Your ride today....

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NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
Cold but bright this morning with a noticeable breeze, so Roubaix bib tights, overshoes and three layers on top. And for the first time in an age, my proper winter gloves.

With the direction of the wind I'd ruled out heading east to Aberford and beyond, as it would be in my face on the way back, so it was up Coal Road again.
For a change I turned left onto Red Hall Lane, the wiggle on the A58 to the pub and onto Whin Moor Lane for the scenic route to Shadwell. From there it's up, down and then up again to Slaid Hill lights.
It wasn't meant to rain today, but it was starting to drizzle as I approached the lights and with a grey skies and rainbow visible in the distance ahead of me, I decided to head no further west and turned onto Wike Ridge Lane which is closed again at the Tarn Lane junction so I turned along there to drop down through the top part of Scarcroft on Millionaires Row and down the A58 again to the lights with another right turn onto the first of todays Thorner Lanes.

After keeping it fairly flat last weekend, I'd decided to add a couple of hills in to see how I coped, and what better then "Hellwood", the twisty climb up Scarcroft Hill. Hard work today but with the granny gear engaged I ground it out to the top. From there it's a familiar breeze long the ridge on Milner Lane, eventually arriving in East Rigton and onto Compton Lane. Lovely and quiet on here again, seeing no-one but a couple of dog walkers and then left at Jewitt Lane and down the hill to Collingham.
Regular readers might remember these lanes were a mud fest last week - today with it being dry they were a little better in most places but I think it's what you'd call "marginal gains". Past the building site on the fringes of Collingham there is still a lot of mud on the road and if it had been wet it might have been a different story. Good to see the council are on top of it - not...:dry:

Anyhow, School Lane then across the A58 again with a sprint on the A659 before heading for the bridge to Linton and the lumpiness through the village, followed by a loop of Wetherby town centre before dropping down to The Wilderness for a breather and a couple of photos:
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As I put my gloves back on I remembered the joy of winter gloves - they were now cold and damp inside and a struggle to get back on :rolleyes:

Back in the saddle and the steep climb back up the hill, before taking Walton Road out across the A1(M) and on past the race course.
I ignored the first turning for Thorp Arch for a change and kept on the road to Walton, turning there instead past the prison and the training grounds, onto Long Causeway and then dropping into Thorp Arch.
Down the hill to the bridge, where a nice driver gave way to me, and climbed up the other side into Boston Spa where a couple of hundred yards along Main Street took me to the turning for Clifford.
Climbed through the village before plunging down into Bramham, where the only option was to climb back out on the other side and across the A1(M).
From there it's a simple job of the gentle climb up Thorner Road, then onto another Thorner Lane, through the dip and while I managed the climb up the other side I had to stop for a couple of minutes to get my breath back.
I realised that with a bit of extra mileage I was on for a metric half, so turned down Jewitt Lane when I reached it, then onto Bramham Lane - I had half expected this to be another mudfest, but apart from the first 100 yards or so it pretty OK but again, the road being dry probably helped. This is another lovely quiet lane and after steadily climbing for most of the way (no wonder I normally ride this in the other direction!), this eventually drops down into East Rigton again.

From there I retraced my outbound route along the ridge, this time dropping down into Thorner and along Main Street as far as the pub, where another right put me onto Carr Lane for the climb back out of the village and out to the A58. This was hard work as not only is it mainly climbing but it was into the wind today and I was starting to tire. Granny gear again for the last climb and before I knew it, it was time for a the final visit of the day to the A58 then Coal Road and the last climb of any note, before just spinning along the straight, flat section and dropping down onto local roads to home.

31.67 miles (50.96km) in a steady 2h 31m at an average of just 12.5mph with 1,666.66 feet climbed and an average temperature of 5.4°C. :cold:

I'll take that - I'm still suffering with the after effects of the dreaded lurgy and that started to show later in the ride with the bit of extra climbing I'd added. The main thing though is that I got out there and got another ride in - with bonus that it's another point for the Half Century Challenge.
I think I got the layering about right, although a bit of cold was definitely creeping into my toes and finger ends on the longer descents - fortunately my glacial pace on the flat and uphill allowed me to warm up again :laugh:

Lots of cyclists out today which is always good and despite being on busy roads at times, todays drivers were all playing nicely.

And to end, a map:
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pjd57

Veteran
Location
Glasgow
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Work first for a couple of hours near Glasgow city centre , then a leisurely ride along the Clyde and the canal to Bowling .
Then headed back home , but detoured through the local park just to get to 30 miles.
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Jenkins

Legendary Member
Location
Felixstowe
A bit cold & breezy here, but a lovely day for a ride so combined it with a bit of shopping and used my 13 Hybrid for the first time in a month or so.
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Out late morning to the local supermarket for food for the weekend, then home for a quick coffee & toast. The afternoon part of the ride was to Halfords (car glass cleaner) and B&Q (Stanley knife blades for work) followed by an extended loop home via Westerfield on the far side of Ipswich.

Why do 20 miles by car when you can do 40 miles by bike?

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cosmicbike

Perhaps This One.....
Moderator
Location
Egham
My ride today was into work. My ride yeaterday was up the High Street to buy a hairdryer. All of which were dry.

Yesterday afternoon waas spent in the pouring rain in Windsor for 3 hours, having a proud Dad moment as my Son, playing 2nd baritone horn, marched with the Egham Brass Band at the Lantern & Light Festival. Poor lad was soaked and freezing at the end, but glad he did it.
 

delb0y

Legendary Member
Location
Quedgeley, Glos
Short loop round the lanes to try out the new flat-bar Giant for the first time and to see if I'd set up the various heights and angles ok.

Alas, made two very elementary errors.

The new SPD pedals were - without me realising it - set to the very maximum tension. I thought it was difficult getting my shoes clipped in. But once in everything was fine until I came to unclip. No @#%$**g way, Jose. I mean, my feet were stuck. Not a major problem, I undid the straps on my left shoe so, in an emergency, I could simply extract foot from shoe. But the second issue was that the seat post start to slip down. I'd read that this is a problem with the Giant funky seatpost lock thingie, but thought I'd done it tight enough. By the time I got home (still locked into the pedals) I was looking like one of those 16 year old kids on a BMXer - with my knees up around my ears.

Anyway, seatpost and SPD tensions have now been adjusted, along with a slight tweak of the bars and the saddle. Will try the loop again in the week to see how the adjustments fare.

That aside, the bike felt good - if slow. Not sure why that should be. It's no heavier than the Tricross and the gears (that I use) are about the same. I guess it must be the huge 50mm tyres and the wind resistance factor. Brakes were great. Gears pretty good - although there's a slight delay when changing which was disconcerting. Turning at slow speed was easy with the wide straight bars and the big tyres were pretty comfy over the rough old road surfaces. I was running them at 55 psi. Reckon a bit lower might be even more luxurious - something I'll try once I've got the basic set-up to my liking.
 

Jon George

Mamil and couldn't care less
Location
Suffolk an' Good
Out in the sun again!

Over the last couple of weeks I've been playing around with some 30+ mile routes north of Ipswich and decided to do one in the reverse direction. This led to the occasional internal SatNav failure as I tried to envisage which way I'd been previously. :whistle:

One incident of note: coming down the hill into Witnesham, I had a This-Feels-Darned-Slippy moments just as I approached the hairpin (and could hear an on-coming car). Feathered the brake and relaxed ... I was either going to come off, or I wasn't, so why help tipping the outcome in favour of the former by stressing?

One near-miss later and out at Swilland and I was reflecting on how the weather has definitely turned and, yes, it had been prudent to slow things down a bit.

Another fantastic day out. This near Otley.

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And, as usual, I'm now off for a few Sunday pints! :cheers:
 

Bonefish Blues

Banging donk
Location
52 Festive Road
Afraid no cycling today, but saw many during 2 hours of dogging*, including a beautiful, stealthy classic Colnago in a lovely shade of orange. Modern bikes are great when walking along quiet lanes as often freewheels, frames, and in one case a disc wheel make such a racket I can drag the mutts out of the way in plenty of time!

*in a Kayleigh, Car Share sense
 

Donger

Convoi Exceptionnel
Location
Quedgeley, Glos.
Never got out on the new bike on my birthday yesterday. Filthy wet, cold and grey day. Part of me also didn't want to get the bike dirty! I'll save my test ride for another day. Want to make sure everything fits comfortably before I do anything too long or strenuous on it. Will exercise will power for a few more days.

Club ride again today on my usual bike. A 41.1 mile trip out through Elmore and Epney before turning for Stroud. When in Stroud, hung a left at Waitrose up past the hospital along the long climb up to Bisley. 16% in places, but no skipping of the front wheel or unicycling today. Looped back to Stroud via a road quaintly called "The Old Neighbourhood" at Chalford. My arms were nearly cramping up by the time we got to the bottom. Wet rims and constant hazards on the way down (wet leaves, tight bends with cars coming the other way etc) made for heavy braking all the way down.

Great coffee and cake stop at the Malthouse café at Salmon Springs before one last long climb past Pitchcombe to Edge up the back of Horsepools Hill. A nice ride in great company. (9 of us today). Lovely weather too, if a bit chilly at 2 degrees up on the top early on. Might be my last ride of the year in shorts!
Cheers, Donger.
 

13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
Out the door at 0915 and it's properly :cold: . Anstey ,Cropston ,Rothley ,Mountsorrel ,Barrow and up the 4 mile uphill of Paudy Lane which finally warmed me up. At the top I'm on the ridge of the Vale of Belvoir all the way along to Eastwell ,Branston where I discovered my plotted route tried to send me down a dirt track took one look and said no :stop:. Quick check of the GPS and onto Knipton and to Croxton Kerrial where I rejoined my route but travelling in the wrong direction which I took a while to figure out so I climbed a hill for nothing :banghead:about turn . Harston ,Denton ,back to Croxton Kerrial where I had a visit from the puncture fairy :evil:. Quick pit stop easily found the thorn so new tube and I'm back up and running as this ride I had remembered my pump. Cursing the farmer who was hedge trimming a mile half a mile before the puncture :thumbsdown: . Saltby ,Sproxton ,Coston ,Garthorpe ,Saxby ,Wymondham . Then a few hills to Little Dalby ,Great Dalby ,Gaddesby . Rearsby ,Thrussington ,Cossington ,Cropston and home . 77.3 miles a few holes in my Veloviewer max cluster filled in .A chilly :cold: despite the winter sun :sun: which made visability hard work at times .Lovely cup of soup :cuppa: when I got in to warm up
 

Dave 123

Legendary Member
Bbbbrrrrrrrr! It was a cold one today. I went to Thetford Forest with my mate Will from work. He's half my age, I knew I'd be fitter than him but I wasn't expecting what happened.

Inadvertently I missed a turn and we wound up going straight into the pump track. It's technical and fast, but throw in a low sun on a cloudless morning and it was a bit more than tricky!
Here he is coming out at the end...
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We then joined the Lime Burner trail, the poor lad had 3 offs in five minutes. No broken bones, just some hurt pride.
We found a couple of bits for me to play on, but Will was happy to stand and watch, he took a photo too
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Look at my rosy cheeks!
A little later we came to "The Beast". Will saw the sign. 'What's it like?' He enquired..... 'it'll be fine' said me.
Off I went, but I waited after 10 seconds or so...... and waited.
I got off and pushed my bike back up the bumps, eventually he appeared, pushing his bike. "Alright?" I asked
"I'm finding it hard to see tree roots and stumps at speed, I can only see about 10' in front of me'..... oh sh1t, this would be fun.
The obstacles and humps and bumps would only get bigger, but there was no way out. I had to make nothing of it and get him going quickly before another rider blasted through and into us. He was very shaky, but we got there. Good for Will!

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We decamped to the blue trail after having a drink, but his poor legs had had it.
Luckily we found a big steep, deep gully for me to play up and down in for 10 minutes, this gave him a rest.
Then we found another pump track I'd not seen before so I joined the kids for a few laps of fun, then we made our way back to Brandon via High Lodge.
I was taking it easy, but when we hit a soft sandy bit Will was off and walking. I had to cajole him back on his bike. He got us back to the car without any more shenanigans. I know I've had a fun day, Will did too, though he admitted he needs to do more physical stuff. Kids of today eh?
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Only 18.6 miles.
At the end I lifted Wills bike, it weighed a tonne. No wonder he was cream crackered!

https://www.strava.com/activities/1282049181
 
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