Your ride today....

[Old jon]

Almost cloudy. Never mind, it is time to ride a bike, which is something I had to think about yesterday. Leeds is hosting a Triathlon championship, there are roads closed by the dozen, officially, and there may well be others with parking restricted access. Spectators often park where convenience for them is optimal.

So I magicked a route avoiding that blot on the roadscape, yesterday, and this morning wheeled the Bob Jackson out to try and ride that route. And it was good. Cross the Aire but do not ride up to Oakwood, the A58 goes Gipton way before that big hill of boot. Turn left onto Whin Moor Lane and ride to Shadwell. Then Slaid Hill followed by the fun ride to East Keswick. All riding is fun, some more so than others, of course.

East on the A659 towards Collingham, turn left to cross the River Wharfe and pedal through Linton. Leaving the village on Northgate Lane makes going to Sicklinghall a bit shorter. Stop at the top for a banana and a rest, it felt like a steep village this morning. Horse riders were outnumbering bike riders around there, and some horsists were still about when I reached Kirkby Overblow.

Down the hill from there to the Harrogate Road and turn left. A couple of hundred yards later turn right to ride through Dunkeswick on the way to Weeton. Ah! on the way to Weeton, a bit right of straight ahead, you can see Almscliff Crag. It did look a lot higher than me and the bike were. Was I really going up there? Yes, I did. Being overtaken by a few riders from Seacroft Wheelers on the way.

Downhill for a way now. The road narrows a bit, and reaching Stainburn it narrows a bit more. There are gravel drifts, mostly in the middle, and some very cramped sightlines as well. Good to have to concentrate. And good to reach Leathley too. From here it’s a short ride to the A658 and the bridge back over the Wharfe. Through Pool on the A659 on the way to Arthington and Creskeld Lane. The more often I ride it the easier it feels . . .

And it all feels downhill from here. The car park at Adel church was full, not what I would expect. Headingley had worshippers of a different type, waiting for the New Inn to open, everyone in Kirkstall may have been huddled indoors. Or at the Abbey, there is a choice of two. The older building does not have a drinks licence though. Anyway, home for me with a smile, after forty six miles. And an immense for me 2620 feet of the upward stuff. That was good.

Garthing found the drawing stuff.

 

[Spiderweb]

Out on the Tricross just before 10am for a meet with Martin & Gaynor. A cloudy day for a change which gave my burnt, peeling arms a rest from the sun. From home we headed to Bishopthorpe on the outskirts of York and then to The Lemon Tree in Tadcaster for Coffee and a sandwich.
31 miles with an average of 16.4 mph.

 

[Donger]

Another great club ride today. A tad over 40 miles, and plenty of climbing. Over into the Forest of Dean, climbing up to Mitcheldean, then descending to our cake stop at Hart's Barn Craft Centre near Longhope.

After that, we had to climb back up to Mitcheldean before a great long descent via Abenhall and Flaxley Abbey. I went on ahead to get a couple of shots of most of the others descending past me. The roads were quiet like this for much of the route, and the rain stayed away, making it a very enjoyable ride.

Tina was chatting away as usual!

When we were nearly home again, I went my own way to return home via the cycle path along the edge of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal:

Always a nice way to coast home at the end of a big effort.

Home and hosed now, and Criterium du Dauphine watched. All is well with the world.

 

[cyberknight]

1st club ride in ages and only 3 of us mad enough to venture out in the poor weather .
Started off damp so i took the ribble rebuild and the weather got steadily worse until after around 20 miles we were soaked , soldiered on to the cake stop at canalside farm shop in greater haywood for a bacon buttie then pressed on coming back to near where the rugely power station cooling towers were being demolished .The roads were completely blocked by bystanders who had nowt better to do on a wet day than watch something being knocked down
Hands were really suffering with the reynauds even though i had taken an extra pair of gloves to swap and they didnt get any better till the last 5 miles of the ride.
Still when the rain stopped and i warmed up i did enjoy the ride overall, 67 miles at 17.5 avg

 

[gavgav]

I have a week off work and so I’ve started it with a few days up at the caravan, in North West Wales. It’s absolutely heaving with visitors up here, so I decided to head into the hills today and hopefully away from the worst of the crowds.

It was fairly warm, with the odd bit of sun, as I headed out and along the main road to Llanbedr, which wasn’t too busy considering the hordes. I then turned off onto the lanes and began the climb up to Cwm Bychan, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the Artro river and only a few cars to pull on for along the way. I cycled along to the far end of the Cwm and then doubled back to my usual stopping place, for a snack and a drink.

I then descended back down to the Artro bridge, one very tight squeeze past a transit on the narrowest section, where I stung my leg on a nettle, plus a chap who passed me in a Yaris and then seemed very lost at a crossroads, just sitting there blocking the lane, until another car hooted him to get out of the way!

From the bridge, I decided to do some more climbing, up the lanes towards Cwm Nantcol, which I’d only ever been along once and in the opposite direction.

The climbing is mostly steady, with a few steeper bits, but stunning views of the Rhinog’ mountains and idyllic pastureland. No cows to run the gauntlet of this time though, which was better than previous.

There are quite a few gates to contend with, as you reach the summit, at Pen yr allt Fawr, but it’s worth the climb when you can pause for lunch with simply one of the most stunning views there are.

The photos don’t really do it justice, but this is Snowdon, in the distance.

And in the other direction are views of the Gwynedd coast and over to the Llyn Peninsular.

After lunch, I had the fast descent to Dyffryn Ardudwy to enjoy, before arriving back at the van with 20.51 miles on the clock, at 10mph avg and 1650 ft of climbing.

 

[geocycle]

Have had a busy few days house clearing and driving so good to get back on the bike today. A 35 mile ride with 600 m of up to Arnside. Lots of cyclists out enjoying the sunshine and nearly perfect temperature. Was a bit delayed as had to put spare wheel on bike first. Even struggling with a tubeless tyre puncture so opted for using the old Durano shod wheel. Ride was noticeably more harsh but having the tubeless pro one on the front cushioned the road noise. Spent afternoon faffing with tubeless tyre which would not reseat even with the Joe blow air compressor. Will try again tomorrow but this tubeless experiment might be ending.

Heres the view from Sandside living up to its name

 

[Dave 123]

And another.....!

https://www.strava.com/activities/5424757027

 

[Mike_P]

After a dull start Sunday brightened up and the sun made increasing appearances, not that I would have minded its complete absence as after yesterdays relative lack of elevation todays ride was a complete contrast. Set off just before 1, Country Park and then Penny Pot. Road closed signs appeared relating to the road down Burley Bank but there was sufficient room to cycle pass the closure only to arrive at the days snooze awaiting to cross the A59.

Eventually down to Hampstwaite in a PR, avoidance of the pot holes on Rowden Lane was made easier by them being highlighted with white surrounds; no doubt transformation into pot humps to come.

Up to Clapham Green and down to Birstwith and then a lesser up and down to reach the bridleway along the toll bridge over the River Nidd. Two stops needed thereafter due to steep concrete speed bumps with no side gap. Briefly onto the B6165 and then the long climb through Hartwith in a new PR. Eventually levels out as a welcome respite before turning west for the climb to the cross roads south of Brimham Rocks; and then north on the lumpy road around them. The car park had overflowed into field and beyond I paused at a farm entrance for a snack before continuing to the B6265. Turned south west and the joy of the decent to Fellbeck was countered by the sight of the climb beyond, as it the norm approached by a S bend over a bridge.

Close to the foot of the climb a road headed off northwest which I turned into, still raising upwards at lesser grades. Turned south at a crossroads and was greeted by the sight of a 12.5% average climb, max in the order of 24%; got four fifths of the way up and, with a speed of 5mph on a false flat with a road rising almost out of view, opted for Shanks’s Pony. Subsequently noted the chevron on the OS map. A decent then followed to the B6265 which I re-joined again heading south-west downwards to reach the final 4th letter ABC of Blazefield.

Continued to the junction with the B6165 and headed east; a bench at Summerbridge seemed attractive for a break until I found no BT Wifi signal so a longer break was made at Burnt Yates to discover Richie Porte had actually won CdD and not crashed out. Fast downhill out of the village and then the decent through Bedlam was hindered by TTL signs; they were right of the foot of the bank and had failed; fortunately the length of the half closed road could be seen. Ripley was quieter than it had been last week and I took the A61 bypass but still got halted by the TL crossing of NCN67. 28.04 miles 2441ft climbed 12.6 mph avg.

 

[AndreaJ]

After some rain overnight it felt a bit cooler this morning than it had been all week. Started off to Northwood turning to Bettisfield then had to stop to remove the arm warmers which I thought I would need and didn’t, carried on over the main road to Breadon Heath, down Stocks Lane and up the hill past the farm before turning to Ellesmere. Lots of cars parked on Swan Hill to avoid paying to park in front of the Mere, turned into the town and out to Tetchill. There was obviously some sort of classic car trip going on because there were lots of them heading towards Ellesmere complete with mechanical support truck and a media truck. There were some lovely cars including an old Mini which makes my daughters Fiat 500 look big! I turned off towards Bagley and didn’t see any more of them, carried on to Weston Lullingfields to find that the potholes have finally been fixed and a few rough patches of road resurfaced, carried on to Baschurch but the council must have run out of tarmac because the potholes are still there at the end of the road they have fixed. Turned off to Eyton, Myddlewood, Marton, Burlton, Loppington meeting the mechanical support truck that was with the classic cars on a narrow, dusty lane. We both stopped in a cloud of dust and I got as far off the lane as I could, as he was passing he opened his window and apologised if he had frightened me, I assured him that it was fine and he hadn’t , I did think it was nice of him though as most people don’t bother. Set back off to Horton and home. Didn’t see any other cyclists at all which is unusual on a nice day and most of the traffic was the classic cars. 33.6miles

 

[kayakerles]

...Overall it was just under 53 km today on a really atmospheric and fun ride over some great trails.

Really nice pics and narration, Chris. I especially like the B&Ws that give color-undisturbed attention to the mistiness of the day. B&W photography doesn't get as much attention as it deserves these days. It shows a completely different reality, even with the same shot! It's posts like this one of yours that make me not-a-bit-sorry that I gave up reading any national/international news for the last 3 weeks. Keep riding and keep it coming. You have quite the talent. Thanks for sharing. (BTW: your first pic looks like such a bike TRAP!) I know you used leg muscles that day to keep the wheels rolling!)

 

[DCBassman]

Right, out today on the Scott. It's back to 8-speed, has the correct shifters to make the front mech work properly, and the new-to-me lighter, smaller chainring set of 50-39-30t as opposed to 52-42-30t.
It's like a new bike! It all just works. The new gearing is great, and as described in the previous ride, I rather prefer the 7-plus-dinnerplate gears over the smooth-from-top-to-bottom of the 9-speed. So the Revell mixte will also revert to 8-speed once I can afford, or even get hold of, a new chain and cassette. All the other needed bits I have.
Today's ride target, other than making sure the Scott was screwed together properly, was to get the monthly total so far to 45 miles. No problem there.
Stats:

Weather: coolish but warm when the sun came out, which wasn't often. Not too busy on the trail.
The Scott will get its Charge Spoon back, and be the go-to bike for now, which also means I can do some lumpier rides with those low gears.
Nice to have two such easy to ride bikes!

 

[a.twiddler]

6/6/21
I just can’t believe that I haven’t done a decent bike ride since 20/4/21 due to various commitments.

Anyway, thanks to a test ride on 16/5/21 I know that the Linear is all set to go after fitting a smaller small ring and fettling various things, so I set off this afternoon under an overcast sky and little wind which makes it pleasantly cooler than it has been the last few days. I fear that the developing recumbent legs might have reverted to chicken legs due to lack of use but with a smaller chainring I fear no hill.

From the bottom up I have my nondescript shoes, getting a bit tatty but OK for cycling. Cord trousers with my trusty bike clips, olive green tee shirt, battered green hat and shades with clip on mirror. I have my track mitts on despite the tendency to end up with a sun tanned oval on the back of the hands.

Out through the back gate, a minute or two waiting for traffic to clear, and a successful launch. The Garden Chair rides again! On to Swanlow Lane, through the uphill traffic lights with no worries then negotiating the traffic queue at the A54 roundabout. With skilful anticipation I slow right down (probably to the annoyance of following traffic) then join the queue just as it starts moving. The legs feel noticeably under par but I manage to maintain speed satisfactorily along Delamere St and Chester Road to the turn off for Sandiway.

I press on down the slope under the old railway bridge but feel sadly underpowered going up the other side and resort to lower gears than I used last time on this route. Not helped by the presence of more traffic behind me waiting to overtake than I have seen for some time.

The road levels off and speed increases. There is a shallow dip just before Whitegate crossroads where I turn left thinking I would give my legs an easier time by getting on to the Whitegate Way rail trail for part of the way. Up over the station bridge then sharp left into the car park and sharp left again under the bridge.

There are many walkers and several cyclists but with the odd “Dong Ding” of the Dutch style bell they all part like a good natured Red Sea, not that I claim to be Moses. It is very pleasant and airy under the trees which line most of this route, with many birds. Many of them are blackbirds which are often bobbing about on the open trail rather than in the trees. I slow down to enjoy the ambience but soon come to my turn off at the bridge on Kennel Lane.

I change down well in advance and choose my line carefully as the access is steep and has a gravelly surface. There is a sharp right turn at the top after passing through the bike/pedestrian access and I don’t quite make the turn. I back up slightly and re launch then get over the bridge with no drama. The surface is dry and gravelly or sandy for the most part and quite rideable on the Linear as long as an eye is kept out for deeper ruts which could lead the front wheel astray.

On Kennel Lane.

All is fine until I reach the A556 at Sandiway which is heaving with traffic in both directions. I had originally planned to cross over and take a longer route home but time is getting away from me as it often does, so my intention is now to get on the A556 East for a couple of miles as there is a good downhill once on the dual carriageway beyond the village. After waiting for many minutes including a false start and a rapid u turn I get going. I come to the traffic lights in good time to keep going on green and soon get some speed up on the downhill stretch. Near the bottom of this is a farm or quarry entrance on the left where it is simple to hop on the pavement for a few yards and then follow a footway/cycleway which links to the old Chester Road into Northwich.

However today I find it impressively overgrown.

It is more like a centre parting than a cycleway but it is rideable with care. I soon come across a thicket of nettles that stretches about 50 yards on the left hand side. I have cord trousers on which are probably nettle proof but underseat steering puts your left hand in the firing line unlike with overseat steering or the bars on an upright bike. So I gingerly push until the nettles end, and relaunch.

I come out on the road to Northwich but there is a T junction to negotiate before you can turn left onto the road proper. Again the traffic is intense but eventually I get under way. There is a long gradual downhill to Hartford where I want to turn off and I am able to put it in high gear and just windmill along for most of the way between 12 and 20mph, taking in the breeze.

I come to the traffic lights where I would normally have turned off to the right but there is a road closed barrier and roadworks. The far pavement, which has cyclepath markings, also has a footway closed sign. I turn round and push back to the other pavement which is clear. I push along to where the roadworks end and ride off. An advantage of this is that there is very little traffic. I come to a set of traffic lights where the road meets the A556 and cross over to the cycleway which runs alongside it.

Downhill to Hartford bridge and into a lane to the right. The surface is atrocious. The heavy rain we had before the current dry spell had broken it up into a series of potholes and there are uncomfortably large stones scattered about. I find myself automatically bracing myself between the pedals and the back of the seat so the shocks don’t have such an impact. It is downhill so I am able to pick my way powered by gravity. I soon come to a much better surface where I can relax and get a bit of speed up but it doesn’t last. The next bit of broken surface isn’t so bad. I come across several cyclists, one mature chap on an MTB commenting, “that’s a good recumbent bike you’ve got there” as he passed by. Perhaps he has a garage full of them himself. I come to an A-frame barrier and wiggle through. The surface is better beyond this. I change down and twirl along in the lower gears as I know there is a swing gate ahead and the exit is awkwardly uphill.

I come to the gate and get the Linear up on its back wheel. I back it into the curved space seat first, swing it round slightly then swing the gate across. Annoyingly, it has a strong tendency to swing back against me and the bike. As I am lowering the front wheel to the ground a mountain biker comes along and asks if I need a hand. I say I'm OK now. He is quite chatty and asks me about the bike. He goes on his way. A walker comes up from behind as I am trying to start off. A combination of loose surface and low gearing is causing me to have wheelspin rather than forward motion. As he walks past he says quietly, “Hmm, interesting contraption”. I wheel the bike forward to where the surface is more solid and launch successfully.

Up the steep stony track past the contemplative pedestrian to where the tarmac at Vale Royal Abbey begins, then uphill through the woods and out through a select estate and left on to Mill Lane. A short sharp climb, then down a long hill, and a steep and bendy bit of road past Bradford Mill on to Bradford Road past the salt mine and into Winsford. I see a couple of cyclists ahead and realise that I am actually catching up with them, a rare occurrence, but they turn off to the right before I can pass them. I doubt that they are even aware of my presence.

On to a pavement cycle track on the left, across the road at some pedestrian/cycle lights at the Weaver roundabout. The path on the other side is broken up by tree roots and I brace myself between the pedals and the seat back without thinking about it. Along the river, under the bridge at the other side of the roundabout then up and round to Weaver St. Here I make the steep climb on the small ring but punish myself by not using low gear on the rear hub, still subconsciously thinking I should keep it in reserve for a really steep hill. By the the time I get over the hump to where it changes from quite steep to a bit less steep I am being chastised by my knees for this foolishness. Did I say I was feeling a bit underpowered earlier on? If you’ve got it, better use it in future. Yes, knees, ok, knees. Three bags full, knees.

Add to this rows of cars parked on either side, and quite frequent traffic trying to squeeze through resulting in me stopping to let them pass as much as they stop to let me pass and it is not the most life enhancing of experiences. The overcast from earlier on has cleared and it is becoming baking hot with no wind. I am relieved when the slope eases enough for me to go fast enough to create my own small breeze. Across the pavement into Ways Green which is mercifully flat and shaded. My metabolism is beginning to reach some sort of equilibrium when I turn right into Gladstone St.

Again, cars parked on both sides with just the occasional vehicle coming the other way. From Gladstone St. on to Townfields Rd which is wider with houses set further back. Less shade, and a steady climb. It is uncomfortably hot in the baking sun and I feel like a fly in a microwave. Now not going fast enough to be self cooling, I focus on the horizon of the road at the top of the hill.

One characteristic of a recumbent is that you can see far ahead rather than just the road in front of your wheel, which sometimes can be disheartening when climbing. This is not really much of a hill, but in this sudden heat it feels mountainous. I steadily twirl on, and as I approach a traffic chicane near the top a white van grinds past. It isn’t particularly close and I'm not going fast enough for him to cut me off. I do enjoy the brief dieselly breeze as he sweeps by.

At last the road levels and I can make my own breeze again. On to Swanlow Lane, downhill for a bit, then through local lanes to my back gate.

17.85 miles, average 8.6 mph though I was taking it very easy, and max has crept up to32.4 mph. A day of fits and starts.

Total Ascent:​	609​	ft​	​
Total Descent:	609​	ft​	​
Start Elevation:	190​	ft​
End Elevation:	190​	ft​	Elevation​
Min Elevation:	74​	ft​	Gradient​
Max Elevation:	276​	ft​	​

 

[Over the Ord]

Today’s cycle Coast to Murkle beach, about 1000 metres was only fit for walking other wise a reasonable non gravelled track and returned home by road.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Commuting mid afternoon was a mistake as I grossly overheated at least the ride home in the morning will be much cooler

 

[Andy in Germany]

First day at the new job: I'll have to get used to the longer commute...

Still, it could be worse...