Your ride today....

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gavgav

Guru
After a few days away in Swansea exploring the Gower Peninsula on foot yesterday, the weather looked good. I set off on my Wem loop rather hoping that the library cafe would be open. It'sstil closed, so I bought some food at the Coop and set off for Prees Green. There is a short section along the A49 before turning off the rejoin the B5065. After a close shave with a Mercedes Estate overtaking me last time, I rode this section I decided to always record it using my GoPro. This time it was a large artic. that overtook me. Traffic was approaching in the opposite direction, so it somehow managed to squeeze between me and the double white lines. The whole video can be viewed at: A Close Shave I was relieved to arrive home still in one piece! I wasn't until I reviewed the video at home that I realized just how close the lorry was.

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Snapshot from the video.
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Glad you’re ok after that dreadful piece of driving. I hope you’ve dropped a copy of the video through to T.W Skuse & Son?
 

Glow worm

Legendary Member
Location
Near Newmarket
Titchwell RSPB reserve in North Norfolk today’s destination on a pleasant 23 miler here earlier.
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heading down the hill to the coast at Choseley barns. What’s that ahead - yes the sea, but more excitingly, blue skies, last seen in about 1983 or so it seems.
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One of the Titchwell Hides. Too nice to go in today. And you have to interact with people which I’m always keen to avoid at all costs :smile:
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Made to the beach (walking at this point) - low tide, looking towards Brancaster.
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Headed back through Burnham Thorpe, Lord Nelson’s birthplace, marked in a traditional Norfolk low key manor.
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After a welcome brew and cake at Creake Abbey cafe I stopped at the abbey ruins itself, well worth a look around.

A great day’s ride and just so good to finally see the sun again after so long.
 

Shack

Senior Member
I have a little loop that I use to keep fit and test out different bikes and set ups, it's a rather pleasant 27miles and 1100' of Devon's finest undulations, out of Cullompton on the old Exeter road, swing past Killerton NT estate, over to Rewe, along the Exe Valley by Bickliegh, over to Tiverton, and home via Halberton and Willand.
A little overcast but still pleasantly warm and thankfully dry after 3 weeks of largely cool and very wet weather.
Bike of choice today, my recently acquired Cannondale CAADX with a 30mm front and 35mm rear on, I've not done this loop in this bike, so I was interested to see how she measures up, as I've swapped my third bike a few times already this year and still not found the 'keeper' I've also been trying out a Brooks C15, which wasn't the best after an hour, thankfully it has a new home next Thursday (my regular perch a B17 took an age to break in, but thankfully it has now and a joy to use)
I normally stop at Bickliegh Bridge/ Fisherman's Cot (one of the many bridges that claims to be the inspiration for 'Bridge over troubled Waters' and it's around half way around and a lovely spot for a slurp and a snack, I had to stop halfway down to the bridge for some emergency tree work, and then took advantage of a bridge strike being repaired (a reasonably regular occurrence) this time it's been closed for a couple of weeks, and due to reopen on Monday (I chatted with a workman and told him not to rush as it was nice and quiet) it's still open for cyclists and pedestrians.
The rest of the ride was pretty unremarkable, but nice enough (it's all lovely down here so a little spoilt) and tried to keep up my usual lick so I can compare bikes at the same rider effort (most of my riding is a relaxed party pace, this is my only speedy time)
I've a slight wobble from my BB which I new about, and will probably move this bike on as well, a nice bike but not a long term one for me.
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Half way up the Exe Valley
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Bickliegh Bridge
 

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cwskas

Über Member
Location
Central Texas
I got this nice ride in last week, 100k, about 20% gravel, 1/2 with a riding buddy, 100% beautiful day! My watch died before the day was over, so Strava info is incomplete. My bike GPS provided the stats on Rouvy.

8h44m total time, 6h16m moving, 5687.7 feet of elevation gain. Click on images for higher resolution.

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The next day a Gravel Locos 150 mile ride was held and I went back to take some pictures of riders crossing this stretch. Here are three of them.

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Willie
 

theloafer

Legendary Member
Location
newton aycliffe
have been wanting to try the e-bike on Rosedale chimney ever since it arrived ..so today i got karon to drop me off at Gt Ayton. headed out through Kildale then on towards Westerdale with a nice couple of 14% and 20% to warm me up before the big one. lol ...took a breather at Ralph`s Cross before i dropped down to Rosedale .and there it was ..no turning back now . last time i did this bank was about 25 years ago (young and fit) and it almost done me in,
but thanks to the nice bosch cx and the awesome Rohloff e-14 hub made it a little bit easier lol .at the top i headed along the old rosedale railway towards blakey ridge. crossed of the moor road and picked up the rosedale line all the way back to the turn off on the the Cleveland way which puts me back on the road i left that leads back to gt Ayton. then headed home via seamer -hilton and through Ingleby Barwick on there excellent cycle paths . once through Hartburn -longnewton to pick up the cycle path along the A66 to Darlington . which joins up with the cycle path beside the A167. at Coatham Mundeville turned of right for Brafferton so i could call in to have a coffee and cake in rosie`s cafe . then just ambled my way home to get the mileage to 70 .really great day the old legs still feel it though these e-bike still have to be pedalled.. ha ha
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Ralphs cross
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Old jon

Guru
Location
Leeds
This early is ridiculous! It has been some time since I left the house before six thirty, hope it is a lot longer before the next occasion. Still, the sun was shining, temperature almost in double figures so it seems a good idea to go for a ride.
On the fixed this morning, some sort of reasoning behind that I suppose. And the intention of riding an often used route, but clockwise for a change. Whichever direction I ride it there are a couple of road closures to navigate around. It may keep the brain awake, figuring out the ways around these.

So, cross the river and ride up to Oakwood. Done that rather a lot lately, but pedalling up Boot Hill is a bit of a rarity, so up I went. Autopilot almost turned right for me at Red Hall Lane, I remembered in time and rode straight on. Through the roadworks on the A58, happy that it is too early for much traffic, and a stretch further on for the right turn I wanted to take, Carr Lane into Thorner.



And another right turn points me and the bike up Sandhills, these normally decorate the final stages of my rides. A pleasant change to ride with something in the legs. The road levels, and reaches the A64. Not for long, turn off to ride through Scholes. Through there and the road almost naturally goes to Barwick in Elmet, it is downhill through the village all the way to the bridge over Cock Beck. Then up and down a bit to Aberford.


It is a bit difficult riding around here and missing the gates at Lotherton Hall. It is also too soon in the day for difficult, so I passed by the gates, on my way to Garforth. After crossing the railway the road descends to the George roundabout, the pub name has changed, and then climbs again into Swillington. Then downhill all the way into the Aire valley, cross river and canal and turn right.


Woodlesford Lock, and the Trans Pennine Trail, it is easy going from here. The towpath is well surfaced, OK there is a hiccup at Skelton Bridge, up a flight of steps, lift the bike over some armco. Then past Thwaites Mill to the Armouries. No distance at all to home from there, well, a small number of miles. Smile on mug to see the front door after 1380 feet going uphill and thirty two miles to string it all together. Could early become addictive? For a ride that good, yes.

How to ride around in circles?

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Mrs M

Guru
Location
Aberdeenshire
Lovely sunny walk on the beach this morning but the har was in where we stay.
Took the mtb
out for a local spin, ended up on the moss. Usually wear wellies walking there as often ended up ankle deep in mud.
Was quite atmospheric and a bit creepy with the mist :ohmy:
Stopped to take a pic and a man appeared from nowhere, frightened the life out of me!
Thought it was a big foot :eek:
He was taking pics and had just spotted some deer, (hopes he’s no pics of me) :laugh:
Was managing the mud fine then front tyre skidded and I ended up in the thorns :blush:
Good workout and had some fun :okay:
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After this morning's shenanigans, eventually got out on the mixte, although no time for what I'd planned. Revised target reduced from metric half to double-figures miles.

Lovely and warm, except, as always, the Grenofen Tunnel. In there, it's always cold, which can be refreshing, and equally always wet, with the runoff above leaking through the tunnel roof. Presumably the bat colony (big metal bit in the roof, if you've been through there) is a little less damp...

NCN27 news! There's a bit just north of Gem Bridge where the track is on a deck above the hillside, not high up, just to get a sure level path. It's been slowly falling apart for some time, and they patched it up with sharp-edged metal plates. Really? Yes, really. Anyhow, today I find it has been completely redecked with full-width non-slip plates. Wow!

Onward to the bottom of the Leg O'Mutton ramp, and as far up as to guarantee the required double figure ride. Despite changing the wheels, the only tweak was to reset the brake blocks a bit. The bike, as always, just worked. I think I will strip the Scott and get another mixte fram and refit everything on that. So if anyone wants a 54cm Scott AFD Expert frame, complete with chainset, stem, seatpost and 105 1055 brake calipers, let me know. If you've a mixte around 51/52cm, swapsie?

Stats:
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A pleasant ride, not many walkers, quite a few cyclists. One or two of the walkers seemed particularly brain-dead and reacted unpredictably to the bell. What I saw of the roads was sheerest hell. Coming back through town, both motorists and peds all the over the damn place, as it it were either a car-park or pedestrian precinct.
But a ride, and that's waht counts!
:biggrin:
Edit: monthly total is a paltry 48 miles. One more ride, will try and break 80...
 
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