Your ride today....

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pjd57

Guru
Location
Glasgow
A very enjoyable run with Free Wheel North , from the WhiteHouse in Maryhill . Down along the Kelvin, then over the Clyde and out to Pollok park.
Leisurely paced 19 miles.
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Out yesterday
Bike selected; CGR (due to the weather, & some grotty roads)
Weather; overcast. cool, intermittent west wind
Photographs from today (unless captioned otherwise)


Not far. nor fast

Along the bypass, towards Havertop (where the new main Wakefield Police Station is now, with Central Custody, etc.....)
Dropping under the M62, at Cutsyke, up past the ASDA (@ Glasshoughton), past 'Xscape'
Under the M62 (jct 32)
Up Park Road, with the RaceCourse on my right, towards Pontefract, all the way to the new roundabouts, at Town End
Over towards Carleton, passing the old Stables, & onwards to Darrington
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/531062
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/264896

A right turn, at the traffic-lights just before Darrington, onto Westfield Lane
Past this, but not seen............ https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2642266


At the end it was definitely a right, as a left-turn would have taken me onto the A1


A rough (surfaced), but fast descent of North Cutting into Wentbridge (along the old route of the 'Great North Road'
Friday 14th February 2015
Wentbridge. 5.JPG

On the 'went bridge'
Wentbridge. 4.JPG
At the bottom, just before the River Went, it was a right turn onto Moor Lane, back towards Darrington

A steady, & deceptive 'drag'

Nearing Darrington, it was a very sharp left, back towards East Hardwick

Once through the village, Barnsdale (Doncaster) Road was crossed, & Station Road, taken, towards Ackworth (crossing the Pontefract - Rotherham railway)
Pontefract Road, was rejoined, opposite the Quaker School

Wednesday 19th September 2012
Ackworth. Ackworth School. 1.JPG Ackworth. Ackworth School. 2.JPG


Up to the roundabout, at Moor Top (where straight ahead would be Barnsley, left; Doncaster)
I turned right, back towards Wakefield
On reaching The Angel pub, there were runners from my Club, appearing off Dando Way (the filled in remains of the Brackenhill Light Railway, now a footpath)
I'd quite forgotten that it was our; http://www.ackworthroadrunnersandac.co.uk/winter-handicap/4572012406

I rode slowly along, seeing who I knew, with a glance to the left at this plaque, by the end of Dicky Sykes Lane

Thursday 28th August 2014
Ackworth. MileStone. 1.JPG


They were finishing at Nostell Priory, home of one of the local ParkRuns (looked after by 'us')
I had a chat with one of the Committee members on the gate, who was marshalling

Into the grounds, with the added inkling that it was possible that one of the morning rides, held by Wakefield Triathlon Club might also be present at the Café, in the old Stables (quite a grand building itself!)
WTC was present, so I had a bit of a natter with Sarah, one of the members

I also saw my lovely friend Alison who was time-keeping at the Handicap, & got a selfie, between finishers

Home then, via Doncaster Road, past the site of John Harrisons childhood home

Sunday 23rd March 2014
Foulby. Old Post Office. 2.JPG
 

colly

Re member eR
Location
Leeds
I've been kicking myself, having missed a couple of good opportunities to get out for a ride at the weekend and then the weather forecast looked too bad to get out today, however it unexpectedly cleared up about midday so I quickly had some lunch then got the bike out.

It's milder out than expected but quite breezy. I decided to head for Oaks as that makes for a good ride when there is a strong westerly due to having the wind and gradient helping on the way back.

After the rain this morning the roads were wet and/or muddy so the freshly cleaned bike didn't stay like that for long, especially as I used the dirt track over Lyth Hill on my way to Exfords Green.

Long Lane was a low speed slog as it's deceptively uphill and was directly into the wind today and the climb to Oaks was much the same, to the extent that I was down a couple of gears lower than usual and wondering whether something had gone wrong with my fitness. Looking it up later on it seems the wind was gusting to around 30mph which may have had something to do with it.

I took the back way to Pulverbatch then headed for Wilderley with the wind behind me and making the hills now seem effortless. I decided to extend the ride and headed past Smethcott and Walkmills to Leebotwood before turning northwards for Longnor, Ryton and Condover. I had more of a crosswind for this bit which didn't help as much (and was colder than earlier on in the trip) but I still got along at a reasonable pace, however it seemed to shift to a northwesterly after Condover which slowed me down quite a bit for the last couple of miles or so.

During my short stretch along the A49 I had two courteous overtakes from HGVs and a third waited patiently as I took my turning. Thanks guys.:okay:

23.2 miles today at 12.5 mph average. Fairly pleased with that on this route.

View attachment 391601
At the top of Lyth Hill and looking towards Oaks.

View attachment 391602
The view back down the road I've just climbed at Oaks.

View attachment 391603
At Broom Hill en route to Pulverbatch. There are some showers rolling across Shrewsbury.

View attachment 391604
A little further on, near to Smethcott; more showers partly obscuring the Wrekin. I was lucky and stayed mostly dry.

Beautiful part of the world.:smile::okay:
 

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
Location
Glasgow
@Rickshaw Phil ... you got sun!!!
@pjd57 what a difference a day makes, eh?
My ride today, well, it was my commute, was a bit adventurous:
it snowed a bit overnight, the paths were a bit slushy but nothing major as it did not freeze, no problems on my ice bike with studded tyres.
Got to work with my drivetrain all clogged up, just before a major snow shower!
IMG_20180116_093214996.jpg
At the end of my shift it didn't seem so bad, and it stayed ok to ride till I started the very minor climb into Rutherglen, where I live.
A few feet of ascend, another snow shower, untreated cycling route, suddenly it's like a mountain bike slalom!
On the road traffic started to come to a standstill, some buses gave up leaving their passengers to walk but I was still riding the path parallel to the main road.
My wheels were starting to slide a bit, had to walk a steepish downhill because I was losing grip on the by now deep snow.
I would have hurled myself down it, but the pedestrians that the bus had let out were in the way :laugh:
I stopped to let some air out my tyres ... much better, I had them pumped up for the possibility of icy conditions, not for the actual snow!
Yes, I could make my life easier by taking the road, but I don't trust the drivers to control their cars in snow, and anyway the little gritting that was done earlier in the day is now gone.
I had fun: a tumble in the soft snow at my slow speed would not have hurt anyway :laugh:
Gotta do it all again tomorrow, it's still snowing here: even if I wanted to take public transport, there won't be any running :okay:
Here is a picture, I stopped especially to take it for you ^_^
By the way, I was not the only cyclist about, saw at least another dozen.
There was a lady cycling the same way as me, which is great, as up until a few years ago after town I hardly saw cyclists, not even in summer, never mind in a snow storm!
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DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
Not mine but my 13yo's - his training session was cancelled due to snow and ice on the roads with traffic jams everywhere so he did a 10 mile TT practice which we video'd:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6whjZ_0s3A
and https://www.strava.com/activities/1360587993

10 miles in 16:48 average 35.8mph, with him then xx( afterwards. Mum :evil: , me :unsure:

Oh, and sorry about the mess in the video. It was a very hastily arranged session and I'm back on crutches after a fall on ice so couldn't clean up.
 
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13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
Not mine but my 13yo's - his training session was cancelled due to snow and ice on the roads with traffic jams everywhere so he did a 10 mile TT practice which we video'd:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6whjZ_0s3A
and https://www.strava.com/activities/1360587993

10 miles in 16:48, with him then xx( afterwards. Mum :evil: , me :unsure:

Oh, and sorry about the mess in the video. It was a very hastily arranged session.

:notworthy: to your son :notworthy: . How does he balance on rollers a take the drinks bottle out I'd me:B) if I tried that . The give everything for the last mile comment made me smile and the restrained ssh reply mine would have been more industrial
 

DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
:notworthy: to your son :notworthy: . How does he balance on rollers a take the drinks bottle out I'd me:B) if I tried that . The give everything for the last mile comment made me smile and the restrained ssh reply mine would have been more industrial

He does like being 'encouraged', honest :tongue:

It takes practice and they're trained. Weekly roller sessions over the winter with a chair to hold on to for beginners. Even 6 year-olds can learn but there aren't many that don't have something to hold on to when starting/stopping.

They then progress to riding no-handed, one foot only, either side, out of the saddle, bunny hops and track standing all on rollers. The difficult tricks are changing a jersey and passing an inner tube through from front to back. He's still to master juggling whilst on rollers.

Oh, and he cracked a rib in a fall when first learning.
 
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Donger

Convoi Exceptionnel
Location
Quedgeley, Glos.
Grabbed another bonus (27 mile) ride this morning. Nice mild weather (or so it seemed), so I nipped out for a gentle spin. Turned out the weathermen were completely wrong about the west wind today ..... as I headed out southwards straight into a stiff southerly wind being funnelled up the Severn Vale. Once I got to Eastington, I was surprised to come across patches of frost and slush in the road, which recurred randomly for the next 4 or 5 miles, causing me to take it easy while I watched the road surface ahead of me carefully. Not too much frost .... mostly just mud everywhere. Judging by the state of the fields, it looks like it will be muddy for some time yet:
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Picked my way through the Stanleys:
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... until I got to Stonehouse, where I avoided the traffic lights by heading back to Eastington for the second time. The streams were all really full and raging:
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Made my way back home via Frampton on Severn, Saul and Epney, getting to Elmore in glorious warm sunshine that made me feel overdressed. There had been just about every kind of weather in one ride. As late as 11:00am there was still heavy frost on the cycle path near Eastington:
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The lanes around Elmore always look great in the sunshine:
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... and Elmore Court looked glorious in the sunshine today:
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Spotted the first daffodils of the year in Elmore, too! (Just about starting to open on the 17th Jan).
Maybe Spring is on its way early? Cheers, Donger.
 
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cosmicbike

Perhaps This One.....
Moderator
Location
Egham
Well I had a head on collision tonight on the way to work. With another cyclist. Heading towards each other on the cyclepath we both opted to avoid each other in the same direction, with the inevitable result. No harm done beyond one of my lights needing some superglue attention, and we parted ways amicably. First time that's happened to me.
Otherwise a very fast ride in, I suspect with 40mph gusts forecast in the morning it may be a slower ride home
 

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
Cold and blowy out there. At least we didn't get the snow dump that the north did. We did get sunshine tho'. So out for a quick dip in the weather I went. Standard run out around the lanes to see if the White Rabbit is OK. He was and is still enjoying the view. I struggled in the cold wind and was glad of the hedges for shelter. A Bullfinch darted across the road, a Buzzard skimmed the field and later two buzzards flapped and glided high above looking for a thermal (me too!). Finally a sparrowhawk took to escape as I rode close to his perch. I'd had enough as I rolled home. Gotta time these dips as getting too exposed is counter productive. Anyway - nice to get out into some bright weather for a bit of leg turning and fresh air. 35 smiles
 

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
Well I had a head on collision tonight on the way to work. With another cyclist. Heading towards each other on the cyclepath we both opted to avoid each other in the same direction, with the inevitable result. No harm done beyond one of my lights needing some superglue attention, and we parted ways amicably. First time that's happened to me.
Otherwise a very fast ride in, I suspect with 40mph gusts forecast in the morning it may be a slower ride home
Strange that the "ride on the left" rule seems to go out of the window on cycle paths :rolleyes:
 

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
Well I had a head on collision tonight on the way to work. With another cyclist. Heading towards each other on the cyclepath we both opted to avoid each other in the same direction, with the inevitable result. No harm done beyond one of my lights needing some superglue attention, and we parted ways amicably. First time that's happened to me.
Otherwise a very fast ride in, I suspect with 40mph gusts forecast in the morning it may be a slower ride home


I am glad neither of you were hurt.
 

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
Location
Glasgow
Oh my @cosmicbike hope you and the bike are fine! I usually see them coming and just stop in time, with a big growl "we keep to the left in the UK!!!" ^_^
I'm supposed to be the foreigner ... :laugh:
@DCLane your boy is ace! Did you slip on foot or was it on the bike?

I had another challenging commute into work today.
It had snowed heavily overnight over the untreated roads in my area.
Had to walk the bike out of my housing estate as a matter of fact, the cycling paths were impassable on the bike, I tried but was sliding allover the place so I started walking.
The main road was awash with slush too, even the cars were going slower than usual, but I was not trusting drivers not to slide into me, so I walked the bike a couple of miles till I could find a road fit to cycle on.
Really, after getting a zillion snow alerts on my phone from the Met Office app I should have fitted the studded tyres with knobs, but I didn't ... :whistle:
The sleek studded just don't cut it on frozen slush.
Strangely, I don't mind taking my chances of falling off on my way home, but I get paranoid on my way into work :wacko:
Got there eventually, early too.
On one of the bits that I didn't trust myself to cycle, a guy in workman's attire, on a mountain bike, did it no problem: I was well jealous!
Many kudos to the guy on thin tyres that crossed the cul the sac that leads into my work then up a covered cycle way: the road had not been gritted at all, still he managed to stay upright.
I tried to find him on Strava flyby to give him kudos, what a skillful rider, but he's not on there.
It had stopped snowing while I was at work (more snow storms to come tonight apparently) so, since my 8 hour shift was extended to a 12 hour shift, meaning a quiet time on the roads for my return home, I decided to ride it all on the road instead of using my usual park/paths route.
Pedaling Boris the ice bike on 40 psi uphill, I'll sleep well tonight :laugh:
Glad I'm off for the next couple of days, because, like @User9609 said
[QUOTE 5119538, member: 9609"]Really have to concentrate to keep in the tram lines, when you get into the snow it is very energy sapping.[/QUOTE]
It's fun, but not when you are headed to do a long day's work!
hydro in the snow.jpg
 
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