Your ride today....

[jongooligan]

Free at last from the icy shackles that have bound us for over a week, it was a day for a ride! Full of enthusiasm I leapt from my pit and pulled back the curtains. Yeeuch! The ice has gone only to be replaced by a dreary drizzle falling from a leaden sky.

Got a bad case of cabin fever though so got my stuff together and took myself off over Waldridge Fell in a cool, blustery wind. Kept myself warm with the toil of climbing up to Daisy Hill then went through Sacriston, Witton Gilbert (where I failed to trigger the 30mph warning sign) and on to Langley Park.

Straight on, up the steepest climb out of the village, getting a short break at the left turn before the climb steepens again at the hairpin. Now for the drop down into the Deerness valley, covering the brakes but not touching them, head down, trying to reach escape velocity before the bend at the bottom.

Deerness Ford

The ford rarely has any water coming over the road but the ground is saturated and we had heavy rain last night. The steep climb from the ford took me up through New Brancepeth and into the clouds at Pit House. I've never seen any vehicles on this lane before but today I was overtaken at the very top by an Audi driver who then slammed on his/her brakes and absolutely bricked it on the descent with me glued to the rear bumper, unable to get past.

At Brancepeth I headed towards the River Wear and the climb of Page Bank to bring me into Spennymoor. The climbing continues all the way to Kirk Merrington where the subsequent drop to Leasingthorne can be taken at maximum velocity, being straight and wide enough just to let go and allow gravity to take over. Whoohoo!

A section of lanes and back roads brought me to Bishop Auckland where I crossed Newton Cap viaduct to get onto the railway path. It was raining properly by now, without a break in the clouds, so this section was just about getting the miles done so I could get home. Most of the climbing in this ride is in the first third so it was easy to maintain a good pace. As I got closer to Durham the number of dog walkers began to increase so I got back on the road at Meadowfield and made for Neville's Cross.

From there it was just a matter of riding up the A167 as quickly as possible to get home for several brews before cleaning and lubricating the bike. 40 miles with 2,700ft of climbing.

 

[EltonFrog]

Bloody filthy weather today. Another utility ride on the hybrid, I put on my waterproofs dragged the bike out. Puncture, FFS! Found the culprit a small piece of plastic, replaced tube, pumped up and left. By the time I got out it was pissing down and a really strong wind, on the way back I had to protect my eyes with my gloved hand the rain was really stinging. A smidge over 5 miles.

When I got home I repaired the inner tube and put that in my bag as a spare.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

As my last cycle rides have been pretty dreary affairs I suddenly remembered a ride I did back in 1975, don`t laugh. So, my ride today is that ride.

Back in 1975 just after I'd left school, I had a bit of time on my hands between working part time in my parents shop and starting my full time job the next month so I decided to go on a bike ride. I had done quite a few on my Raleigh Olympus since being bought for me in 1972. This day was different or at least it turned out different and I thought that I'd share it with you.


I started out from my home in Hadleigh and cycled to Stowmarket, incidentally that is where the bike came from and I rode home on in 1972. I must add that the saddle height was never altered from the day I rode away from the bike shop, so the set up must have been right. The route to Stowmarket was all on the main road via Bildeston and Hitcham, no country lanes for me then. When I reached Stowmarket I thought to myself “ where next ? ”. The answer being Ipswich, well it seemed like a good idea at the time !
So I set off again on what was the A45 (pre A14) to Ipswich via Needham Market and Great Blakenham and Claydon. I do recall finding the climb from Claydon to Ipswich a bit of a challenge the. On a 5 speed freewheel and single chainring I should not have been so Surprised. I ventured down the Norwich Rd getting my legs back after the climb and then around the docks. I thought that I'd head off to Shotley on the peninsula but for some reason found myself on the wrong side of the River Orwell so backtracked from Landseer Rd to the Wherstead Road and then out along the Strand. I will add that I took nothing with me, no drinks cage and no food. As for spare tubes and tools, what were they ?
I eventually arrived at Shotley via Freston hill (another fairly steep climb)and Chelmodiston. I continued on to Shotley Gate and I stopped at the village store and bought some food and drink, I was a bit peckish at that stage. That was a slight understatement. I didn't go any further as I'd already done the best part of 40 miles and so headed back towards Chelmodiston and then to Holbrook, at least the terrain was pretty flat for quite a few miles, recovery time.
From Holbrook I continued to Stutton and then cycled a short way on the A137 before turning off to East Bergholt. East Bergholt is a quite an odd village in as much as there are three parts to it. I dare say in some parts these would have been separate villages. Consequently it seems ages before I left the village and at this stage I was tiring quite a bit. It was a warm June day after all. Holton St. Mary then appeared and Raydon and finally Upper Layham by which time there were a couple of hills before the flat snake of a road alongside the River Brett and finally into Benton Street Hadleigh and back to where we started. By this time I was quite exhausted well for a short while. You seem to recover a lot quicker when you are younger. The mind still can do things as you get older but the body often says otherwise.
That ride finished at just over 60 miles and for a 16 year old that hadn't cycled any further than about 10 miles it was an epic. No mobile phone, no sat nav, no tools excepting a pump, no helmet and I was only wearing a t-shirt and football shorts (picture 1970`s shorts !) I did enjoy that ride and only thought about it again last week and what an achievement it was. Apart from the bit in Ipswich I never got lost but then that is what signposts are for.
Since then I`ve done the London to Brighton twice and the Suffolk 100 and the Boxford Tornado (60) in 2016. When I think back to 1975 what was different ? Far fewer vehicles on the roads and no close passes for one thing and just one other thing, 16 year old legs and engine !!







Just one other thing, I never did get the cat to ride the bike and it looks as if the gear cable was loose when I took the photo Happy days !

 

[pjd57]

First run for 10 days ( holiday to Fuertaventura ).
Not quite as warm , but still a nice mild day in Glasgow.
East across the city and out to Uddingston and back.
All uneventful except for a few words with a postie who seemed to think leaving his mail van across the cycle lane on a 40 mph road was ok

 

[jongooligan]

Another maungy day in County Durham but no ice and very little wind so I took myself off up the C2C path. It was a chilly descent to Chester le Street but a warming climb to Pelton Fell wher I got onto the path.

The path was quiet this morning and gloomy in the mist with the trees dripping onto the track- not the weather to inspire great deeds. I stopped at Beamish to take of a layer now that I'd warmed up.

Beamish Shorthorn

I continued on up to Annfield Plain in thickening fog thinking 'bugger this for a lark' and deciding I'd chuck it at the next turn but when I got there I changed my mind. At Annfield Plain the path has been diverted from the old railway line and 'improved' but riding up the old line might just rekindle my enthusiasm.

The Old Line

I stepped over the fence and rode up that mucky track and started to have fun. There had been a motorbike along there recently so it was badly chewed up. Just beyond that shot it becomes singletrack too so I was having to concentrate hard on staying upright as the back wheel slid this way and that. It was all over too soon and on reaching the road the fog was now thickening into rain so I turned for home.

Through Burnhope and Holmeside onto Edmondsley crossroads where there had been an accident. The police were there and while they held me up I heard the drivers of the crashed cars wishing each other a merry Christmas - very British.

Once through the holdup it was down over Waldridge Fell. There must have been some residual adrenaline in my system from the off roading as I found myself doing 30mph, downhill through the bends in Waldridge village. Felt a sudden thrill of fear as the loose gravel skittered and popped under my wheels and overcame the instinct to grab the brakes. Looking through the bends and holding the line I had a grin like a crack in a pie crust as I shot through the village.

What a buzz. Even on the dreariest of days it's worth getting out on your bike.

18 miles and not much climbing.

 

[Andy in Germany]

This got posted into the "Who has the Jersey?" thread by mistake, possibly because the resident five year old needed help ejecting her big brother from the bog because she had an urgent call of nature (what is it with teens locking themselves in the bog to use their smart phones?) Anyway, here it is, two days late but in the correct thread finally: apologies to those who've read it before...

The plan today was to ride around a 60k loop through the valley to the south of us, but after job applications were completed I realised the sun would set and I'd be riding the second part in the dark. This isn't the end of the world as I've cycled it in darkness when commuting to college but it also wouldn't be a lot of fun, so I reluctantly went for a rather shorter loop around the local airport. Not as scenic but better than nothing.

The first stage was along the valley that passes our village. This it turns out, is quite muddy when it is wet.

Fortunately the bike was getting a bit grubby over the last few days so so it needed a clean anyway...

There are so many infrastructure projects around the airport it is getting difficult to find a way through. Thae airport and exhibitions centre (seen above) sit in the fields like a Martian colony: suddenly you go from being surrounded by ploughed farmland to paved roads, glass buildings and advertisements.

I cut through the exhibition centre, feeling pretty smug until I found that the authorities had found this route and made a diversion. As this is so they can build a tram route to the airport I probably shouldn't complain.

Still did though.

As suddenly as it appears, the airport ends and I was back in open countryside. This is the old route of a railway line, turned into a cycleway when the railway was rebuilt to go under the airport. I generally don't take pictures for a bit after this as the cycleway crosses the US military section of the airport and I'm told they get quite fussy about people with cameras.

To the south of the airport now. This is a Feldweg or agricultural road, open to pedestrians, bikes, and tractors but not cars. As you can see it is a little mucky. What you can't see is that the bike has cleaned it up by transferring much of the muck onto the frame and me.

Return of "My bike in front of a control tower".

Last leg of the ride using another Feldweg: our village is on the other side of those trees. light vanishing, bike utterly, utterly, filthy having hit a dip in the road that was flooded with silty mud.

It was so bad I cleaned the bike when I got back. I doubt it was a very good job: I had to stop every three minutes and switch the light on again, but at least it'll be an improvement. It also meant I realised one of the pedals is getting loose,so I guess that'll go on the never ending "urgent jobs" list...

 

[geocycle]

Got out again today after weather and illness interlude. Bit drizzly so headed to Arnside, Cumbria. Pictures show bike doing a Titanic pose at the end of the short pier looking toward the viaduct. Nice Christmas tree as well. Next picture is of Morecambe bay looking wonderful in the wintry light.

 

[footloose crow]

21 December Perranporth before it rains

Tonight the northern hemisphere starts to wobble back towards the sun and our days will be imperceptibly longer. This is a milestone date. A weather window this morning before the next weather front arrives soaking the already saturated fields, pouring onto the roads and leaving a rich deposit of discarded twigs, old leaves and mud. So out early, early-ish anyway and the roads are not yet full of Christmas shoppers, , houses silent, curtains drawn, gardens bedraggled, a grey light, black clouds boiling up far to the west promising a deluge later.

The lanes out to Idless are becoming familiar this winter but today a new experience. Two cyclists, yellow jacketed and hunched over their bars are in front of me and then they are behind me. I greet them and share my incredulity that I have overtaken someone and then later reflect that it was probably not what they wanted to hear. I am under pressure now to stay ahead and tackle the next hill with more than usual zeal, to arrive at the summit at a crawl and breathless. I want to remove a layer but dare not stop in case I am overtaken myself. It is some miles before I realise that they are not behind me. Later I find them on Strava and find we parted ways quite quickly.

Today is uneventful. I have a map. I don't get lost. There are no close passes. The road rolls beneath the wheels and I watch the countryside and the darkening sky. Through Goonhavern and then down Reen Hill to Perranporth, the surf visible from a mile away, great foaming breakers that are removing the sand from the beach this winter at a rapid rate.

The surf shops are still open in Perranporth and the streets are busy with holidaymakers here for Christmas, hunched up against the wind and drizzle. The pasty shops are full but the cafes are closed. We have a twelve month season here and I am glad for tourism provides a third of our county's income and without it, we should be even poorer.

A brief stop on the beach, no one out surfing today. They will be seeking out the sheltered spots on the south coast.

Now out along Perrancombe, a narrow lane lined with large comfortable detached properties and then gently uphill at first until out of Perranporth and beneath a canopy of dripping beech trees the lane rears up and we are on the way to St Agnes. I planned to circumnavigate St Agnes Beacon, a lonely hill to the west of St Agnes that has a raised road running around it with commanding views of the Atlantic. It has started to rain now, there will be views of grey cloud and grey sea and no visible horizon and I feel the need to go home.

So Goonbell next, a small village perched on a hill and then the NCN route along back lanes with more down than up that will take me back to Truro. The rain is hammering on my helmet, soaking my hair and running down my neck. I zip up my jacket, no waterproofs today and hunch down, spinning as fast as I can to get out of the rain. Cars pass in a hiss of spray, I see faces turn towards me and I can imagine what they will be thinking. I just hope they see my blinking lights and the flash of yellow overshoes. I intended to go further today but it looks as if the front is moving faster than expected and the sky is very dark now.

Truro arrives and I am suddenly in the town centre, Santa hats and thick coats, people laden with Primark and Next bags, the street lights have come on early and car brake lights, red, rain obscured, reflect on the wet road. For two hours I have been lost in my own thoughts, the reverie that comes with pedal spinning and being in the countryside and now I am catapulted into Christmas, tinsel and lights and crowds. I am cold now, hands frozen as I didn't bother with gloves this morning, fingers clumsy and thick. One final hill, taken slowly until I see that I am not gaining on a runner ahead of me, overweight and puffing. So I make more effort, greet him cheerily as I pass and then sink back into bottom gear once out of sight. Such vanity.

The best part of a ride is the hot shower, the mug of steaming tea, cycle gear in the washing machine, bike scrubbed down. The 'Strava moment' next - but I still languish in mid table on every hill and I can see that my times are getting longer not shorter. I wonder about paying more for Strava Summit so I can see how the over 60s do although I fear that they are even faster than the younger cyclists. The weather front has arrived, the rain heavy now, trees whipping in the gale, all the house lights on although it is not yet mid day.

 

[footloose crow]

Forgot the map!!

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Christmas ride with the Saturday Crew. Only 4 of us though. Steve E, John G, Jules H and me. We had to avoid flooding so Longdon featured today as did The Rampings. At The Mythe we paused for coffee and snacks. Then around by the White Rabbit to Upton. Now the Three Kings was inaccessible as the Hanley Road was flooded so we dodged around to The Swan at Hanley Swan for our Christmas beer. Just a steady potter back for me via the Town. 38 smiles

 

[EltonFrog]

Yet another utility ride today to Didcot to buy some sundry items that I’m sure are of no interest to anyone, the town centre was busy with folks doing Christmas shopping but they didn’t look at all happy about it, not a lot of good cheer around as far as I could see.

My bits and pieces done I cycled home into a light headwind. 5.40 miles today, another none car errand and a few miles closer to my end of year goal.

 

[Mr Celine]

I headed out into the almost- solstice (the shortest day being tomorrow) gloom. Going downhill through Melrose and signalling a left turn I used a bit too much front brake which induced a brown short moment as the front wheel skidded. The roads round here are covered in mud, road salt, gravel, water and diesel which doesn't help.
I took a brief detour down a dead end I've never been down before and stopped to take a picture of the spectacular gloom.

View looks south west. The road is pointing straight towards the River Tweed which can just be seen behind the tree. To the right on the horizon are the Eildon Hills. This was taken at 3:20 or twenty minutes before sunset, which is already a minute later than a couple of days ago. Home is the other side of the hills but all lights were fully charged. Back in Melrose I stopped outside the Greenyards to watch the egg chasing for five minutes. Both teams looked wet and muddy, which is curious because the pitch is an artificial one, installed this year along with the floodlights.

Today's map -

29.7 miles @ 12.8 mph, 607m up.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

After rain in the night and more rain around 8.00 this morning I knew the roads would still be wet but at least by the time I got out at 10.00 the sun was out but feeling more chilly than it might suggest. I decided on keeping to the fairly main roads that I knew would at least be flood free. I headed up on the B1113 to Bacton and then Finningham, where I turned left to Westhorpe where I did meet a partial flood but at least was able to go around on the footpath. From here I then went to Wyverstone and did a loop before heading back to Bacton and re-tracing my route to Stowmarket.
There was a fair bit of traffic about, more so because the other route to Bacton from Haughley was closed because of dare I say it, flooding. All the traffic seemed to be in a hurry and not many happy faces about. I did get a nice smile from a post lady as she thought better of it than cross in front of me. There were four people out on horses and they too seemed friendly.
The ride was just 20.5 miles and good to get out after yesterdays rain and at least I was able to try out the new 12-26 cassette I fitted yesterday. Furthermore I passed the 3500 mile mark today so equally pleased about that. The bike got a good clean this afternoon whilst it was still dry. The rain returned later.

Happy days.

 

[AndreaJ]

It was a lovely sunny morning in Shropshire so to continue my mission to find some new routes I consulted a map, made some rough notes in case I got lost on the bits I didn’t know and hoped there would be no floods. I started out to Northwood then turned to Bettisfield, then turned back to Hampton Bank and Welshampton turning by the school down unknown lanes with more hills than I usually find to Coptiviney and past The Mere into Ellesmere, through Ellesmere and past Ellesmere College to Lee to more unknown territory turning to pass Whitemere into Spunhill. Cross the Shrewsbury road up past a nature reserve before coming to lanes I recognised near Colemere, round Colemere, into Lyneal , Brown Heath, Loppington where I thought I would add a bit extra on by going to Nonely then turning back to Wolverley and home, this was a mistake because the lane was flooded and I got wet but not far from home. The lanes are really filthy now with mud, mushed up leaves and hedge cuttings and I have noticed Shropshire council don’t seem to repair any lanes with hills in this part of Shropshire which makes for some interesting descents trying to find a route past the potholes and bits with no road surface. 23 miles with not much traffic about and didn’t get lost.

 

[steveindenmark]

Im in the middle of my last half century of the year 😁🇩🇰