Your ride today....

[Noodle Legs]

Back to it after a little rest, took the sister in law out for another spin, part 3 of her rehab ride sessions.

It’s quite lumpy round our part of Leicestershire and the short, gentle routes she craves are in short supply! But I pulled another one out the bag and we set off mainly downhill to begin with into the edges of Charnwood Forest which is just heavenly for cycling! The first real test for her came at Newtown Linford back up towards Markfield which is steady but over a mile long but she did it despite her reservations. Then slowly climbing out of Markfield round Cliffe Hill Quarry brought out more expletives from her, but again she got the job done! 1 hour, 10 miles, happy days! Her (gentle) griping about all the gentle slopes on the fringes of Charnwood almost had me to the point where I thought maybe I was pushing her too hard but then the cheeky mare said she ONLY burnt two-hundred-and-something calories!

Big mistake.


So the next time for part 4 she is getting flogged!

Great ride though.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1648757246

https://www.relive.cc/view/1648757246

 

[Vantage]

So the next time for part 4 she is getting flogged!

Erm..........your wife is ok with this???

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=flogging

 

[cosmicbike]

A mere 3 miles this evening, a solo tandem ride (my stoker is on a school trip), with Mrs CB on my Brompton which she will be using to cycle in to work this week
I think I'd like a few more miles solo on the tandem before mini Ms CB is on the back....

 

[Noodle Legs]

Erm..........your wife is ok with this???

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=flogging

Figuratively speaking, dear @Vantage, figuratively speaking.....

 

[pawl]

Back to it after a little rest, took the sister in law out for another spin, part 3 of her rehab ride sessions.

It’s quite lumpy round our part of Leicestershire and the short, gentle routes she craves are in short supply! But I pulled another one out the bag and we set off mainly downhill to begin with into the edges of Charnwood Forest which is just heavenly for cycling! The first real test for her came at Newtown Linford back up towards Markfield which is steady but over a mile long but she did it despite her reservations. Then slowly climbing out of Markfield round Cliffe Hill Quarry brought out more expletives from her, but again she got the job done! 1 hour, 10 miles, happy days! Her (gentle) griping about all the gentle slopes on the fringes of Charnwood almost had me to the point where I thought maybe I was pushing her too hard but then the cheeky mare said she ONLY burnt two-hundred-and-something calories!

Big mistake.


So the next time for part 4 she is getting flogged!

Great ride though.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1648757246

https://www.relive.cc/view/1648757246

Couldn’t agree more about the lack of flat roads round this neck of the woods.Dosent matter which way I leave/return to Desford their are short sharp climbs,not very long but enough to test my ancient legs.

Hope your sister is enjoying her introduction to cycling.

 

[Noodle Legs]

Couldn’t agree more about the lack of flat roads round this neck of the woods.Dosent matter which way I leave/return to Desford their are short sharp climbs,not very long but enough to test my ancient legs.

Hope your sister is enjoying her introduction to cycling.

Yeah i think so, running’s her bag so this may be a stop gap while her knee rehabs.

Ah so you’re quite local to me then? I ride through/near to Desford quite often as part of some local routes, in fact I took the sister in law through Merrylees and Botcheston on the first one and as you say there’s plenty of hills that way! She lives near Copt Oak and there is literally no flats around there, which makes the short gentle routes she wants very difficult!

She’s off to Mallory tomorrow to try out a few laps on a road bike.

 

[Jenkins]

I've got the week off work, but yesterday was restricted to a quick late afternoon round trip to Ipswich after a day of domestics, gardening and car washing/polishing. Sat down last night and, after checking the weather forecast for the week, I booked a train ticket to Newmarket to repeat the ride back home that I did at the end of last year, but with the hope of not turning the wrong way at a junction and getting lost.

Out of the station and it's a long but thankfully shallow drag up to Ashley, a short break then another drag up to Ousden and after that the usual rolling countryside through Suffolk to Whepstead where I got the junction correct this time. Up a bit towards Bury St. Edmunds and past the Maglia Roissa cafe without stopping before going back south to Cockfield, east to Stowmarket via Felsham & Rattlesden and then south or south east to home via Needham Market (where a short breather was taken at the lakes)...

Then through Claydon, Sproughton, Ipswich, Westerfield and the usual route home from that side.

A mostly cloudy but very warm day with a total of just under 66 miles done for June's metric century.

Tomorrow I'll probably have a quiet day, just taking out one of the flat bars or the MTB for a slow ride around as I've another 100km planned for Thursday - train to Lowestoft and ride home taking advantage of a predicted north or noth west wind!

 

[xzenonuk]

yesterday i done 18.9 miles on the mtb and today i done 20.61, my legs and arms are hurting but worth it

it was my first two rides out on the new fork i got on saturday, the old suntour one on my rockrider 540 was about 4 year old and really annoying me, decathlon got me a fork ordered and it got fitted on saturday, an older model manitou r7 pro for 60% off from when it first came out, theres nice bargains to be had for 26 inch wheels

im loving it, it is pretty responsive even though the psi is on the higher end for my heavy body, it has awesome rebound and seems sensitive on bumps etc it actually feels like a damper instead of a bouncy sagging thing

been going of the beaten path a bit and exploring, i was lost earlier a few times lol

heres pics of a 4 year old rockrider with new fork, the only thing that annoyed me about that bike was the fork

 

[i hate hills]

Two rides from last week. Last Monday .....Although i finished work at 2pm by the time i've done "things " for everyone it was 7.30 pm before i got the bike out, 5 hours after i'd finished. So out and about 5 mile on the MTB improved my mood . Busy busy till Sunday ....Fathers day .....Up early as daughter one was away staying with pals and had visited me the previous day daughter two was having a lie in after a boozy night out. Out round the industrial Estate and a coffee stop thrown in . Perfect start to Fathers day.

 

[s7ephanie]

Nice slowish 30 miles yesterday sun shone and i now have dodgy tan lines and sore legs as it was longest ive done for a while. Going to be hot today xx

 

[Spartak]

Nice ride out this morning, past Kendleshire Golf Club, skirting round Yate before a coffee in Chipping Sodbury, then against a nagging headwind back to Bristol.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Out again this morning for something a little bit slower as the last few rides have caught up with my legs.

I headed for Cardington via the shorter route through Longnor and into a stonking headwind (Met office says it was 22 gusting to 32 so fairly breezy). There was a bit of drizzle about too but despite that it was pleasantly warm so it wasn't too bad being out in it.

A couple of miles after Cardington I turned so that the wind was behind me and had a fast run to Hughley (34.1 mph max en route ), then after a small climb was wafted along the long straight to Harley as well.

The undulating road to Harnage Grange, Harnage and Cound wasn't wind assisted so back to a gentler pace and I was disappointed on the descent into Cound due to a slow vehicle holding me up.

At Cantlop I realised that the wind had veered to more of a westerley than it had been so I wouldn't have the tailwind up to the A49 I'd anticipated. That and having a lorry follow closer than I'd like into Condover (I lost him through the twisty bit in the village though ) made me think that I'd prefer a quieter finish to the ride so I headed over Lyth Hill.

33 miles at 14 mph average. That'll do for today.

Rural traffic hold up at Green Farm on the way to Cardington.

Drizzly over Caer Caradoc.

Escapees on the climb to Folly Bank.

Hughley

Crops doing well near Harnage Grange.

Cound.

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Today I’ve done my half metric challenge ride for the month. It’s been a few weeks since I last cycled as far.

Bike: Carrera Vengeance MTB with Schwalbe Landcruiser Plus tyres
Distance: 35 miles / 56.32 km
Average Speed: 10.04 mph / 16.15 kph
Max. Speed: 30.09 mph / 48.42 kph
Ascent: 446 feet / 136 metres
Descent: 155 feet / 509 metres

Rode from Kiveton Park to Beighton to Tapton Lock at Chesterfield. Mostly along Trans Pennine Trail and Cuckoo Way canal towpath. The construction on Chesterfield Canal at Staveley is coming along nicely. Shouldn’t be too long before this section is completed. They were trimming the verges on the TPT as I went along. Quite a few people out and about. School groups canoeing on the canal. The sun playing hide and seek behind the clouds.

To be honest I didn’t notice much during the ride. I just wanted to get it done. It’s been a few weeks since my last ride at this distance and I realise now I’d lost the stamina I’d built up previously. I’m absolutely knackered. I’ve got to get more rides in at this or a greater distance on a regular basis.

Just got to keep pedalling.

 

[Vantage]

Blustery winds and occasional rain...lovely.
I left the house a little after 10am wearing shorts and rain jacket.
As I approached the left turn onto Lightbounds Road I gently squeezed the brake levers. Ooooooooh the power! The new levers and lack of travel adaptors were working beautifully.
Through Barrow Bridge and the long climb up Longshaw Ford Road. I cycled all the way up today and RWGPS told me I'd set a personal best on it. Woopdedoo. Who cares.
Scout Road onto Belmont Road followed where the reservoirs were filled nicely.
I played with the gears here trying to get used to dt levers. Going from STI's they feel like alot of work and slow. Maybe it'll get easier and I'll get faster with time and use.
Rivington Road was up next and a pic opportunity arose. I'd set the bike on its stand and wandered to the other side of the road to frame the church. With my back turned I heard a familiar and horrible noise. The wind had blown the bike over . A second but very swift attempt for the pic was successful and I carried on past Wards Reservoir which was bone dry.
The wind up here was much stronger and I was starting to get a soaking. The climb up Wards Brook is for me a granny ring job so I stopped for another couple pics before the punishment commenced.

Looking back to Belmont. Aaaaaaand...

Looking forward.

A couple times the chain slipped from the 34T cog which hampered my progress and I had a sneaking suspicion it was the limit screw that needed tweaking. I eventually reached the top and was almost blown off the bike when I stopped for a breather. The wet stuff had also increased in speed and a few times I thought I was gonna be hammered by hail it was so hard. After passing Belmont Road (a different one) I was getting ready to blast through "The Rollercoaster" as I call it. The road bends to the left before plummeting down then bends to the right and up with a clear view of the whole section. I spotted two cars in the distance so pulled over and waited till they'd past me then started pedalling. I was doing about 20 and moved the lever to engage the big ring. Noooooooooooo! You utter utter bas**rd! The chain fell off the ring and got stuck between the front mech and the crankarm. I freewheeled to the top thoroughly pigged off and the new gears were sworn at mercilessly.
That freed up I continued along the flat to the next sharp right. From there it was downhill towards Rivington Tower around a couple bends then more downhill into Rivington Itself. Despite a strong headwind the little Spa coasted to 34mph before muggins started braking at the tea room ready to turn left onto Rivington Lane.
My hands were getting nippy and after passing the high school I stopped to tweak that limit screw, have a Frizzels lolly and put the full finger gloves on. The front mech screws were also tweaked.
Through some backstreets into Horwich. When I reached the leisure center I didn't fancy taking on the long climb up Chorley Old Road so tried to cut through some sidestreets to Chorley New Road as its flatter. A couple deadends through a spanner in the works. Back to climbing. Meh.
A little further on I was about to pass Gingham Brow on my left. Hmm. It's quieter at least. Left it was. I bumped along in very small gears and the tyres slipped a couple times going up the steep rough track till I reached the gated entrance to Wallsuches. Through the little hamlet and along a track to rejoin Chorley Old Road. I resisted temptation to grab a burger at the roadside van. A little further on revealed resurfacing going on with a 10mph limit. No one paid attention to it of course and all the loose gravel was being shunted over to the left of the road,with the exception of one driver. In a slammed and souped up Merc hatchback. Sorry motons, I took the less slippy option of the main road and pootled along till I reached Bob's Smithy Inn where the works finished.
More coasting followed till I turned right into the estate and was along at speed by a tailwind to home for shortly after 12. Bike was given a quick hose too.
And I wasn't dying to sleep when I got in for once! That came later 14 miles averaging 8mph. Twas hilly.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Ride from last Wednesday

Starting at 2am I started by car, then bus, by foot and then by plane (where the GV peloton assembled) I made it to Marseille airport where my bike was waiting. Already sleep deprived assembly of bikes and changing into pedalling kit commenced for us all. After Ken's briefing groups set off to find their way through the Marseille's traffic. The Grupetto of me, Furk, Bear, Doc Pete, Cardiff Martin and Timbob rolled steadily. It didn't take long before a "spaghetti" junction had everyone totally confused. Doc's map and another's phone Google helped so we looped to St Victoret to get onto the chosen route. Groups reformed and some sped off up the road. At La Tresque quite a few missed the left turn so Bear's Grupetto stole some time. We rode a long long ramp upward to Mimet. The descent took us to La Destrousse where a very fun lady boulanger assisted us by supplying lovely cakes and cool drinks. Tarte aux Abricot! Across the road espresso as thick as mud was going down nicely in the bar. Stubbsy and Stubbsy II joined the Grupetto about here.

Bottles filled we headed for another long ramp along a river valley. Up we rode to Castellet where the Paul Ricard motor racing track lay to our left. The descent was a lovely long run through a limestone gorge. Mountains rose above with the typical Mediterranean pine forests all around. Now that was a super run into Toulon. By some miracle the Grupetto was the first bunch in. "First time for everything" said Ken with a big smile on his face. 61 smiles