Your ride today....

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ozboz

Guru
Location
Richmond ,Surrey
This afternoon I took the road on a route I recc'd last week for my GF , from stables to Bushy Park , ( a Royal Park at Hampton ) only 2-1/2 miles , to nearest entrance that I deemed would be the best for the horse , Arnie , to get through into the Park , anyway we set of , my leading the way on my mighty Surly Steed ! G F on Arnie , a 14.2 ish hands Grey Arab , , clipity clop ! I began at a pootle pace It appeared to be a good pace for them , but he does not handle certain aspects of the roads to well , traffic lights and a lot of lane markings , speed bumps etc , so I let them go in front and I was amazed at the amount of talking she did to him , some commands , mostly encouragement , also I could watch the very subtle movements of her feet , pressing and tapping into his sides to steer , speed up , slow and stop , she did have a crop but never used it , I thought the traffic may spook him , but no , there was light to medium movement , cars , commercials and buses , and I must say , as s cyclist , I wish I could get the same amount of courtesy from drivers , 95% of them were really well behaved as they followed , passed and approached them . Anyway , got to the park ,Hampton Hill entrance, once more he surprised me , he handled the turnstile style gate remarkably well , they set off on the rough grass areas , cantering etc , I dropped on the granny ring and followed , in one area the was a herd of Deer , quite a lot of Stags , a lot of young Bucks were strutting their stuff and leaping around and so we got to within about 200 yards or so to them he never flinched , but , I could see him totally focused on them ,so wie rode around for about an hour , and then headed of back , same way , same again , very unproblematic , but there was a lot of things to do to sort him out back at the stables to bed him down for the night , so I was really impressed , there is no doubt a lot of experience , skill and courage to riding horses ,
More than I have it given credit for,
As for me , nearly had an off , the chain got stuck in between the chainrings as I was going back on the middle that was a first ! , al in all did about 25 miles from start at home to finish , cold head wind riding out , but nice coming back ,
 
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Dave 123

Legendary Member
Photo Winner
This afternoon I took the road on a route I recc'd last week for my GF , from stables to Bushy Park , ( a Royal Park at Hampton ) only 2-1/2 miles , to nearest entrance that I deemed would be the best for the horse , Arnie , to get through into the Park , anyway we set of , my leading the way on my mighty Surly Steed ! G F on Arnie , a 14.2 ish hands Grey Arab , , clipity clop ! I began at a pootle pace It appeared to be a good pace for them , but he does not handle certain aspects of the roads to well , traffic lights and a lot of lane markings , speed bumps etc , so I let them go in front and I was amazed at the amount of talking she did to him , some commands , mostly encouragement , also I could watch the very subtle movements of her feet , pressing and tapping into his sides to steer , speed up , slow and stop , she did have a crop but never used it , I thought the traffic may spook him , but no , there was light to medium movement , cars , commercials and buses , and I must say , as s cyclist , I wish I could get the same amount of courtesy from drivers , 95% of them were really well behaved as they followed , passed and approached them . Anyway , got to the park ,Hampton Hill entrance, once more he surprised me , he handled the turnstile style gate remarkably well , they set off on the rough grass areas , cantering etc , I dropped on the granny ring and followed , in one area the was a herd of Deer , quite a lot of Stags , a lot of young Bucks were strutting their stuff and leaping around and so we got to within about 200 yards or so to them he never flinched , but , I could see him totally focused on them ,so wie rode around for about an hour , and then headed of back , same way , same again , very unproblematic , but there was a lot of things to do to sort him out back at the stables to bed him down for the night , so I was really impressed , there is no doubt a lot of experience , skill and courage to riding horses ,
More than I have it given credit for,
As for me , nearly had an off , the chain got stuck in between the chainrings as I was going back on the middle that was a first ! , al in all did about 25 miles from start at home to finish , cold head wind riding out , but nice coming back ,

Mrs Dave has to coax and encourage me on the tandem from time to time too!
 

kapelmuur

Veteran
Location
Timperley
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.

Chapeau x 2! First for the skill on the rollers, I never mastered them, although I didn't get any until I was 65. I guess it helps to start young!

Secondly for being allowed to set up in the house, I have the veto from SWMBO and my turbo is relegated to the garage.

Out of interest, how does his 10 mile TT time on the rollers compare with his times on the road?
 

DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
Secondly for being allowed to set up in the house, I have the veto from SWMBO and my turbo is relegated to the garage.

Out of interest, how does his 10 mile TT time on the rollers compare with his times on the road?

Don't worry. I'm banished to the conservatory whereas he's allowed inside.

In terms of comparable times our best guess is that it'd be equivalent to a 21-22 minute ride on a flat road TT, or at least that's what we've picked up when he's done a similar ride.
 

pjd57

Guru
Location
Glasgow
Decided on my old hybrid for a run into Glasgow city centre to pick up more internet shopping for Mrs D.
Had to walk out to the bus routes before getting on.
Stuck to main roads into town, along to Partick then back up via Byres rd.
Stopped for a trig point picture as well.
Enjoyable 12:5 miles.
 

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Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
Just a quick one today. I was going to go off and do my usual Acton Burnell loop but I'd barely got away from the house when I noticed the heavy shower rolling in from the west. There was still blue sky to the north of it though so I changed plan and headed into Shrewsbury, through the Quarry and out towards Uffington and Upton Magna before coming back via Atcham, Condover and over Lyth Hill.

This worked out well as I just got caught by the very edge of the shower (didn't need waterproofs) and the wind was either behind or from the side for much of the ride.

No incidents to report, just a pleasant ride with the layers judged just about right to be comfortable. When I got back I just had time to put the bike away before the next heavy shower rolled through giving a good soaking. Glad I missed that.:okay:

20.5 miles at 12.7 mph average.

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The River Severn from Porthill Bridge looking towards the Welsh Bridge.

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Across The Quarry to St. Chad's with another big shower looming. That one is going to miss me though.

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It's not as clear as I'd hoped in this photo but the river is high and almost up to the tow path today.

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Crossing the A5 as I head for Atcham.
 

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
The forecast didn't look too bad. Light showers. Hmmmph. I headed out anyway. Light showery stuff was what I got as I headed around the north of the Hills. Not too bad. My lack of recent climbing was exposed as I dropped below 6 mph on the hill to Alfrick Pound. The road was closed tho' for maintenance work. I asked and was allowed to pass having listened to the Health and Safety briefing. Just patching work was going on but plenty of machinery needed. The work force was very polite indeed. The lumps of ups and downs as I headed south were taking their toll. I was looking forward to the easier section further south. Then the rain really came on. I sheltered under the lych gate at Eastnor's church and waited. It was quite a deluge but it didn't take long to pass. So on down through the ford at Clencher's Mill allowed me to turn around the southern end of the Hills and begin the northerly leg through the well worn Castlemorton lanes. I'd had enough as I rolled home. Wind, rain and cold but still worth it. 39 smiles
 

derrick

The Glue that binds us together.
Manged a short ride this morning, we waited for the wind to drop a bit before we ventured out. Still a bit blowy but needed to get out for a ride. first one this week, need the temperature to go up a few degrees. think this will be the only ride this week, weekend weather does not look to clever, but it may change next week, Hopefully.:smile:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1363092707
 

Old jon

Guru
Location
Leeds
Map first, today I hope.

18012018.jpg


Cos it would not upload . . .

Brrr! And Brrr! again!! The weather was not quite that bad but events conspired, the way they sometimes do. That said, the ride started well, and it is January.

A ride with gears for today and I pedalled away from home with no defined route in mind, as is so often the case. North east from home was the vague idea, somewhere in the general direction of Wetherby. There are a few variations available on the way from here to there but from here all variations include Holbeck. Old silly habit, ride around there to make three right turns and avoid one right turn on a busy junction. And it warms the legs up. Cross the Aire at Crown Point Bridge and ride past the bus station on the ( quiet this morning ) way to the climb up Roundhay Road to the Oakwood Clock. More climb to the Ring Road, on the A 58, and a little further to Red Hall Lane and turn right to head towards Thorner. The drop down Sandhills is always fun, through the village and I decided to turn onto Milner Lane for the hill to another Thorner Lane and make a right turn for East Rigton.



A spur of a long moment choice to take the first left took me back to the A 58, then turn right towards the traffic lights and left to ride towards East Keswick. Out of the village and turn right on the A 659, then ride to Collingham and back on the A 58 for the ride back to Leeds. Where events conspired.

Leeds has it’s very own version of Regent Street. Scruffy, tatty and lined with, um, businesses. And towards the town centre end there is John Lewis and the bit of road that gave me a puncture today. No complaint about the deflation, and it was easy to find the sharp that caused it. Looked like the stem of a drawing pin and it was stuck 3mm through the tyre. A right faff to remove it, a small pair of pliers would have done it in seconds, so you can guess what I do not carry. With fingers becoming colder by the minute I was not looking forward to replacing the tyre. But, I can now tell the world that a Schwalbe Durano Plus after 2253 miles of use can be replaced at the side of the frozen road with very little effort indeed. This made me a happy man. The arrival back home after 27.8 miles of mixed showers and sun made me even happier. And I am looking forward to the next ride.
 

cosmicbike

Perhaps This One.....
Moderator
Location
Egham
Well as suspected, the ride home from work this morningwas indeed tough, and the Met Office were correct with the 40mph gusts, straight in my face for most of it. My usual 42 minute ride was extended to 49 minutes, whcih sounds small, but is a 20% increase. Fortunately tonight I didn't have to worry about the wind, and the ride home in the morning looks like ice may be my concern.
On the down side, the Boardman has delevloped a squeak (in addition to the BB creaking), and a bit of a rattle. I suppose over 8000 miles with only the basics being done is taking it's toll, I just need to find the time to give it a good once over.
 
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