Your ride today....

[theloafer]

yesterdays ride ... well thought i had worked it out ok mileage=twin batteries . used my usual cyclists lanes to get to Hawes Piercebridge- Aldbrough- st-John- over the A66 -Richmond -Redmire- Askrigg- Hawes . it was very busy and queues so had a bannana while sat outside the Wensleydale creamery at the foot of the start to climb Fleet Moss. went through Galye then its just up and nothing else, once at the top all was good and headed down the other side , through places that brought back memories of rides i had done this way years ago. Oughtershaw- Yockenthwaite- Hubberholme- Buckden.
this was where i had to make a choice left and head back ...up Kidstones (56 mile point) . as i had no time restraints and still 3 bars showing went right and headed to Kettlewell then turned left and attacked Park rash. (note to self you are almost 66 not 36), thee Rohloff did its job and got us both up just (65 mile) . the ride down Coverdale seemed to take ages and on reaching Layburn ,
was when i started to doubt of making it knocked it down to eco mode . boy that was a shock to the old legs (used to tour mode all day)...once i got through Richmond and dropped down to Gilling West the climb up to re-cross the A66 felt like FLEET MOSS by now i was turning motor off for the level and trying to keep what i had left for the last climb at Walworth... power went 50 yards after the top (101 mile) those last 6 miles home almost killed me but once i got to Highington i knew it was all down hill
mileage 107 Miles 7,625 FT... was a funny old day

fleet moss and park rash | Ride | Strava
banana stop

Galye

the only ways up

looking back down Park rash

lime kiln

 

[Grant Fondo]

Just got back in time for the game () after an 18 miler around Chirk. Gorgeous weather and some interesting stuff to look at.

Gates at one of the castle entrances.

The castle. Such a lovely spot up on the hill, fair few people having a brew in the courtyard cafe.

Down the road Chirk aqueduct. Pretty hot out and a few tough hills, but a lovely ride

 

[gavroche]

Well, I decided to go for a short ride after watching the TdF and nearly got knocked down twice within the first 3 miles. The first one was at a junction and a car coming on my right. He pulled up right in front of me and I had to slam on my brakes. I shouted and waved my fist but he just drove away. The second one was going round a roundabout and this car overtook me with no more than a foot to spare. At the set of traffic lights on red, I got alongside it and said to the woman driver: " That was a bit close wasn't it"
Her reply was; " It certainly wasn't. "
" It certainly was and next time, can you make sure you leave 1.5 metre when you pass a cyclist"
And on this, the lights changed to green and she drove off.
Apart from all this, the rest of my ride was good and trouble free.

 

[gavgav]

I’ve been away over a long weekend, on tour with my cricket club, with a days annual leave booked to recover from it today, so I decided to get out for a ride and burn off some of the beer and cooked breakfasts!

Set out after lunch, into a warm and muggy afternoon, but with more sunshine than forecast and a keen North Easterly wind blowing, which would be behind me for the first half of the ride.

I went through a nearby housing estate and then out onto the A458, where I witnessed a very hairy moment. A Chap overtook me, with plenty of room, only for a car to pull out of the junction from the A5 slip road, straight into his path. An evasive manoeuvre from him, meant he avoided a head on collision by inches. The police motor bike that had pulled a car towing a trailer, over, just off the roundabout, almost had something far more serious to contend with. Thankfully that was the last incident of the ride.

I continued on through Betton Abbots, Berrington, Eaton Mascott, Cound and Evenwood. Quite a lot of traffic around the lanes, after Eaton Mascott. I then climbed up to Acton Burnell and Frodesley, where they’ve finally repaired the craters in the road, before descending to Longnor.

I then turned into the wind, which made it harder going, to Ryton and Gonsal, where I had quite a wait to cross the A49. I called in on dad for an hour and then set back out through Exfords Green, to Annscroft, where it was back into the wind to Hook a Gate and Nobold, through Meole village and home.

23.68 miles at 12.1 mph avg. I used the Genesis, for its first ride following the service from @Rickshaw Phil. Ride is smoother, with the shift being much better going up the gears, but a little temperamental doing down them.

 

[13 rider]

Just got back in time for the game () after an 18 miler around Chirk. Gorgeous weather and some interesting stuff to look at.
View attachment 596482
Gates at one of the castle entrances.
View attachment 596483
The castle. Such a lovely spot up on the hill, fair few people having a brew in the courtyard cafe.
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Down the road Chirk aqueduct. Pretty hot out and a few tough hills, but a lovely ride

I walked over that Viaduct last week while I was staying near Oswestry ,lovely area

 

[roubaixtuesday]

A gap opened in diaries yesterday, so three of us set off from Wrexham for a gentle little tour of North Wales.

The drizzle was coming down steadily and what I'd read as a flat start to the first climb was anything but. That first climb proper was to the End of the World, leading to a long, lonely meander across the moors:

A wonderful scenic descent to Llangollen beneath the cliffs with views of the castle ensued. In common with many of today's roads, care on steep singletrack was needed.

The climb out of Llangollen was truly brutal, and will have a post entirely devoted to itself. At the summit, 20 miles in, average speed for the day was just 10mph, perhaps the slowest 20 miles ever on a road bike! The descent to Glyn Ceiriog equalled the harshness of the ascent, the "road" being a cyclo-cross experience.

Now, miles of Welsh beauty stretched before us, up and down the valleys to Llangynog. Foxgloves in bloom, emerald green slopes, tiny lanes and views the equal of any in the land. And the first puncture of the day featured at Llanhaedr y Mochnant.

The road changes character from Llangynog, with the Alpinesque climb over to Bala:

And a further opportunity to enjoy the stunning scenery, looking down to Llangynog, with second puncture of the day. No better place to enjoy a mechanical!

Bala brought food and the third puncture; from here the photos dry up. It's almost a though my legs required all possible effort to keep moving...

More hills followed, notably the rather dispiriting climb to Llyn Brenin and its plantations. But more Welsh beauty across to the village of Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd gave just enough respite for the final major climb of Bwlch Pen Barras, feat in 100 climbs. The bottom section is unrelenting torture to a near vertical hairpin, before easing sufficiently to survive to the magnificent view from the top.

The footie came to the rescue for the last few miles of A road, deserted and fast, then one final puncture scarcely three miles from the finish, the stop bringing news of England's victory.

103 miles, 3300m climbing. Everyone punctured!

 

[Old jon]

^^^ Hard riding, that.

Easier here . . .

Dry, warm, breezy, time to ride away. Shake some cobwebs off the fixed, check tyres and stuff and try a route I had thought of last evening.

The first couple of hundred yards feels odd on this bike, have to keep pedalling and the gear always feels too high. Reach the main road and things are better. The first landmark is the Oakwood Clock, a bit higher than my start point, and then the top of the A58 on Wellington Hill. A pull, that one. Keep on until Carr Lane is reached, most of that is downhill to Thorner.

Climb again, up Church Hill, then easy most of the way to Bramham. Turn right to find Toulston Lane after another steep bit. Most of the village is to my left, the allotments and maybe half a dozen houses on the right hand side of the road. And then, open country. After a mile or so, another right turn. Woodland on the left now until the crossing of what was once the A64, then cross the present day A64 and begin the descent to Stutton.

Out of there, and turn right onto the A162. This can be busy, the first half mile or so was this morning and after that things became quieter. This helped me decide to stay on this road for a while, Towton is the next place along, could have turned right there, nah, let’s see if I can ride around here and not pass the gates at Lotherton Hall. So, Barkston Ash ridden through, the Ash Tree Inn looked very much like it would open for business today, a bit early yet.

Sherburn in Elmet, a right turn at the traffic lights to ride along the B1224 to the A63. The easy way home. Around the southern edge of Garforth, first exit off the big roundabout and up the rise towards Swillington. Which is downhill in this direction, all the way to the River Aire and the adjacent canal. The Transpennine Trail goes upstream to Leeds from here, and so do I. Well surfaced path, not very busy today, on dry land or on the water. Pleasant riding.

Reach the Armouries, back on the road but not far at all to home from here. Longest ride so far this year, on the fixed, forty miles and almost 1900 feet going up. Well worth the smile!

Different pics . . .

 

[theloafer]

after Mondays epic ride ..needed to loosen the old legs up so just a short trip to Barnard castle via off road route and back lanes, as it was not as warm thought it would be ok to call in at my fav coffee stop the Teesdale Tea Room .
.excellent staff and good grub .came back via a short section of the A66 .. as Whorlton bridge out of action .whizzed through Eppleby my other coffee as there was no one around and was getting a tad chilly.
ended up doing 45 mile and the old legs feeling canny

popped out for snack | Ride | Strava

now this is a bacon sarnie

was not that bad today

 

[Ian H]

Four of us rode my 400 at the weekend. For S it was going to be a real challenge, and we ended up taking pretty much maximum time. For me this was fortunate, not being fit & having a few health problems just at the moment. I did have to make a break for it at the end to catch my train (we couldn't book four bikes on one train), but a relatively gentle ride meant I wasn't wrecked at the end. Sorry, not many pics.

Glastonbury Tor 11 miles distant

Salisbury Plain

Waiting for the train

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Four of us rode my 400 at the weekend. For S it was going to be a real challenge, and we ended up taking pretty much maximum time. For me this was fortunate, not being fit & having a few health problems just at the moment. I did have to make a break for it at the end to catch my train (we couldn't book four bikes on one train), but a relatively gentle ride meant I wasn't wrecked at the end. Sorry, not many pics.

View attachment 596659
Glastonbury Tor 11 miles distant

View attachment 596658
Salisbury Plain

View attachment 596660
Waiting for the train

Assuming that I've read your post correctly, I love the juxtaposition of "rode 400km" and "not being fit", 400km being a distance I would regard as certifiably insane, only to be attempted if fleeing a natural disaster.

Maximum respect!

 

[cwskas]

Rides have been far between the last month, so yesterday I set off to try and get 80-100 miles. I really overestimated my fitness level! I did enjoy the ride including getting soaked in a shower that lowered the temp rapidly. On the trike I sit close to the road and it can get quite hot, especially slowly climbing a hill.

My wife came and rescued me after 80 miles. I should have started earlier in the day! But we met at my favorite burger place and that was a welcome reward.

The few photos I took pale with the views others have posted recently (I love this thread), but here are a couple.

Willie

 

[Andy in Germany]

Rides have been far between the last month, so yesterday I set off to try and get 80-100 miles. I really overestimated my fitness level! I did enjoy the ride including getting soaked in a shower that lowered the temp rapidly. On the trike I sit close to the road and it can get quite hot, especially slowly climbing a hill.

My wife came and rescued me after 80 miles. I should have started earlier in the day! But we met at my favorite burger place and that was a welcome reward.

The few photos I took pale with the views others have posted recently (I love this thread), but here are a couple.

Willie

View attachment 596667

View attachment 596668

View attachment 596669

80mi = 120km, a very respectable distance. Well done...

 

[Oldhippy]

Impressive.

 

[bluenotebob]

A loopy meandering ride across country to Josselin this afternoon .. it wasn’t the plan when I left home but I had plenty of time to bumble along, constantly changing my mind as to where I was going, and the weather was reasonable (for a change). I usually avoid Josselin in July and August as it’s often very busy – but the schools don’t break up until Friday so I thought it was worth a visit. It’s a very pretty place .. le Tour passed through here on Monday.

Onto the Nantes to Brest canal towpath which wasn’t too crowded but my road bike wasn’t comfortable with the surface .. it’s much easier on one of my hybrids with fatter tyres. I got fed up with the surface after 10km, pulled off and took the back road to la Touche Carné where I picked up the V3 Voie Verte. Followed the V3 north for about 30km to Mauron, then back home on the D2.

Longest ride of the year so far … 91.70km in a leisurely 5 hours

Some photos of Josselin below

 

[Andy in Germany]

Shopping with the family over the weekend:

Loading up, a sort of 3D game of Tetris, with the added challenge of not overbalancing the bike, squashing the bread or breaking the eggs...

Tinybug was determined to carry something and eventually settled on a bag of Müsli...

We went a different route to Beautiful Wife and Middle Son, and there was a small delay to investigate some local wildlife and a stick which apparently was quite unlike any she'd seen before...


But eventually we caught up with the others on the ridge road. As usual Tinybug raced ahead to ride with her big brother leaving the old folks in their dust...