Your ride today....

[sevenfourate]

No cycling for 5 weeks. Then Aprils 50km “CC 50km Challenge” ride yesterday. Followed by deciding to commute in today. ** ‘Ride the wave while you’re enjoying it’ ? 🤷‍♂️

Anyway; Nothing but 13 miles of warm(ish) quiet, back-lane loveliness this Morning. Triffic ! 😁

 

[All uphill]

The prospect of a warm day lured me back to the bike/train combo today.

I enjoyed the mile to the station, mixing with slow moving traffic, and looking out for my safety. Three people stepped off the pavement in front of me in separate incidents reminding me that my bike and I are invisible.

Had a nice chat on the train with another bike rider, then got out at Bristol 30 minutes later and £12.05 poorer.

Topped up at Greggs and then had a blast cycling through Bristol, enjoying a new to me path along Spike Island.
I thoroughly enjoyed the miles of shared paths heading south west. I soon entered the dullness of the suburbs along with their impatient drivers.

Eventually I emerged into countryside and took a break to take off a few layers and refill my water bottle.

The miles rolled past and I took a quick picture of the leaning tower of Puxton.

Soon after this I rode back into the urban sprawl of Weston super Mare where I caught the train home.

 

[DCBassman]

Long time, no see!
A short ride on the e-Boomerang Bike to sort out any niggles. Only went as far as the Grenofen tunnel mouth, because, for the life of me, I couldn't find my lights...
The system (Boost) worked well. I had no real idea what to expect, but basically, I did the whole thing on the middle chain ring and just moving up and down the sprockets as needed. Given that this was only the first or second ride in a year, the fact that I'm alive to write this speaks wonders for the help it gave me! It takes a couple of pedal revs to kick in, and continues similarly for a second or two after pedalling stops. On short slopes, a quick burst of pedalling gave enough to get up, and the extra speed makes for more coasting anyhow, so I can see me getting good miles out of one battery.
Once I have lights, I will head out for Clearbrook, and maybe Plymouth, to test it up the ramp at Leg O'Mutton. That will give me some idea what to expect at Ditchling in June. The only other slight downside is that this frame is heavy. I'm after a gravel disc frameset so I can simply transfer everything over and save a bit of weight, as well as get rid of a few kilos from my good self!

 

[ColinJ]

I did a little ride this morning with my non-cyclist** niece in lovely sunny Devon. We did 18 km round a selection of the local lumpy lanes, but carefully avoiding the bigger hills which I normally seek out. We had aimed to just do about 12 km but she was enjoying herself so we added an extra loop to see some free-range pigs...

That was only about 1/5 of the number in the whole of the field.

We also spotted a deer leaping about in a nearby field. That is the first one that I have seen down here.

I had been chatting with my niece about give and take between drivers and cyclists on these narrow lanes. Someone stops in a passing place; the person able to continue should thank the person who stopped. 1 minute later, an oncoming car stopped for us. I smiled and raised my hand in acknowledgement. As I was about to pass the car, I called out "Thank you". The driver looked up from his phone when I was alongside and barked out a very grumpy and sarcastic "YEAH, THANK YOU!!!!"... Listen mate, if being thanked is such an important courtesy to you, then bloody well have the courtesy to check if you are being thanked!! That is the second time that a driver has done that to me here. Most people are very friendly but this type pees me off!

Anyway, coffee and biscuits now back at cottage HQ, then some garden pond maintenance. I might nip out again later for another short ride.

** Before some pedant points out that a niece on a bike is not a non-cyclist - despite enjoying our bike rides once or twice a year, she doesn't touch her bike the rest of the time!

 

[travellingwest]

My middle of the night/very early morning ride (to see if I could tire myself out enough to sleep - 5 hrs staring into darkness is more than enough), I thought, on my way home, I would admire the handiwork of a driver yesterday who felt the urge to drive into somebody's house on leaving the co-op.
Straight through the wall and into the living room! I have no further details so unsure what actually happened preceding embedding themselves in someone else's home.

 

[FrankCrank]

Before today's ride, a visit to the local community centre for some fortification

Then off for a pootle along the Kennet

Here you can see a pillbox on either side of the lock. Boating season has definitely kicked off, many now to be seen along the Thames and Kennet. Saw some lads swimming in one of the fishing lakes - that must be a tad chilly.

 

[geocycle]

Awesome day called for another ride to the hills. I headed out to Ingleton and up the steep 20% climb to Twistleton Scar road. The road as always is in excellent condition, completely disproportionate to its utility, nevertheless I enjoyed it as much as the sheep see to. The views across to Ingleborough were stunning in the sunshine which had resulted in shorts and tee shirt. The highlight were the wheatears that had returned to nest. I continued past Ribblehead and up to Newby head before dropping down into Dentdale. After two years the landslide had finally been repaired with an excellent surface. As is often the case it was much cooler in Dent and I was pleased of lunch in my favourite cafe. The return began with the very steep climb into Barbondale and then I rolled down the stunning deserted valley. A final stop for ice cream was made in Kirby Lonsdale. 100 km with 1138 m of climbing.

Pictures of bike being an influencer by limestone, Ribblehead, Denthead and Barbondale.