Your ride today....

[Mike_P]

Initially south on the Defy, noted on the climbs of UCI circuit along Cornwall Road and Harlow Moor Road that a new pot hole has opened up already, one that was obviously fixed poorly for TdY. Headed straight down to Burn Bridge so I could tick off Yew Tree Lane as a road cycled along, or rather coasted down and I am in no hurry to go in the opposite direction. Conversely from Burn Bridge I headed west up Brackenthwaite Lane for the first time having previously only done it in the down hill direction and a couple of short sharp climbs ensued. Continued west to join the B6161 in the opposite direction to TdY then turned off to Almscliffe Crag passing a model aircraft club with one, possibly Spitfire or Hurricane, buzzing about in the air. Down to Huby and actually took the right turning for once to head directly across the A658 to Weeton, the sun disappeared and it turned very chilly despite having a long sleeve jersey onA bit of a mistake picking a yellow one as it was continually covered in flies Thankfully the clouds soon vanishedDunkeswick to Sicklinghall via Kirkby Overblow to avoid the steeper climbs but nevertheless hampered by the metal cheap Go Pro knock off handlebar mount working loose – as usual the sight of a cyclist fiddling with a multitool worked like magnetism and I soon had a crowd of cyclists offering help – no one else had a Phillips screwdriver but one of them did manage to tighten it using my own which I had been struggling with. Must get some allen key bolts for it. Thanks given and east to Wetherby for a northerly ride up the A168; passing cars did manage to struggle into double figures so that road was busier than normal Turned off through Arkendale and at Farnham decided as it was getting on in the afternoon to head to the A61 and A59. Neither were that busy and the pair of right turns were accomplished easily.

Sorry no photos – took my new Lidl Go Pro like 4k sports cam and having Win10 / laptop issues (might need to kick start the desktop)

43.01 miles 2395ft climbed 13.4mph average

 

[Mr Celine]

Sunshine, 15C and next to no wind. Winter gear to summer gear in the space of two days.

Anti-clockwise parallelogram if that makes any sense. First stop looking up Ettrickdale. There appeared to be an audax or sportive going the other way, loads of cyclists passing in ones and twos, though none in this pic.

Alemoor reservoir was sparkling in the sunshine. Unfortunately my phone camera can't cope with that, so here's the view looking the other way -

There's now a view from the summit at Alemoor since the forest was felled last year, but this is the first time I've been there on a clear day.

The Cheviot (Ingerland) on the far horizon directly above the chevrons. Carter Bar, where the A68 crosses the border, directly above the front wheel.

One more stop on the way home for a bit of yellow.

Today's map -

53.3 miles @ 14.8mph. 1034m ascent.

 

[chriswoody]

The wife was heading over to Wolfsburg with the kids today, to see her sister, offering the perfect excuse for a ride. The weather was set fair, but still cold and the wind was forecast to be at my back. I started out on the Aller Radweg, which shadows the course of the River Aller for over 200km. At the start, I ride the wonderful gravel tracks of the river banks, crossing and re-crossing the river several times.

On occasions it swings away from the river and onto wonderfully quiet country roads that weave their way between fields of Rape and small hamlets with old timber frame buildings, whose construction dates back centuries.

At one point I disturb a Buzzard, who was quietly keeping vigil in a neighbouring tree. Swooping down in front of me, he keeps station for a few brief exhilarating minutes, before peeling away into a nearby copse. The ride continues to alternate between quiet roads and gravel tracks winding their way through quiet forests.

After 50km, I reluctantly turn away from the Aller Radweg, and head East through the outskirts of Gifhorn, where the delights of the Windmill museum await eager tourists.

I ride on past, giving it a cursory glance and a wry smile as I go. Onwards I ride, this time it's segregated cycleways next to the busy road under my tires. However, with the wind in my back and the sun on my face, the unpleasantness of my surroundings is forgiven as the speed increases and the kilometres fly by. Near to Weyhausen the road briefly passes under the Mittleland canal and I decide to stop and scramble up to it's banks, just as a large container barge passes by.

Then after some dried apricots and water, it once more back onto the saddle and onwards. After 70km and 3½ hours from the start, the four chimneys of the Volkswagen Factory in Wolfsburg, hove into view over the tree tops and my ride drew to a reluctant close. I'll come home in the car, but the memories of a nice ride in the sun will fade slowly.

 

[derrick]

Nice ride out to the Blue egg cafe in Bardfield, 5 of us set of at 9-30 this morning, The weathher started of with a slight nip in the air, but soon warmed up. Nice country lanes most of the way, plenty of cyclist's at the cafe, and on the roads, my oher half has regained her fitness after a couple of months with coughs and colds. A nice steady pace both ways, one of my favourite routes. Ending back at our local for a debrief, A couple of beers ended the perfect day.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2362530085

 

[AndreaJ]

Two rides this weekend after none last weekend due to us being at a dog agility show all weekend, yesterday was a bit chilly and windy and was back in winter clothes, did one of my usual rides around Whixall to Fenns Bank, Alkington, Hollinswood, Waterloo, Edstaston, Ryebank, Paddolgreen, Poolhead past a gorgeous foal out in a field with it's mum,, Foxholes, Horton and back home passing some newborn lambs. Saw a few other cyclists out, 19.53 miles, average speed 15.8mph. What a difference 24 hours makes beautiful sunny day today and no wind back to shorts and short sleeves, went on a slight variation of yesterdays ride going on to Fenns Wood and crossing the canal at the next bridge along to the one I used yesterday, back to Alkington through to Waterloo, Northwood then home. No other cyclists today although there are lots on Strava out at different times, but one numpty in a BMW X5 decided there was room to overtake a horse as I was about to pass on a single track lane , needless to say there wasn't and I had to go on one grass verge which luckily had been cut and the horse on the other. 18.6 miles average speed 15.8mph

 

[Dark46]

This ride is from saturday.
So the ride in some ways I had been looking foward to as it was the British Heart Foundation ride that I had een talked into by Lisa and Tina from the club.
I have heard a few things about the ride espicailly Ham Hill which is only about 4 miles into a 50 mil ride. The choices for the dsy when you enter are a 50 mile ride or a 30 mile ride. For me there was no point in a 30 mile ride as with a club ride its always more. I wanted a challenge so 50 miles it had to be.

At the start Lisa nand I met Martin, Paul and Tina from KCC to start together. I must admit the start was ok as we weren`t in a very big group which i thought was a good thing as there wasnt too much bunching. The start of the ride ws from Cheltenham race course and headed towards Charlton Kings and then out on the A40 befroe heading out then up Ham Hill. I had heard a lot from people about walking up the hill, partly due to too many people in a narrow lane, also the fact that its steep. I was a little bit taken back on how hard it was, i wasnt about to murder myself to go up it with another 45 miles still to come. Well I think I got about half way p before i could feel my heart trying to do a Alien and leave my chest. Also I knew i wasnt going to make it. As soon as i got off the bike and sorry to say started to walk the rest ( there was no chance of a hilll start). I couldnt believe that was calfs were on fire and i literally thought they were going to snap! After a while just after about 80% up we all decided to get back on ( s Lisa and Tina had also got off) and amazingly my calfs stopped hurting, really strange to me.

The first food stop was at about 6 miles and Tina decided to have a bit of a toilet break and I headed for a soft drink and I sweet what looked like a suary haribo. Fron here the ride completely evelled out if your compare it to Ham Hill. The ountryside around here is just amazing and a bike is a great away to see it. At 13 miles the the routes split it was a rightturn for the 50 mile route and left for the 30 mile route. Well we took the right and carried on with all of us together. If I`m right this was at Charlton Abbots.

I was glad that the day had been changed as it was orginally organised to be run on Sunday, but there was a clashwith a trctor run. Also there seemed to be Classic cars run as there was last year, that seems to be a weekend run.

The next fuel stop was at about 19 miles and again we did stop, it wasnt really needed for me but a coffee is always welcome and a biscuit. After this fuel stop it was going to me thebest bit of the ride for me as always a decent! @Donger knows what to expect here lol . Todays decent was Snow Hill and I`ve never been there before, no I cant wait to go back down as I want to better my top speed down there. I set off with Paul and wow this was so much fun. I set off behind him and waited for him to give me the nod to go for it . So to start with I tucked in behind him before he did the same to me. It was while he was behind me I hit a small bump and had a bit of a wobble. It was such a rush and great fun and my strava says iI got up to 48.5 mph , so the aim is 50 next time.

From here it was up into the edge of Broadway before heading back towards to finish. The scenery around here is great and the next village was Wormington and I wondered jokingly if we were going to see Dad`s Army! From here it was towards Toddington and into Winchcombe aa=nd the last food stop.

It was after the last fuel stop it was here that we had the only horn I remember hearing , there were other moments but not as many as you would expect with as many riders on the road on a Saturday. So from Winchcombe it was to Alstone and Gotherington and into Bishops Cleeve and Southam and into Prestbury and back to the race course.

When we got back are garmins werent up to 50 miles so we had to do a quick loop to get it there. But for Tina and Lisa they still had to ride around the car park after collecting their medals.

 

[Lee_M]

All sorts of ridiculous shenanigans going in with our club rides so decided to go out in my own yesterday. Except 6 others decided they'd had enough and came out with me too.

Nice flattish ride out to Tilly's coffee shop in bunbury and back, just under 50 miles at a gentle pace, so was surprised we'd averaged over 15mph.

Great ride, now just Tuesdays committee meeting to sort out the ridiculous behaviour.

 

[C R]

Yesterday's ride, busy day so posting late.

Set the alarm for an early rise as usual, though I was feeling lazy and thought maybe I would skip the ride today. Alas, the sunshine under the curtain was becconning me, so I kicked the blanket and got a move on.

The forecast was for a chilly start but warming up quickly, which made for a tricky wardrobe choice. I decided to wear tights and shorts, with a long sleeve top but no jacket.

Out around twenty to seven, in glorious sunshine, it was cold in the shade, but in the sunshine it was rather nice already. Plan was to go to Witley Court, so headed out through town, past the cathedral, over the bridge and towards Hallow. The roads are always quiet at this time of the day, so the riding is easy.

At Hallow turned left for Sinton Green, enjoying the views of the countryside. Between Sinton Green and Ockeridge there's a bit of a climb, not too hard, but a slog nonetheless for me, but the view at the top is great, orchards in the foreground, with the trees in bloom and the north side of the Malverns as the background.

Last time I was this way it was autumn, and it looked very different.

I also discovered that the axis of polarisation in my cycling glasses is perpendicular to the polariser of my phone's screen in landscape mode.

Onward was a right and then an immediate left for Little Witley, where I joined the Tenbury road for a short stretch, and then left for Witley Court. The road here is a potholed mess, and progress needs to be careful, but the sight at the top is worth it.

I had a bit of a rest while I had my fruit bar, and then set off towards Great Witley. The two big potholes that were like lakes in the autumn have now been filled in with rubble, which presents its own challenges. Near the end of the lane a car coming the other way pulled in at the passing place to let me through, and then it was a left on the main road to Great Witley.

At Great Witley was a left again towards Martley, and the only lump of the day, which I took steady. I seem to be getting better at going up hills, if not faster, as I wasn't particularly out of breath when I reached the top. I spun out going down the other side, and reached a top speed of 33mph. I was having so much fun with the downhill that I missed the turn for Ockeridge, and had to double back. The lane that goes to Ockeridge has a couple of short, sharp lumps, and one of them always catches me out, I sort of think that it should be easier, but I always end struggling to the top.

Next turn was right for Wichenford, and in Wichenford a right in Venn Lane. This lane had just undergone the loose gravel dressing procedure, and there was a lot of loose gravel at the turn. Even though I entered quite slowly, the gravel was so deep that it caught my wheels and I ended having an unscheduled dismount event as I ended up hitting the kerb with my front wheel. Luckily I managed to jump off and remain on my feet, so no damage to me or the bike. Even more luckily, I don't think any one saw my inelegant dismount. Needless to say, I rode the rest of the lane really carefully.

From here the next destination was Upper Broadheath, past Elgar's Birthplace Museum and on to the A44. Past a few cyclists here, all looking in very good spirits. This is a fairly flat section of the route, and made reasonably fast progress. To pad up the distance to the half century I took the right at the roundabout towards Bransford, and stopped by the bridge for a rest and some more sustenance. The temperature was now creeping up, and I was starting to feel just slightly overdressed, good job I didn't wear my jacket.

The final section was going up Station Rd towards Powick, and then the cycle path along the southern link road. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate this cycle path? It is very badly surfaced, and it is just wide enough for one person or one bike. The only slight redeeming quality are the views of the Cathedral to the left, but as the trees are now full of leaf that is hidden at this time of the year.

Anyhow, got home in one piece, having enjoyed a great ride in great weather, and another metric half in the bag. This time last year my longest ride ever had been just around 20 miles, now anything less than thirty doesn't feel like a proper ride, .

The map

 

[welsh dragon]

Beautiful day In Mid Wales. Scorchio on fact. Did my usual 16 mile bimble this morning. Nice to see blue skies and sunshine.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

An early start yesterday morning as I got myself out for my May imperial century challenge ride. Conditions looked good from the forecast but the wind direction was expected to be a westerly to start with, veering round to an east or south-easterly as the day went on. This wasn't ideal for the Vyrnwy ride I had in mind so I thought a loop round the north of the county with the wind hopefully helping later on would be better. I also thought that I could make it interesting by extending the ride and getting a metric 200 out of it.

It was a fabulous start to the ride with barely a breath of wind and a perfectly clear blue sky (although a little chilly with a frost on the grass in places) so I got on really well to Condover, Plealey, Minsterley and Westbury where I had my first drink stop. The Raleigh feels great since changing the saddle and I'm now finding it easier to keep up a good steady cruising speed on the flat.

With the metric 200 in mind I was adding mileage where I could to be sure of getting the distance. Before Maesbrook I took a detour to the Crickheath, Morton and Ball area before rejoining the busier road into Oswestry. A couple of classic cars with rally plates on came the other way round here. Unfortunately I didn't see what the event name was.

At Oswestry it had warmed up enough to dispense with my fleece before following the lane towards Gobowen which is clearly a favourite Sunday route for the local runners. Amazingly it wasn't until heading out of Gobowen (about 35 miles in) that I saw my first fellow cyclist and the next wasn't until New Crickett approximately 7 miles later. The conditions were pretty ideal for cycling so I couldn't understand why there weren't more people out.

I was making good time so didn't stop in Ellesmere but carried on through Coptiviney and Welshampton then took a short break at Hampton Bank overlooking the canal. Moving on, I was overtaken by another rider on the way to Northwood but since I was comfortably cruising along at 16mph on my pannier laden Raleigh and he was on a lightweight road bike I didn't feel hard done by. There were more sporty riders around in the Whixall area, including a club group from Staffordshire judging by their kit, but also a few more casual cyclists which is always good to see.

The climb out of town at Prees was a bit slow and steady as always but rewarded by a good bit of downhill the other side as I wend my way to Ightfield, Calverhall and by a slightly indirect route through Longslow and Longford into Market Drayton where a 10k running event was taking place today so I encountered some road closures and needed to push the bike in a couple of places. Fortunately by this time almost all the runners had finished so it wasn't too difficult getting through.

A lunch break was taken near to Old Colehurst Manor, where it was now warm enough to zip off the legs of my trousers, then I had some more fairly flat riding through Stoke-on-Tern, Ollerton, Ellerdine Heath, High Ercall and Rodington.

Having been encouraged to press on by the relatively easy riding so far, I started to run low on energy at around the 85 mile mark and also the saddle was reminding me that I haven't had it that long and it still isn't broken in yet. The sensible thing to do at this stage would have been to head home the most direct way and enjoy having got a quick century in. Sensible went out of the window when I argued to myself that my first ever metric double-century was done over a much hillier route and that there was still loads of the day left, so I continued to Walcot, Bluebell Lane, the old A5 to Wroxeter, Cressage and up Shore Lane to Harnage Grange, which turned out to be quite a slow plod. Stubbornness kept me going past Harley to Kenley Common where I started to regret my decision. By this point though I'd have a hilly ride home whichver way I went plus the disappointment to deal with if I did cut it shorter so I carried on very slowly and with lots of short breaks to Cardington and up the hill to Folly Bank.

Having had a fast descent the other side of Folly Bank (got my top speed of the ride - 32.8mph) I found a second wind and kept up a reasonable pace to Longnor where I realised that I was going to miss my target distance by about half a mile unless I added a bit somewhere so I chose to tackle the climb over Lyth Hill rather than the flat route up to the main road.

125.42 miles (201.8 km) done at 13.5 mph moving average. 11 hours 12 minutes overall including stops. During that ponderously slow last 25 miles it was getting me down to see how the average speed kept falling away but it's actually my quickest century of the year to date, so I'm pretty content with it now.

Near the start, I quite like this first view of Caer Caradoc on the way out of Bayston Hill.

Drink stop at Westbury.

View of the Briedden from near Melverley. For some reason the camera decided it needed the flash for this shot.

Gates to Cae Glas Park in Oswestry.

Elevenses stop view at Hampton Bank.

Market Drayton.

At Stoke-on-Tern.

Between Wroxeter and Cressage. It's been a fabulous day to be out on a bike.

The locals are friendly.

On my way to Cardington and looking to the hills I shall shortly have to cross.

 

[Dave 123]

Today started cloudy and a bit cool herein Mallorca with very strong wind from the north. So to minimise the effect of the wind we went to Campanet, Selva and then the climb up to Lluc.

It was looking a bit glum up in the mountains

But once up there it was fine, and sheltered from the wind

We stopped in Pollensa for some food and liquid refreshment

The last 5-6 miles was into the full headwind. Nice!

Saw some good birds = loads of Red Kite, Booted Eagle, Black Vultures And the star bird was Thekla Lark!

45 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/2364046320

 

[C R]

Today started cloudy and a bit cool herein Mallorca with very strong wind from the north. So to minimise the effect of the wind we went to Campanet, Selva and then the climb up to Lluc.

It was looking a bit glum up in the mountains
View attachment 466362
But once up there it was fine, and sheltered from the wind


View attachment 466357
View attachment 466358
View attachment 466359
We stopped in Pollensa for some food and liquid refreshment
View attachment 466361
View attachment 466360
The last 5-6 miles was into the full headwind. Nice!

Saw some good birds = loads of Red Kite, Booted Eagle, Black Vultures And the star bird was Thekla Lark!

45 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/2364046320

The Estrella definitely deserves a like!

 

[AndreaJ]

Another warm and sunny day in Shropshire and I decided to head out in the opposite direction for a change. Went to Wolverley, Horton , Loppington, Burlton, Myddle and Nonely before heading back to Loppington and crossing the road I went out on towards Brown Heath, English Frankton, Colemere, round the mere to Lyneal, Northwood then home. Only hold up of the ride was two ladies and a poodle standing talking in the middle of the lane on one of the steeper canal bridges who didn't think to move either themselves or the bored looking poodle to the side! Lots of farmers cutting silage now so looks like I will be dodging tractors and silage trailers for tomorrows commute. Didn't see any other cyclists today which is quite unusual.19.3 miles average speed 16.2mph

 

[Old jon]

Such a long time since my last ride. We travelled four hundred plus kilometres to visit some friends in Canela, which is in the next state south of here. Back home for one day then 1100 kilometres north to see some relatives. Brazil is big.

After my previous ride I had noticed that the bottom bracket had some play. So after the drop down the hill this morning I had an extra excuse to ride along Beira Mar as far as a bike shop I had noticed before. Here, the staff took pity on me and my very limited Portuguese, ‘ferramentas para altera um suporte inferior’ is quite a mouthful when all you want is a pair of bottom bracket spanners. Anyway, I was treated to a tour of the workshop, informed that these were the tools I needed but that they were not for sale. No problem, said I. How long will it take you to fix this? The reply of ‘thirty minutes’ was a welcome surprise. A walk along the sea front filled that time nicely, I returned to the shop and there is the bike, finished. How much? Thirty Reals, about six pounds. I rode away happily.

The rest of the ride? Continue to the road bridge and cross that to the mainland. No thought had been devoted to where I was going to ride, I had expected to leave the bike at the shop for a day or two. Turn southwest and ride a bit, which stretched into a bit more but not by a tremendous amount. About eight miles from home I reached Praia das Palmeiras ( Palm Beach ) and that seemed far enough for the morning. Turned around and rode the wrong way along a one way street back to the main road.

Even this close to the shore there are hefty lumps to climb, or maybe my fitness is more of a joke than I thought. Huffed and puffed my way back to the new bridge, oh, while in Sao Paolo I met the man who designed the pier foundations for that bridge. Anyway, crossed back to the island, reached the cycle track and was faced by a motorbike cop. On the bike path. He turned onto the bridge and then I remembered. Fishing is forbidden from the bridge, there is a wonderful sign explaining the dire penalties you will face if caught, and the even more forbidding torments that await your second offence. There are almost always a half dozen or more miscreants along there, complete with some pretty impressive fish . . .

Back along Beira Mar, which was fairly busy for a cold ( 20 degrees is cold here ) Monday morning. The bends are all gradual along here, but eventually home comes into sight, or would have done but the hill was in cloud. Oh well, only a couple of miles if it starts raining now, but it did not. Sixteen miles at a reasonable pace put a smile on my face. Roll on the next ride!

The map. On the road, every ride is different.

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Utility rides today. Met my better half to pick up some bits from the shopping centre then over in the car with the bike in the boot to the supermarket for the big food shop. Load up the car with the shopping for my missus to drive home while I cycle back.

26.16 km / 16.24 miles in total.