Your ride today.... (part 1)

[Flying_Monkey]

Today I hurt. I haven't put the miles in this year, so today's rather fast run with the more competitive cyclists in my club was rather overextending myself. Okay so I led them over all the hills, but I just can't sustain pace like that without being at the edge of doing myself an injury...

It went like this: 12 reasonably paced miles getting to the start, then 25 faster than usual miles with the whole club followed by 15 hammer down race-pace and very lumpy miles with the fast boys, then cake and coffee, then 20 miles back into town with everyone, and finally 10 miles at a limp back home as my leg muscles started to object to the changes of pace I had been subjecting them too.

At the moment, getting up from the chair puts me in some danger of pulling something...

 

[Will1985]

A quick metric century in 3 hours south of Brum, then riding over to Meriden and back in. Wind was reasonable and the sun was great - I now have a pretty strong tan line where my RoadID goes!

 

[Sittingduck]

From Clapham Common I headed along the South Circ' through Tulse Hill and towards Crystal Palace - through Norwood and kept going South Went past the M25 then turned right - through Oxted, towards Redhill then turned right and back up through Chipstead & Banstead to my mates in Worcester Park for a BBQ. Very hard solo ride with LOTS of nasty hills I think I have done something to the Freehub though as it appears to be slipping a bit and the trademark rattlesnake noise (its Campag) is no more! Heard a funny noise when I was going up a steep hill in first gear and really putting in a lot of strength to keep on moving!

 

[yello]

175km sportive. It's an absolute delight to be able to belt through intersections and junctions, around roundabouts as the gendarmes blow their whistles and stop the traffic for you! And the support through towns & villages is great too so you just have to put on a show; big ring, out of saddle, dancing on the pedals round the bend and up the climbs.... then when you're out of sight, collapse and crawl!

I don't know how the fast lads do it though, they averaged 40kph and were in nearly 2.5 hrs before me.... and I was nailing myself!

 

[ianrauk]

so you just have to put on a show; big ring, out of saddle, dancing on the pedals round the bend and up the climbs.... then when you're out of sight, collapse and crawl!

 

[Sittingduck]

Took out the Spesh Hybrid this morning, as I think I might have knackered the freehub on my road bike. Went down the Thames path down to Barnes, through Sheen and up to Star & Garter Hill. Came through Richmond park doing a combo of track and road. Back home via Putney... lovely and Sunny and saw a couple of very cute chicks on bikes
A very pleasant 22-odd miles.

 

[longers]

Hot and long for me and about forty nine others doing the Plains 400 audax.

Cold overnight, especially just before dawn.

I don't feel as tired as I should, yet

 

[Noodley]

Hot and long for me and about forty nine others doing the Plains 400 audax.

Cold overnight, especially just before dawn.

I don't feel as tired as I should, yet

Well done longers.

How was it?

 

[longers]

Well done longers.

How was it?

Grrrreat

Did it on fixed, seventy inches this time and it was perfect gearing.

Lots of food and sunshine, a badger, several owls, plenty of bats, good company and I did the 408k of the audax bit in 20 hours. I spent a fair bit of the ride on my own and it was good and then got a tow/kick up the arse for the last 40k which got me going quicker than I would have. Getting home was a lot slower though.

Can I collapse yet?

 

[marinyork]

Eek 408km. When I did a 100km ride last weekend starting before dawn my fingers were frozen . 400!

 

[dellzeqq]

A bit of a mess. Woke intending to recce the Bognor route, but was waylaid by........
well, after a while I settled on a long, langurous appreciation of the joys of nature - in the form of a CTC ride and made my way to the meeting point (Streatham Hill to North Cheam in 27 minutes, zoooommm!).

And then we set off through dappled sunlight, to the accompaniment of church bells. Street after suburban street passed by, each like a linear arboretum. Dozens of cyclist, each with a cheery wave. Old men leaning on gates. That kind of thing. Until - descending in to Leatherhead the chap behind me had a ghastly fall. Crash, slide, groan. We stopped, turned round, and, to our relief, saw him stand up. He was, however, bloodied from shoulder to ankle, top and shorts ripped, and quite shaken. He'd hit a kind of depression in the road that you really couldn't see even if you were upon it - I'd been my usual ten feet out from the kerb, but he'd been about two feet from the kerb, and neither of us, nor any of the others in the group had noticed it was there.

So, Daphne fetched out her first aid kit, and dabbed his wounds, which was some consolation (not a few of us felt a twinge of jealousy), but it was clear he couldn't carry on. I volunteered for escort duty, and we made our way back to Cheam by back roads at a very tender pace.

So that was it. I rode home from Cheam feeling just a tad downhearted. I doubt that'll last, though. Tomorrow it's out with the Babe.

 

[fossyant]

408k's - good grief.........

Just 45 hilly miles for me - Cat and Fiddle/Long Hill circuit....2.23, just under 19 mph....glorious up in the hills...very lush (signal too much rain).

 

[arranandy]

Just over 60 miles for me this morning. Left the house about 7.30 and was back by 11. Rolling route with plenty of short, sharp climbs. Quite windy on the way out but great tailwind on the way home. Effortless 30+mph on some bits

 

[HLaB]

I went for a very slow (only 13.9mph) cycle to my parents for tea took a little bit of a detour on the way and ended up doing 71 miles. It was a tad windy but the warmth of the sun made up for that. I'll let my dinner settle then I'll go for the 16.5 mile ride to the flat.

 

[PatrickPending]

170km from leicester round the vale of belvoir and back. was hoping to do 200 but ran out of energy and water. My legs hurt