Your ride today....

[Richard A Thackeray]

Bike selected; CGR
Weather; cold, quite damp, breezy
Photographs from today; unless dated otherwise


I had intended heading towards Ferrybridge, with a view to photographing that particular section of the pre-60's route of the 'Great North Road'
But...……
I'd gone under the M62, at Whitwood Common (jct 31), towards Castleford, up to the roundabout, where the Mining College was (now identi-box houses)
Turning right onto Cutsyke Hill, which is otherwise Leeds Barnsdale Road (1)

Dropping down to the 'King Billy' (a pub that was King William) & straight across at 'Cutsyke lights'
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/369304

Over the level-crossing 'Cutsyke Gates', http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/634097
With a ''thump', into a pothole, that I couldn't avoid due to the van alongside

Up the rise to the new ASDA, at Glasshoughton; http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3856120
Past that, & round the roundabout, towards Glasshoughton itself, & the climb of Holywell Lane


The rear felt a bit squidgy, over the roughened surface, by the Park, so a quick stop, & a squeeze confirmed
"Bugger!!"

The 'PF' had paid a flying visit
No pump, no tube, as I was relying on the superb resistance of the Durano's, & had fitteda new pair recently

So, a quick turn-around & back-track via the shortest route, until it got too soft to ride without damaging the tyre

I got back to roughly where the M62 crosses Cutsyke Road (between jcts 31 & 32)
Old picture, as there's a roundabout here, now, with Premier Way, heading down from ASDA;
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/225569

It was then a walk the 4(?) miles home along the 'Normanton Bypass', passing Havertop, where the new Wakefield Main Police Station is


It started to rain, quite heavily, as I got to about 1/2 mile from home. so not too bad



Investigation, after getting changed, & holding pot of tea, revealed a 'pinch puncture'
Undoubtedly the 'thump', after the level crossing

Oh well, it happens
1 An oddity of a name, as Barnsdale itself, is where the A639 (to Pontefract, via East Hardwick) leaves the A1.... Barnsdale Bar
Then there's also a Barnsdale Road, between Castleford, to Methley (& onwards to Leeds)
It's also Barnsdale Road, out of Castleford, over the River Aire, & the Aire & Calder Navigation, towards Peckfield Bar, & HookMoor (Aberford)

Modern Castleford & Pontefract, severed the Roman route, hence the Barnsdale Bar, stretch, then the Castleford - HookMoor
part of this route is still named 'Roman Ridge Road

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

An Oddity


I've looked at the links & URL link, there's nothing I can see that's caused the underlining, as though they're a link
Sorry...…………..

 

[The_Weekend_Report_Guy]

Today was not an amazing ride, today was one of those days you are thankful to have someone to go ride with because otherwise I would be sitting at my desk complaining about how tired I was and how little will to do my training I had.

So a few friends said Pablo lets go for a ride..!! And I love to ride even if I was tired, days like this make a difference. When you push beyond your will and only thanks to the friends.

What did we do? Looked like this.

What that looks like in a profile map you might be wondering..

And why did I go out even if I didn't feel like it?

Now you know very much what I will be doing all week.

The strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/1987896388#kudos

 

[galaxy]

[QUOTE 5456343, member: 9609"]what a wild wild day to be out, there was one windward section I was brought to a halt four times by the sheer ferocity of it.
This big weather is starting to drain me, another 30 miles needed the morrow for this weeks totals - need some new legs, wish the wind would cease

anyway my pics made the day look rather nice - very misleading,, I should have somehow captured the 30 minutes in a bus shelter watching the rain blowing parallel to the ground.

View attachment 440854 View attachment 440855 View attachment 440856 View attachment 440857 [/QUOTE]
Looks so lovely in the pictures.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

School run this morning. Noticed a smug looking cyclist modelling a Stolen Goat jacket in 4’c. Just a base layer and not much else apparently. Wonder if he’s a cousin of @numbnuts ?

 

[Mike_P]

Day off work, two different weather forecasts indicated that it would be definitely fine this morning at least so set off usually early for me with the intent to explore the upper reaches of the Washburn Valley. Passing the Army College on Penny Pot Lane nothing seemed to indicate trouble ahead.

Further on the sky changed rapidly

Um.. maybe Little Armscliffe instead with a nice tail wind judging by this cross wind....oh, quick, rain jacket. Actually not that quick as never being the brightness early in the morning it took a good minute or two to work out I needed to stand with my back to the wind to get it on. A quick U turn and headed back in what was quite heavy rain with what seemed to be the odd bit of hail mixed in with in. Quite thankful Penny Pot had been patched / resurfaced this year as the distinct limited visibility from all the rain meant I had no hesitation in going faster than would otherwise been the case previously and managed 3 PRs. By the time I had got home the only bit of clothing not at least damp was the pad of the bib longs which otherwise were soaked through. Stats for what they are worth; 10.4 miles 394ft climbed 13.3mph avg 28.4 mph max.

 

[Slow But Determined]

Winter bike came out for it's season's debut today. Only a short 20 mile ride but nice not to be covered in mud and other assorted debris thanks to the mudguards.

Forgotten just how heavy it is though, 90 seconds slower on a regular climb of just under a mile which is part of my regular route.

At least it will build up my legs come spring!!!

 

[Elybazza61]

A short ride this afternoon to take some advantage of a nice day; only 36 kms in the end,had hoped to go for longer but was late getting out due to other stuff.Nice to ride the Robinson for something other than a commute though.

View from Coveney to Ely with the Cathedral just about visible;

https://www.strava.com/activities/1992782422

In other news a nice coffee and cake(white chocolate and Tahini) at Samovar Tea Room this morning and picked up a new coffee grinder

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

At last the wind and rain have ceased. Even better the sun was shining. It was time to grab some miles for the first time this week. The lanes were wet as I headed around the northern end of the Hills. The trees have lost all their leaves now after that weather. They stand stark and majestic waiting for Spring. After Munsley some hedge cutting was going on. I picked a thorn up in each tyre and foolishly removed the one in the front tyre. At Trumpet it was flat. With new tube installed I rode the southerly tack along the eastern flanks of The Marcles. Roadworks at Much Marcle brought me to a stop briefly and another stop was required at Bromsberrow Heath when a very smelly (exhaust fumes) truck was reversing out into the road. Now it was just the run back through the lanes with dry patches beginning to appear in places for home. I'd had enough so when CTC John B came the other way on Hook Bank I could only wave and say "Hi". Home meant a sarnie as I'd got quite hungry. 52 smiles. Now to fix that thorny rear tyre.

 

[pjd57]

My Mrs asked the usual.....is xcxx ...too far to pick something up.
As always I said no, but didn't mention that it was 21 miles away.

Had to use the hybrid , for the rack+bag.
Mild morning, hint of rain but it never came to anything.

Headed across Glasgow , going east. Through Uddingston and Bothwell, heading for Strathclyde park.
New bridges for cycling over the M74/73 got me into the park without using the big roundabout.

Bit of a wrong turning in the park took me out at the wrong end of Motherwell. Then on to Wishaw.

Then home

P.S. the person wasn't in !

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Crumbs it was grey and damp first thing. Not at all inviting. Mrs 26 and I headed out anyway to meet Pete M and Steve E. John G should have been in Upton when we got there but wasn't. We waited a goodly while and he eventually showed up. he'd had to battle a very strong wind and was tired from a busy week. We nursed him out to Strensham and Defford where he decided to head homeward. No point in getting over tired. We took the Eckington and Combertons run for Pershore and refreshments.

The weather had been improving all the while. Now we had blue in the sky and an orange globe shining down. We turned off Rebecca Road for Wadborough and Pete's loop by Stonehall Common. Steve was showing signs of tiredness and Pete was less frisky now. Mrs 26 was going well tho'. The wind had been causing some problems but we dodged into the shelter by Brotheridge Green. Mrs 26 stopped in Upton for a cuppa whilst I headed for some extra miles by Pixham Ferry. The others needed to get back but all agreed it had been a much better day than the forecast had indicated. 51 smiles

 

[Donger]

Yesterday's ride: For me, December is never an easy month to get a Metric Century-a-Month Challenge ride done. Christmas shopping, party season, family get togethers, ever shortening days and weather. Most significantly, weather. As I loaded the car to head off to Tewkesbury it was absolutely belting it down. Truly horrible. I very nearly called Rich to suggest we didn't bother with this audax. So glad I didn't.
By the time we lined up at the start of the "Once More Unto Agincourt" 113km audax outside the Royal Hop Pole ......

..... the rain had given way to a light fret. After a few miles it never rained again, and we had a great ride in nice mild weather. My gamble of wearing shorts and gilet with only a fold-away light rain top paid off big time.

As with most of Mark Rigby's audaxes from Tewkesbury, this was a great route with some quiet little lanes that I would never have found by myself and some stunning countryside as we picked our way past the Forest of Dean and out past Symonds Yat to Monmouth and back. Here is my mate Rich crossing the Wye (for the first of several times), near Goodrich:

:
The scenery just got better and better as we picked our way along a riverside path along the banks of the Wye from Symonds Yat to Monmouth (in this shot I was looking back towards Symonds Yat):

At the audax control point at the Kings Head in Monmouth there was no card stamping facility, so this next (awful) selfie was to serve as our proof of passage, along with a receipt for our bar bill:

After a light meal and a bottomless coffee, it was time to make our way back along almost the same lanes as the outward route, which was great as it meant following the riverside path along the Wye again back to Symonds Yat, crossing the Wye again on the way:

Only about 30 other brave souls had lined up at the start for this ride, and most had drifted ever so gradually out of view in front of us on the outward leg as we ground our way into a headwind for nearly 35 miles. There were plenty of unclaimed brevet cards at the start. That meant we had the road pretty much to ourselves (you can just see Rich in the distance in the picture above), but it turned out we weren't at the back at all. There were at least four people still in Monmouth when we set off on the return leg, and another lad just turning up as we left. Not to mention a couple of ladies who stopped on the outward leg to repair a puncture. I offered our assistance, but was rebuffed with a comment about not needing help and "girl power!". I would have offered to help anyone ... not just ladies. Anyway, never saw them again.
Made it back, tired and weary but pleased to complete my fourth year of this challenge and glad I didn't bale on this one when I got soaked loading the car.
A great day out in great company, and a 70 mile route that I would recommend to anybody.
Cheers, Donger.

 

[Biff600]

Just 26 miles for me today, forgot to turn the Garmin on so it didn't register the 1st 4 or so miles. But I did record a time lapse of the trip

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rkC21FJzoE&t=24s

 

[MikeG]

First club run for 4 years this morning, as I build gently back into this cycling mallarcky. Forty four miles with the slow group. Too much waiting at the top of each hill, so I'll go with the middle group next time. Just glad I remembered enough about riding in a bunch that I didn't bring anyone off their bike. Good cake.

 

[colly]

What a grim day to be out.
I knew I wasn't all that enthusiastic when I found myself indulging in all sorts activities other than getting out on the bike. Dressed in longs and shorts but compelled to do other things.
Another cup of tea.... Oh look... magazines all over the coffee table...I'll tidy them up....Hmm I'd better make sure the bird feeders are sorted... I'll just empty the dishwasher..... you know the kind of thing.
So it was out into the cold drizzle I went after running out of avoidance activities. It wasn't so bad, Sunday morning traffic was mercifully very light and despite being sliced up at the Moortown corner and again at Shadwell I applied myself to the task of enjoying the ride.
It went ok until King Lane around 8 miles from home, when, on narrow lanes, an over taker nearly hit me head on. I think he actually didn't see me. Front lights on, dressed like a sodding clown and I must still not have registered.
I got to the end of the lane turned round and made my way back via Eccup. Glad I went out but it was one to forget. Oh and to cap it all it looks like I need a new battery for the chest strap thingy and the bike has developed a regular crunching/grinding noise.

All in all about 17 miles with 850 ft of up.

View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/29937683