for the best. Result was a very delicate ride home with all sorts of strange noises coming out of the gears. But I made it back.

52 miles loop, 3 degrees max temp. I hope this "winter miles summer smiles" isn't just some made up guff cos I got back frozen and knackered

 

[Peteaud]

I was dreading today's ride but it turned out to be the best one I've been on for ages - the banter and laughs with everyone else, the relief at discovering I'm not as unfit as I feared (3500+ ft of climbing and I lived to tell the tale), the Most Excellent home-cooked food served up by one of the cycle group members, not forgetting the home-made brownies supplied by another, and it didn't rain!! Oh, and I managed to hit 37mph on one descent.

The light was awful and the sky was dank and grey from start to finish (but it didn't rain!) so there aren't any photos of the scenery, but here's the soup that warmed us all, body and soul:

View attachment 37152

Is that proper butter i spy?

 

[400bhp]

Another jaunt today, trip to my mum's to do an errand and then came back the long way along the muddy TPT.
Cold out there now

View attachment 37167 View attachment 37168 View attachment 37169

No .........bell...........................

 

[potsy]

No .........bell...........................

It's there, just hidden by the camera angle along with the mirror

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Sorry for lack of photos; phone seems to have a bug, whenever I take a pic it switches itself off. So it will have to be "narrative" instead.

A tale of Cheshire flatlands and a mechanical mishap.
There was an ice warning for high ground today so this gave me the ideal excuse to have a whiz around Cheshire for a change. But Glossop being Glossop you have to get there....and that involves hills. Chunal to kick off, then the rollercoaster from Whaley Bridge to Macclesfield.

Out the back of Macclesfield it is pretty well pan flat. Now this is a real treat for me. The only way to do 30kmh in the Peak District is downhill with the brakes on so scooting around the lanes at that speed was great.

About an hour from home it felt like the gears were playing up. Stopped, flipped the bike and there it was. One of the chain links was kaput, just holding together on one side. Two options (repairing out of the question as I had no tool), taxi it home or try to ride it and hope for the best. Result was a very delicate ride home with all sorts of strange noises coming out of the gears. But I made it back.

52 miles loop, 3 degrees max temp. I hope this "winter miles summer smiles" isn't just some made up guff cos I got back frozen and knackered

Don't worry, winter miles do equal summer smiles - after getting used to this weather (didn't get up to 3C here today ) anything vaguely spring like feels much easier.

Edit: well done nursing the bike back home by the way.

 

[400bhp]

It's there, just hidden by the camera angle along with the mirror

 

[BSRU]

At short 42km ride before I had to go to work by car, but it did include a nice cat 4 "climb" 4km long with 120m gain which was nice
It became very foggy when I went above 200metres.