Your ride today....

[Rickshaw Phil]

A couple of rides to report on.

Monday: After a wet and windy day the rain cleared up in the evening so I took the chance to get out knowing I was unlikely to have the chance on Tuesday. With the wind still being a bit blustery I opted for the Oaks-Pulverbatch-Wilderley-Dudgley-Longnor-Condover route as this would be into the wind early on and hopefully helping later on.

It was a pretty nice ride on mostly quiet roads, although not lockdown quiet. Not many other cyclists out - I imagine they'd mostly given the day up as a bad job. A bit of wildlife in the form of a buzzard and a sparrowhawk.

26.3 miles at 12.6 mph average.

The view from Lyth Hill as the remnants of the raincloud clear away to the east.

The top of the climb at Oaks. I needed to pause on the way up to allow a chap in a Porsche to overtake.

The evening light on the hills later in the ride was fantastic, appearing more golden than it has come out in the photos.

Another look back at Caer Caradoc from near Hollyhurst.

The sun has just set at I reach Ryton.

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

Yesterday: I wanted to go a bit further than usual so set out to do a 50 miler in a loop around Shrewsbury. I used the Raleigh this time and set out to head for Minsterley, Melverley, Baschurch, Hadnall, Upton Magna and back via Atcham and Condover.

I was setting out in the rush hour so it was a bit busy at the start with the lanes being a bit stop-start as I needed to allow other vehicles past. Things settled down a bit once past Exford's Green and I caught a couple of other cyclists on the way through Plealey. The main road section through Pontesbury wasn't too bad but I still made use of the cycleway to Minsterley (so much nicer than riding this stretch of road and raised slightly so the view is better too). After negotiating the temporary traffic lights in Minsterley I turned onto Horsebrige Road and met the first of five tractors and trailers I'd encounter in the next couple of miles - harvesting season is upon us.

Westbury, Halfway House and Crew Green were ticked off the list and here I turned to have a tailwind on the way to Melverley. Something hit my hand just after crossing the Severn and looking down I found a wasp sat on my right bar-end. Fortunate not to have been stung by that I think.

With the tailwind I got on well past the Royal Hill (too early for it to be open) and Pentre. The climb over the hill to Great Ness seemed fairly easy today and I whizzed along nicely to Hadnall then Yeaton. I was distracted by feeling a bit fidgety on the saddle round the Old Woods area but that passed when I took a drink stop near Merrington. Reaching Hadnall there was a strong but pleasant smell of beer brewing as I passed the Salopian premises and a driver sitting looking lost at the next cross roads.

Usually I don't look forward to the climbs at Ebury Hill and Haughmond Hill as they are a bit long and plodding and the wind is usually against me. Not a problem this time though. There was a good crowd of cyclists at the cafe at the Haughmond Inn and it looks like the Mytton and Mermaid has reopened too.

I did find the wind picking up again after Upton Magna and being a cross-headwind for pretty much the rest of the way back it slowed things down a little.

Edit: I forgot to mention overtaking a couple on the way into Condover, one of whom was on a nifty looking upright racing trike. You don't see many of those around.

53.2 miles at 15 mph average this time. Happy with that.

Between Pontesbury and Minsterley.

Looking into Wales just before descending to Prince's Oak.

The Breidden viewed from near Melverley.

Drink stop overlooking Bomere Heath and the Stretton Hills in the distance.

On the old bridge at Atcham.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Yesterday was my birthday. My wife bought me a massage session with our masseuse which was scheduled for the morning and was heavenly. Didn't sleep well the night before and laid down for a nap. Then my mind was doing everything possible to avoid a ride. Finally, I mustered up the motivation to get my act together and head out in the 93 degree F heat. Incredibly since it was mid afternoon, the sun was at an angle that created lots of shadows from the many trees in the area and the temps as I rode through the portion of my route that goes through a 2,000 acre park were delightfully cool. I was able to do 21 miles and for about the third time I clocked at just over 12 mph average speed. Just knowing that I am showing some increased strength made me feel good. And of course the ride itself was also very nice. It always clears my head a bit during these stressful times. I'll say that I was probably covered in much more sweat than I have from any previous ride thus far this summer. And it felt good. Afterwards I took a nice long shower and treated myself to a leisurely shave (classic shave with shave brush and manually whipped lather and a double edge razor) before heading out to dinner with my wife and son at a local favorite restaurant that has set up a tent outside with seating spread very far apart and all staff wearing masks. I had some tuna sashimi with noodles and seaweed salad as well as a deliciously creamy ricotta cheese mixed with pistachios and olive oil over some toasted rustica bread. It took them a bit to fix the less than sashimi grade tuna they tried serving me at first. My wife had ordered the same thing and her's was very different. No fat veins at all. Mine had lots of them. So I returned it. They made it right. And I allowed myself a Vesper Martini, 3 parts Bombay Sapphire, 1 part Ketel One, 1/2 part Lillet Blanc, served chilled straight up with a lemon twist. My favorite summer beverage this year. And this morning I woke up to find that an antique barbershop lather bowl that I found on the e of the bay which wasn't supposed to be delivered until Saturday is now out for delivery this morning (Thursday). All in all, it was a good day to start my 58th year.

Happy Birthday for yesterday.

 

[wafter]

Awoke early (about half seven) to an already glorious day, although it was a couple of hours before I could bare to haul my decrepit frame into a roughly vertical orientation.

It looked so good outside it would have been a crime not to get out in some capacity, so breakfast was skipped and the CdF was grabbed for a mosey; complete with a delicate and summery Aural Imbalance DnB soundtrack

I wasn't disappointed as the weather was pretty much perfection - warm sun, clear skies, uncharacteristically-sub-steamroom humidity and a cool, light breeze carrying with it the slightest hint of autumn.

I took the usual roads out but hung a left on the Cumnor hill to join the bridleway that cuts across to Boar's Hill; the route being largely deserted:

I continued through the shady lanes of Boar's Hill and past some good views of the city. The cyclists taking a break in this pic must have started early / covered some distance as they were already apparently on their lunch at about half 10..

From there it was on through Bagley Wood; its tranquility only adding to the usually alien feeling of simply being glad to be alive.

While exploring the woods I found an exit out the back that ran through some fields to Sunningwell; again overwhelmed by the perfect weather. I doubled back up the road and did a few loops of the wide gravel tracks through the middle bit of the wood on the other side of the road before heading out towards Kennington, through Radley and towards Abindon..

From there I headed past Radley Lakes and spent a moment of solitide watching the shoals of small fish in the crystal clear water, surrounded by myriad dragonflies, damselflies and other wildlife.

Once past the lakes I followed a new-found track out to the banks of the Thames, following the occasionally neck-jarringly-rough route back to Radley, then across to Littlemore and back through town.

By this last leg the heat of the midday sun had taken the edge off the wonderous weather, I was once more uncharacteristically tired while the noise and hassle of the city proved a bit of a wake up call... still, the first hour of this ride had been as close to sheer perfection as I've reached in a long time and offered some much-needed respite from my usual existance

The numbers are nowt to write home about but of course that's not what today was about; around 28 miles and 900ft at 11.3mph and 113bpm for around 1100kcal burnt; although given the terrain I suspect that's a bit conservative.

 

[Old jon]

A bit of a drear view out of the window this morning, but the forecast promised twenty some degrees, so at least it would be warm rain. The fixed has been neglected recently, take it out for a flatlands ride to Naburn. Which is quite a distance, but other members of the family were having a late breakfast there and I was invited.

There was a bit of thought had to go into this one before a pedal was turned. All about the distance, really, and in the end I decided to use the same route in each direction. Any alterations extended things by quite a distance, and roads look different going the other way, don’t they?
So, take the riverside path to Woodlesford, a very quiet start to the morning, and then back on the road through Swillington to Garforth. And ride up Garforth Cliff. From here on there are a few bits of rising road, but not by much. The plan, such as it was, was to ride along the A63 all the way to the B1222. This goes to Sherburn, then Cawood and on to Naburn. Navigation can be a doddle!

Four sevenths of the clan, and some partners, sat at a large table for breakfast and nattered about stuff for an hour or so and then it was time to go. The mizzle had stopped and the temperature was rising. And I was wondering how well my legs might last. There is only one way to find out, so I pedalled off. Yup, the scenery was different but the riding was as it usually is, fun. I was reaching some unusual speeds, extended flat roads do this. But they also seem to take a long while to reach the next bend. Cawood provided one before reaching the bridge.



And then, it is Sherburn and Garforth and back home. The riverside path was busy, pedestrians and cyclists, but still easier riding than the road. And after fifty seven miles of riding, why did my longest ride of the year so far have to be done in one gear? There is time. I called it a flatlands ride, by the time I reached home flatlands was 1800 feet of gained height. Something to smile about.

Wheels went this way

And an odd elevation thingy . . .

 

[Andy in Germany]

This mornings commute, for once I wasn't late so I had time to take a picture.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Today was the second crack at going from Huntingdon to home, through 3 counties along NCN12, kind of an experiment to see what the Sustrans routes are like to follow over longer distances. My last attempt stalled well short of home thanks to it being much longer, more meandering and badly signed than I bargained for.
So I arrived at Huntingdon on the train more confident today, since I'd done some of it last week, and I set off west through Brampton to Grafham Water where I turned south towards St Neots, and onto the awfully rough, stony tracks. Lunch was taken at St Neots before I set off down to Sandy (last week's bail out point), pushing onwards this time through Biggleswade. From Arlesey onwards, lactic acid had my thighs screaming in protest, and the heat of the day had me pouring water over myself frequently in a desperate attempt to keep my head working.
Finally I reached home 43 miles later, at my absolute limit of endurance on a day like this, and feeling battered. A lot of NCN12 is off road and it was very tough on the wrists and forearms too.
I'll save my comments on Sustrans NCNs for another thread! Here's the ride:

Grafham Water.

Ford through the river Kym near Hail Weston.

Bridge at Great Barford.

The lonely path across Biggleswade common.

River Ivel at Langford, almost home.

And home is there on the horizon!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Out again this evening for a planned ride with @gavgav. It was warm and sunny out although the wind could have been a bit lighter. We'd arranged to meet up outside a pub in Meole Brace and set off through the village. The route planning was Gav's so I just followed as we headed through Hook-a-gate, Annscroft, Exford's Green and up Long Lane towards Oaks. It was a little busy on the first few miles but on Long Lane it was quiet enough to ride side by side and chat properly.

Reaching Oaks we had a pause for a drink then set off towards Wrentnall. There is a dip into a small valley on the way where the sightlines are good and you can get some speed up. The only downside was a scattering of railway ballast like gravel in the bottom of the dip. We were just climbing up to the crest the other side when Gav had to stop as his front tyre was flat. It was a snake-bite puncture and almost certainly caused by hitting those stones at speed.

We lost about 15 minutes on the repair so the legs had stiffened up a bit when we got going again, but fortunately there wasn't too much more climbing to do on the way through Wrentnall and on to Pulverbatch where we turned off towards Church Pulverbatch. We then had a nice long steady descent on the way to Stapleton which could be really fast except it's a bit too narrow and twisty. I had to drop back at one point after getting a fly in the eye.

From Stapleton we had a crossing of the A49 which was pretty busy. Someone kindly let us out though and we carried on past Gonsal. Turning northwards at Ryton meant we had the wind helping and we got some good speed up on the way to Condover (seeing a couple of cyclists Gav recognised on the way) then along Lyons Lane to the Kingstreet crossroads. Another turning and not only were we headed in the ideal direction for the wind but the gradient was in our favour so the best cruising speeds of the trip were seen in the next couple of miles.

Just over 24 miles for me at 13 mph average.

Only a couple of snaps this time:

At the top of the Oaks climb.

Stopping less than a mile later for the puncture repair. At least it was a pleasant spot for it.

 

[gavgav]

Finally a Summer’s day of weather and I’d arranged a ride with @Rickshaw Phil after working.

Headed down to The Brooklands pub, to meet Phil and he was waiting for me, when I arrived. It was windier than I’d expected, but very warm, as we headed into that wind, through Meole, Hook a Gate and Annscroft.

We turned off, at Exfords Green, up Long Lane, which i’d not done for a while.....3 years Strava tells me, which I couldn’t quite believe! Where does time go? The climb up to Oaks was a good effort, but set my fastest Strava segment time up it, so was doing ok.

We then turned towards Wrentnall and whilst descending I went through a pile of largish stones, missed the pothole in the middle of them and then after a few yards was thinking to myself, steering feels a bit wonky......looked down and front tyre was as flat as a pancake! Only my second ever on ride puncture and first on this bike.

Walked the bike back to a nearby driveway and proceeded to change the tube, luckily I had 2 with me, as we eventually found the holes, which Phil informed me is known as a snake bite puncture. You learn something every day! Made myself do most of the work, with a few tips from Phil, to keep practiced!

15 mins later, we set off again, to Pulverbatch and the nice wind assisted descent to Stapleton, with a quick pause after something large and buzzy flew into my helmet. It had gone when I checked!

We then had the longest wait I’ve had, to cross the A49, for ages, found the headwind again to Gonsal, on to Condover, where Tuesday’s road closure has now gone and along Lyons Lane.

The final, mostly slightly downhill section through Betton Abbots, with a Tailwind, was fast and enjoyable, before we parted ways at the entrance to my estate, where I completely confused Phil by crossing the road via the crossing, when he wasn’t expecting me to!

An eventful but very enjoyable 21.20 miles, with 1162ft of climbing at 12.7mph avg

 

[Mike_P]

Thursday and working at home did not seem all that warm until after finishing for the day I opened the back door and 22 degrees hit me despite behind cloudy and overcast. So another c.7pm outing on the Defy basically doing the ride I was going to do on Sunday. This time from Hampsthwaite up to Swincliffe Top

and then immediately down

Then through Tang and the fringe of Kettlesing to climb the full length of Sleights Lane. Transpired that whilst the latter was not my quickest a longer Strava segment, that includes the approach almost at right angles, was; presumably the quick time up the climb was assisted by what had been a cross wind on the approach whereas the wind was very light this time, to the point Knabs Ridge wind farm had gone on strike.

Around Menwith where the main wildlife of the ride passed was I presume a dead badger; it was on its back in the gutter which I doubt was its choosing.

Back along Penny Pot again oddly devoid of another cyclist. Had seen eight cyclists until it jumped to eleven just before the turn onto Penny Pot; would rather it had remained at eight as those three were en mass an overtake

The one pot hole on that road had widened immensely, possibly too much to expect the local highway authority to notice it, although it is right outside their depot

15.33 miles with 1007ft climbed, and an annoying rattle nearly all ride to fix hopefully tomorrow with an outing of the Allen keys.

Friday and having the day off due to having accrued too many flexi hours the grand plan, given the heat and temperatures which mean usually mean sitting in the shade for me, was to run the ebike down to the Giant dealers in Wetherby to get its firmware updated; its refusing to do it via the mobile app bluetoothed to it. Had emailed them and was told to drop in anytime but ringing them up to check the relevant staff member was at work I was told they were too busy to do it on the spot and try them again in a month

Instead the car made a return trip to Leeds to pick up a Toolstation click and collect of a new strimmer that is out of stock locally (and online) and I had a £5 voucher to use by Sunday

Back home pondering what to do given there was no way I would make many climbs on the Defy without suffering heat exhaustion the realisation dawned that the gorgeous, IMO, Lidl cashew, dark chocolate and nut bar I was munching on with a coffee was the last one I had.
So off to Knaresborough on ebike. Kept the assist switched off on the outbound ride bar the 70ft 1/5th mile long Knapping Hill and 56ft 1/10th mile long Gardeners Arms Climb on Bilton Lane; the latter gaining a new ebike PR. Decided to use the Beryl Burton cycleway down grade to Knaresborough which, as I feared given its narrowness, had a number of walkers – all but two were also heading down. Reaching the A59 I advised a road cyclist turning towards the cycleway of the walkers and he quickly retreated to the hill on the A59.

Along Waterside and Abbey Road it was a bit congested at times with pedestrians but the main problem was not distancing but rather working out where they were as the light and shade amongst the trees was often making them become shadowy.

TTLs forced a U turn on the Wetherby-Knaresborough Road with a 3 shaped ride to reach Lidl in 7.95 miles and 221ft of climbing (plus 126 ft assisted)

Hefty rucksack of non frozen and non refrigerated shopping including a single malt so assist defiantly called for on the return. To avoid the TTLs and shadowy walkers I headed initially north and then west up the 73ft climb of Stockwell Lane; never thought of going that way before and neither has it seems many others as it has no Strava segment.
Onto the A59 and up the hill away from Knaresborough jumping onto the parallel, if initially barkingly steeper, cycleway in another ebike PR with more on the urban section of Bilton Lane. 6.66 miles and 570ft assisted.

After lunch decided to give the ebike a further outing with a trip into Harrogate ostensibly to see if M&Ss free from refrigerated section had a New York Cheescake, the answer to that was no and looking at the price labels on the very empty shelves I got the feeling it was properly no longer stocked Did pick up another couple of the bus companies excellent, in terms of quality and cost, face coverings as my cheapo Amazon ones are splitting at an alarming rate and had a look in WHS where there were stacks of official TdF 2020 packs 4.44miles with 350ft up.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

A bit of a spin this morning before the day got too hot. I had to remove the saddle from the Hawk a couple of days ago to do some work (new lace to stop the sides splaying out) so used that to give it a test run.

The route was a variation of my Harnage, Acton Burnell, Longnor route where I headed through Condover as usual then took a right at the Kingstreet crossroads and headed into the dip and steep climb at Cantlop then the following one before Pitchford, before taking a left towards Cound Stank, Cound and Harnage. I was pleased that the saddle felt good without any further adjustments and that climbing seemed easier - it was going along fairly well on the flat too. The flag of Peru was flying at Cound today (had to look that one up)

I'd had a fairly brisk headwind so far this trip but it changed to a tailwind as I turned onto the straight to Cound Moor then was a crosswind between Acton Burnell and Longnor before finally becoming a tailwind again as I turned northwards, allowing me to scoot along almost as well as I would on the other bikes. Letting a tractor out onto the lane ahead of me turned out to be a mistake as for once they were slower than I was and also stirred up huge clouds of dust, that at points made it impossible to see the road. Thankfully they turned off in Ryton.

I had thought of extending the ride but got a text just before I intended to turn off which advised me that an appointment had been brought forward, so I carried on with the tailwind for a surprisingly speedy finish.

24.2 miles at a very pleasing 14.5 mph average. It's got to be a good couple of years since I last got that kind of average out of the knockabout bike. Very chuffed.

Just the one snapshot today:

 

[welsh dragon]

A glorious day here but was somewhat overshadowed by the vast number of cars all hell bent on getting to Barmouth. They had no chance as the car park was full to overflowing.

13.5 miles for me on the hottest day of the year so far.

My usual route. B44004, to Llanwrin , onto the back road to cemmaes, along the main A489 then back onto the A470 and home.

 

[Basil.B]

Absolutely shattered after my ride this afternoon.
Only did 20 miles, but the combination of strong headwind and the heat, made it very hard work on my singlespeed.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Hot today. Too hot really. It was just a case of the standard run around the Ashleworth circuit with added road works. Head wind out helpful wind back. I drank and drank and still I was thirsty. Indeed when I got in I had two pints of squash a bite of lunch and a pint of coffee and still I didn't pee. Sorry TMI but it was hot - did I say that already? 50 smiles

Pic at Chaceley Hole.

 

[Mark pallister]

Hilly ride up to rothbury and elsdon in beautiful Northumberland
very quiet but a touch hot 🥵

 

[JPBoothy]

Hot Hot Hot today.. As I was mounting-up to set off for my ride this morning I suddenly realised that I had forgotten to put my bottle holder back on after a recent strip down & re-build (I had intended changing it for another) and didn't fancy the delay and handling of oily tools whilst I put it back on so it was a case of some well planned pit stops. In hindsight, it was probably a foolish decision really as I could have had a mechanical and been stranded in the open and got dehydrated .. Anyway, I did 30mls in the end with a few decent 'small' climbs thrown in and a few local businesses supported for my re-hydration purposes. I know we are often warned about staying out of the sun but it is so nice to ride in isn't it