Your ride today....

[Landsurfer]

This mornings "coast to coast" Hayle to Marazion ... and on to Mousehole and back ...
23 miles with a few gentle ups and downs ....
Rain started as i got the bike out of the van ... and stopped as i returned ....

 

[ColinJ]

I think age must be setting in as I struggled to push the pedals up only 'slight' gradients on my SS. Another tooth on the sprocket needed maybe. I thought as you got older you lost teeth not gained them

What gear ratio are you using? I have done several long forum rides in Cheshire on my SS. I use 52/19 and find that good for whizzing along, ok for slight uphills, and just about ok for the worst climbs that we encountered. I know that there are steep Cheshire climbs such as Swiss Hill and Mow Cop, but I wouldn't even attempt them on the SS!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

A bit late as I've been offline a few days:

Tuesday: I got out in the afternoon to do a favourite route, which I've been avoiding since the Covid crisis started. I used the Raleigh and headed off to the Stiperstones and the Long Mynd.

The conditions were pretty good for cycling; overcast but pleasantly warm with little in the way of wind. I was on familiar roads to start with heading to Condover, Exford's Green, Plealey, Pontesbury and Minsterley before turning south to Ploxgreen and the start of the climb to Snailbeach. This first bit all went well and I was finding the bike easy to spin along, although I was conscious of not pushing too hard with some big climbs to come. Approaching Ploxgreen I started catching a couple of mountainbikers but let them get ahead as I had my usual drink stop before the proper climbing starts. I encountered them again resting at Snailbeach where from the looks I think they may have tackled the climb a bit quick.

I carried on up the road to Crowsnest, Stiperstones village, Pennerley and The Bog and was really chuffed that the bike feels good on the climbs as well as on the flat. The visitor centre at The Bog was closed so no temptation to stop there, but it wasn't putting off other visitors as the nearby car park was practically full which is unusual. Further up the main carpark for the Stiperstones was actually full. Expecting places like this to be busy with visitors is the main reason I've been avoiding coming up here.

After a drink and a snack I dropped down into the Onny Valley, past The Bridges (the Horseshoe pub seemed to be doing a fairly good trade) and started the second big climb of the day up onto the Long Mynd via Ratlinghope. I did get held up a bit by some vehicles that were having difficulty passing one another on the narrow lane then turned right and the gradient ramped up. I plodded up this climb with a few stops to allow vehicles past (with the drivers looking surprised to see a cyclist up here) as far as Shooting Box where I turned right onto the gravel path for the summit at Pole Bank. It wasn't as busy up here as it had been at the Stiperstones and at Pole Bank there was loads of room to keep my distance from the couple of other people there. I chatted with one walker who is a regular visitor and told me how he has been avoiding Church Stretton after the parking problems when thousands of visitors descended on the place as the restrictions were eased.

Leaving the summit I initially dropped down on the Pole Cottage side then doubled back towards Boiling Well. I'd thought about heading down the Burway but not knowing how many visitors there would be on the more popular side of the hill made a quieter route seem the better option. I crossed Wild Moor and dropped down past High Park before taking a right for Plush Hill. It occured to me that following one of the bridleways to Gogbatch might be quite fun and this proved to be a good choice when I had it pretty much to myself.

Starting the homeward leg, the A49 was quite busy to cross. I headed through Hollyhurst, Longnor and Ryton, then at Condover decided that heading over Lyth Hill would be preferable as I'd spend less time crossing the A49 again.

40.2 miles at 12.6 mph average which I'm quite happy with. The bike felt excellent to ride and no discomfort this time.

At the old lead mine at Snailbeach.

Between Pennerley and The Bog.

The visitor centre at The Bog.

View from the Stiperstones.

Looking towards the Long Mynd as I descend from the Stiperstones.

Climbing up onto the Long Mynd. One of those rare photos where it does give a sense of how steep it is.

At the top. Looking towards the Wrekin from Pole Bank.

Descending High Park. As I stopped to take this pic three Red Kite were riding updraughts just by the group of trees ahead.

On the grassy bridleway to Gogbatch.

Back down in the valley on my way home. Although June and July have brought frequent showers there can't have been much volume in them as the fords on the old Roman road have dried up.

...............................................................................

Wednesday: Just a quick run anti-clockwise round my Acton Burnell loop using the knockabout bike to try out an experimental adjustment. Although my legs didn't feel too bad to start with after the ride round the hills I soon knew about it once trying to get this heavy lump moving. A couple of adjustments later things were going better but the Hawk feels so sluggish after the Raleigh.

Changing direction so that the wind was behind me at Longnor made a difference and it was a bit easier hustling the bike along but the climbs were still a bit slow. The A49 had been busier than expected at the start of the ride so I once again headed for the Lyth Hill route on the way back so as not to be too bothered by the traffic.

18.5 miles for this one at 14 mph average which is better than expected as I took the slow way home. I didn't stop for photos this time.

 

[Landsurfer]

A bit late as I've been offline a few days:

Tuesday: I got out in the afternoon to do a favourite route, which I've been avoiding since the Covid crisis started. I used the Raleigh and headed off to the Stiperstones and the Long Mynd.

The conditions were pretty good for cycling; overcast but pleasantly warm with little in the way of wind. I was on familiar roads to start with heading to Condover, Exford's Green, Plealey, Pontesbury and Minsterley before turning south to Ploxgreen and the start of the climb to Snailbeach. This first bit all went well and I was finding the bike easy to spin along, although I was conscious of not pushing too hard with some big climbs to come. Approaching Ploxgreen I started catching a couple of mountainbikers but let them get ahead as I had my usual drink stop before the proper climbing starts. I encountered them again resting at Snailbeach where from the looks I think they may have tackled the climb a bit quick.

I carried on up the road to Crowsnest, Stiperstones village, Pennerley and The Bog and was really chuffed that the bike feels good on the climbs as well as on the flat. The visitor centre at The Bog was closed so no temptation to stop there, but it wasn't putting off other visitors as the nearby car park was practically full which is unusual. Further up the main carpark for the Stiperstones was actually full. Expecting places like this to be busy with visitors is the main reason I've been avoiding coming up here.

After a drink and a snack I dropped down into the Onny Valley, past The Bridges (the Horseshoe pub seemed to be doing a fairly good trade) and started the second big climb of the day up onto the Long Mynd via Ratlinghope. I did get held up a bit by some vehicles that were having difficulty passing one another on the narrow lane then turned right and the gradient ramped up. I plodded up this climb with a few stops to allow vehicles past (with the drivers looking surprised to see a cyclist up here) as far as Shooting Box where I turned right onto the gravel path for the summit at Pole Bank. It wasn't as busy up here as it had been at the Stiperstones and at Pole Bank there was loads of room to keep my distance from the couple of other people there. I chatted with one walker who is a regular visitor and told me how he has been avoiding Church Stretton after the parking problems when thousands of visitors descended on the place as the restrictions were eased.

Leaving the summit I initially dropped down on the Pole Cottage side then doubled back towards Boiling Well. I'd thought about heading down the Burway but not knowing how many visitors there would be on the more popular side of the hill made a quieter route seem the better option. I crossed Wild Moor and dropped down past High Park before taking a right for Plush Hill. It occured to me that following one of the bridleways to Gogbatch might be quite fun and this proved to be a good choice when I had it pretty much to myself.

Starting the homeward leg, the A49 was quite busy to cross. I headed through Hollyhurst, Longnor and Ryton, then at Condover decided that heading over Lyth Hill would be preferable as I'd spend less time crossing the A49 again.

40.2 miles at 12.6 mph average which I'm quite happy with. The bike felt excellent to ride and no discomfort this time.

View attachment 537581
At the old lead mine at Snailbeach.

View attachment 537572
Between Pennerley and The Bog.

View attachment 537573
The visitor centre at The Bog.

View attachment 537574
View from the Stiperstones.

View attachment 537575
Looking towards the Long Mynd as I descend from the Stiperstones.

View attachment 537576
Climbing up onto the Long Mynd. One of those rare photos where it does give a sense of how steep it is.

View attachment 537577
At the top. Looking towards the Wrekin from Pole Bank.

View attachment 537578
Descending High Park. As I stopped to take this pic three Red Kite were riding updraughts just by the group of trees ahead.

View attachment 537579
On the grassy bridleway to Gogbatch.

View attachment 537580
Back down in the valley on my way home. Although June and July have brought frequent showers there can't have been much volume in them as the fords on the old Roman road have dried up.

...............................................................................

Wednesday: Just a quick run anti-clockwise round my Acton Burnell loop using the knockabout bike to try out an experimental adjustment. Although my legs didn't feel too bad to start with after the ride round the hills I soon knew about it once trying to get this heavy lump moving. A couple of adjustments later things were going better but the Hawk feels so sluggish after the Raleigh.

Changing direction so that the wind was behind me at Longnor made a difference and it was a bit easier hustling the bike along but the climbs were still a bit slow. The A49 had been busier than expected at the start of the ride so I once again headed for the Lyth Hill route on the way back so as not to be too bothered by the traffic.

18.5 miles for this one at 14 mph average which is better than expected as I took the slow way home. I didn't stop for photos this time.

That looks like one very uncomfortable saddle position with the nose up so high ... do you not suffer from blood supply problems to the perineum / testes ? I have to keep the nose of all my saddles at a negative angle to the seat back or i lose all blood supply to my bits ...

 

[Jaykun85]

Sadly its raining here so I had the stupid idea to start a Virtual LEJOG ride I wonder how many days I will continue im not gonna push myself too much just a little starter ride to get me ready for the weeks ahead

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

That looks like one very uncomfortable saddle position with the nose up so high ... do you not suffer from blood supply problems to the perineum / testes ? I have to keep the nose of all my saddles at a negative angle to the seat back or i lose all blood supply to my bits ...

No, blood supply problems aren't the issue. What I find with the leather saddles is that they need to be nose up a notch or two otherwise I tend to keep sliding too far forward onto the nose and that does cause issues with the perinium. Possibly the camera angle is deceptive because what you see there is only 1 notch from level.

 

[Old jon]

A not very secret thing. I have a shopping bike, and as I took it out on Tuesday morning I noticed the back tyre on the fixed was flat. Very odd, ‘cos it had been put away fine the afternoon before. So, after shopping, out with the wheel, tube out and found a series of holes, three or four, along a ten or twelve millimetre length of tube. Look inside the tyre in the same area, and the surface there is breaking up. It is a Schwalbe Durano, more than 3600 miles old. So I scrapped it and fitted a new, unused spare. Which went on with no difficulty at all, there is usually need of a tyre lever for the last bit. Pleasant surprise.

And yesterday’s ride was different too. A few of us had a ride out for a meal and drinks in the evening, meeting up at Slaid Hill. And someone had worked out a good route, including one track, macadamed but not otherwise surfaced, that I had never ridden before. But that was later.

Away along Wyke Ridge Lane, and turn right to head to Scarcroft on Tarn Lane, changes to Syke Lane at the crossroads. Cross the A58 in Scarcroft onto Thorner Lane, this eventually meets Milner Lane just past Scarcroft Hall. Keep on to Holme Farm Lane and turn right, this takes me to another Thorner Lane, then the road of that name before reaching the outskirts of Bramham. Turn right onto Paradise Way. Left onto (I think) Toulston Lane then a right which leads back to Paradise Way just north of Bramham Crossroads.

From there to Aberford, one or two, or all, knew the pub was just over there to the right. But we wanted more miles. Honest. So all the way to Cattle Lane, mostly downhill, then to Barwick. Not quite as far as the maypole, turn right across the front of the church. This is Potterton Lane, ‘cos that is where it goes. We turned left onto Kiddal Lane, which meets the A64 and the pub. Food and drink adjournment, most enjoyable.

Leave the pub and ride east on the A64 to what seems to be called Mangrill Lane. Odd name, wonder what the history is. This is the track mentioned earlier, which ends at yet another Thorner Lane, if you turn right, or Bramham Road going left. To Thorner, the way we pedalled. Down the hill, one of our number turned off onto Milner Lane, in the direction of up. The rest turned right a bit further on, up Carr Lane to the A58, where I turned left leaving the group who were riding on to Shadwell and further.

This leaves me to ride back home past Roundhay Park’s spare gates and the clock at Oakwood. Then town centre and back over the Aire. Home was reached about 40 miles after leaving, with a big smile for a great evening. No map, no accurate mileage, my garthing tells me their servers are being maintained.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

A recent thread discussing Sustrans routes got me to thinking that I'd not ridden any really serious miles on any of the NCNs, I'd merely dabbled locally. So I ordered a couple of Sustrans maps which came in the post yesterday, and this morning I took the train up to Huntingdon, with the intention of following NCN 12 all the way south to my home. A route of about 35 miles, or so I'd estimated.

I rode west to Grafham Water on minor road and paved path, then south through Hail Weston towards St Neots, crossing a good few miles of really rough stony track that made me glad I wasn't on a road bike. At St Neots I fell out with the Sustrans route markers, getting lost for nearly 45 minutes around the town as NCN12 splits into many choices, and I ended up back where I started more than once.

(Gravel path south of Grafham Water)

(Crossing the Great Ouse at St Neots)

I found my way back onto the "right" NCN12 and found myself heading a long way to the west of the A1, then south through Chawston.

I rode on through Roxton, (finding what looked like a mushroom house for pixies) and then Great Barford.

At Sandy, with the mileage already reading 25 thanks to a very circuitous route and some instances of poor signage, and with a long way to go until home, I worked out that the total for the day would likely be nearer mid 40s, so I bailed / wimped out at Sandy and let the train take the strain.

(Community Hall at Sandy)

I'm going to have another go next week now I know most of the route better.
25 miles total.

 

[Mike_P]

It was dull this evening and definitely had been an appropriate time for Cumberland Pie with veg and Apple Pie with custard, and then the local weather forecast, 21 degrees tomorrow. A quick scan of the fridge and the need for yet another shopping trip, and, through matter of elimination of where I had been recently, the ebike set forth to Asda in what where increasingly dark skies with a spot of moisture evident in the air. Maybe it was because I had left the cycling glasses behind but that quickly gave way with the sun breaking through.

At Asda put the ebike next to a Sheffield stand and locked its built in clamp to the rear wheel and then reached into a number of coat and rucksack pockets in search of my keys – nowhere to be found. So the weird sight of a D lock going into the rucksack rather than around the top tube and Sheffield stand.

It was a doubly quick ride home due to frozen food and the puzzle of where were the keys – still in the bike shed lock being the answer and the Defy still safely inside. 4.59 miles with 367ft up.

 

[welsh dragon]

Another day on the bike for me. Just under 13 miles in very hot muggy weather. Not too much traffic either. The farmers have been busy getting the hay in as well

 

[Old jon]

Morning rides again, and it is bright, the barometer is rising, it must be time to ride the fixed somewhere and try out the new back tyre.

There are a lot of somewheres to choose from, anything in the Otley direction was the idea this morning. Almost an early start, so Office Lock and the towpath seems good. Leave this at Viaduct Road, ride up to Headingley and further up the A660, in the end staying on that road to Bramhope for the roadworks, an enjoyable bit of swervery when the traffic is light, as it was this morning. Up past the puritan chapel and for a change, straight on at the Dyneley Arms. I have not ridden down Leeds Road for some time.

And the plan was to cross the Wharfe and ride up Farnley Lane. So I followed the plan, just. The first steep bit was only just ridden up, slow indeed. After that the speed increased as the gradient decreased, a much better state of things. After going up, descent is the way. A bit of a fast one from Farnley, which is more noticeable on the fixed. Quite a workout. Cross the River Washburn, turn right and after one more right turn reach Pool after going back across the Wharfe.

Then turn right to go back to Otley. Pool Bank is straight on, and a bit steeper than Farnley Lane that I only just managed to pedal up. So, ride up the Leeds Road out of Otley, it always looks different in the opposite direction. Bramhope again, turn left for Kings Road and right at the top of that. Cross Adel dam, pass the church and return to the A660 for the long downhill through Headingley to Kirkstall.

Back to the towpath, still quiet along here. Onto Great Wilson Street from Water Lane, followed by a bit of ex industrial stuff before the last stretch home. I looked at the numbers on the garthing, guessing their servers would still be inoperative. So, to match the grin, just more than 36 miles and 1700 feet of riding uphill. Really good ride.

 

[postman]

Well today was going to be a pie ride,in memory of our friend and my neighbour Vernon.So a lovely ride to Otley where there are two of Vernon's favourite pie shops.Sadly both queues were massive.I did not want to wait.So i found my cafe and turned it in to a coffeeand walnut cake ride.Eccup res was as full as i have seen it in a long time.Otley Road at Bramhope is changing everytime i go past.There are now dry stone walls going up,and a fabulous lake next to the road.I wonder who will get the boating concession.All in all a super ride out.i am building up slowly.It's time to head out Wetherby way which is so flat.Rufforth and a nice cafe there methinks.

 

[geocycle]

Had another opportunity for a ride today. Headed into Ribble Valley via the Trough of Bowland, 95km with 1500m of up. I went over Newton Fell for the first time which was a steady climb then white knuckle descent into Waddington. Coffee stop in Clitheroe which was bustling with face masks. Quite cloudy in Bowland but stayed dry.

 

[colly]

I'm told it's going to be a wet weekend and as a result a Before the Rains ride was called for.

Vague ideas of going north took me to Wyke via Moortown and Slaid Hill. A turn left took me to Harrogate Road where I hooked a right. Up to the gates and down Harewood Bank to cross the Wharfe. A couple of miles on and a left to the level crossing and the climb up to North Rigton. Surprisingly I got a personal best of 3.11 for the climb. Considering that I had a goal of 3.30 only six weeks ago I must be doing something right.
all the way up and past the Crag and a turn up Greenmires Lane. At the end of which I turned left, by mistake, my sense of direction must have stayed at home and so instead of making for Harrogate, Ripley, and Knaresborough I found myself rolling down past Leathley and into Pool in Wharefdale.
Never mind, it's all good stuff, and so after the bridge and mini roundabout I turned right up Old Pool Bank. It's a stiff little climb but well worth the effort. Some great views especially on a bright sunny July day:

Two thirds of the way up it crosses the Leeds Road and carries on right up to the outskirts of Bramhope which means........one can turn left and hare all the way back down on Pool Bank.
Crossing the bridge again it was a right hand turn to Castley which has some nice views of the Arthington Viaduct and next time I am that way I'll stop and take some pics.
Through Weeton and Dunkeswick and a swift left and a right on Harrogate Road took me towards Kirkby Overblow and also Netherby and the climb up to Chapel Hill:

Chapel Hill is on the way to nowhere and so it must be a great place to have a house. Quiet? Oh yes.
Sicklinghall and Wetherby were next in line and I stopped for some pics of The Wetherby Ings, only to find my phone didn't want to cooperate. So another time perhaps.
Back towards home on the A58 and a left up Jewitt Lane and on towards Bramham. A loop around there and back the way I had come and into Thorner, up Sandbanks, Bramley Grange and Roberts your mother's brother..........I was home.

Altogether 50.7 miles and 3740ft of upness. A ride that made itself up as it went along. Which is often the case.

(https://ridewithgps.com/53029351)

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Off-road foray to the local country park with the kids and friends including two loops of the lake.

Distance: 28.50 km Elev Gain: 189 m Time: 2h 27m

Daughter fuelled with Jelly Babies and Haribo + Son fuelled by Dairy Milk = Successful ride with no moaning

Look out for my future help book, Bribery AKA How To Successfully Raise Kids, The Moaning-Free Way