Your ride today....

[Deleted member 1258]

Well, that's my first audax of the year out of the way now, and a ride I can post on the Century a Month Challenge thread for January. It was the 105km Jack and Grace Cotton Memorial Audax from Aztec West at Almondsbury. Basically a 65 mile Bristol-Gloucester-Bristol ride that came right through my home patch and along many of the roads regularly used by the Kingsway CC on our Sunday rides. It was a chilly, frosty morning, and it didn't bode well when I had to scrape ice off the car.

View attachment 77870 Gromit was at the registration area at Aztec West.
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Got under way at 09:00, sensing this might be a bit tricky, but not knowing the half of it.

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The event was organised by Audax Club Bristol, but you couldn't help thinking that Robin Cousins may have had something to do with planning the route. Everyone had to get off and walk at one time or another because of the ice. Personally, I reckon I must have walked a good 3km over black ice in various places between Thornbury and Berkeley -often with 4x4s or horse transporters rushing past just inches away and making absolutely no allowance for the conditions. Still carrying the bruises from last week's crash, I was particulalrly aware of the dangers and kept warning others whenever I spotted black ice. Further North, we also had to pass the exact two spots where I last crashed on ice - one just last week and the other exactly one year ago, and progress was slow for much of the first leg, even when on the bike.
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I checked in to the control at Epney with only about 25 of the 250 riders still behind me, so I decided to skip the refreshments and make the most of my local knowledge and get a move on without the need for my routesheet. This instantly left another 20 to 30 riders behind me at the pub, so I felt I had a chance of not being last, despite my "Fat Lad at the Back" shirt. Made it to the cafe at Tortworth in decent shape, despite a couple of cruel little hills just before the penultimate control. I like this shot, because the guy behind me is showing what it is really all about .... CAKE! .... lots of cake, to be consumed as fast as possible.
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Taking a sneaky look at the controllers' list of riders, I was encouraged to see that there were at least 37 of the riders still behind me as I set off again. It's not a race, but you really don't want to be last.
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Suffered quite a bit over the last 10.5 miles. I think it might have been the cold, and my tights might not have been thick enough to protect against it for so long. I've never been one to cramp up, but I had minor cramps at one time or another in both calves, my right thigh and my left hamstring. Added to that, my front wheel started to make a worrying clicking and creaking noise that I just couldn't trace, I'll have to fettle that tomorrow after I've given the bike a good clean. My best guess is a slightly loose spoke. Was really glad when it all ended - at the Swan Inn, Almondsbury, and I got my brevet card stamped up.
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Got to go through it all over again on the 1st Feb on the Windrush Winter Warm-up audax. I'm praying it isn't icy next week. This felt like an ordeal today. A bit like the annual wildebeest migration ... you know bad things are going to happen on the way, but somehow most of the herd always gets through. I'm certainly relieved to have got through this one unscathed .... I'm still black and blue from my last ride. Even the end was horrible, as I had to ride back to Aztec West in heavy, fast moving traffic past a couple of huge roundabouts and under the M5 at J16 to get back to my car. Not for the faint-hearted. A 65.6 mile audax in 6 hours 25 mins today. Would have been well under 6 hours without the ice. 66.6 miles in all.
Take care on the ice, everyone. Cheers, Donger.

Well done.

 

[ColinJ]

I managed 21 miles on a bit of a tour through Clitheroe and surrounding villages. I thought about tackling Pendle Hill but made my excuses and decided to leave it till when the snow has gone.

Surely the snow was on the hillside and not on the road!

You can see from my photo a few posts back what Waddington Fell was like yesterday, and the Nick o' Pendle looked like that from a distance.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Surely the snow was on the hillside and not on the road!

You can see from my photo a few posts back what Waddington Fell was like yesterday, and the Nick o' Pendle looked like that from a distance.

I thought about doing Pendle Hill today but the drizzle,mist and Sunday drivers put me off.


You weren't cycling through Billington this afternoon at around 3 o clock by the way?

 

[Maverick Goose]

Another training Run for next Sunday's event, I'll be glad when it's over, it's killing my legs! I miss my bike. 5.51 miles along the Old railway track and Grand Union Canal in Tiverton, feck me it was hard work, lovely canal though, really well maintained. My longest run ever ever ever.

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What was I doing in Tiverton? Don't ask!

Just thank yourself you're not in Abertawe....

 

[ColinJ]

I thought about doing Pendle Hill today but the drizzle,mist and Sunday drivers put me off.


You weren't cycling through Billington this afternoon at around 3 o clock by the way?

No, I had a lazy day in today!

I might do a local loop tomorrow to bank some more miles. I am about 150 miles down on where my total ride distance should be by now, but I nearly always have a slow start in January.

 

[ColinJ]

You weren't cycling through Billington this afternoon at around 3 o clock by the way?

If you saw someone riding a Blue Basso like mine, it was probably @sackville d, a local rider with a very similar bike.

 

[Accy cyclist]

If you saw someone riding a Blue Basso like mine, it was probably @sackville d, a local rider with a very similar bike.

There were three cyclists,i couldn't make out the bikes the drizzle made it hard to see. They were passing Billington Brass Band Club as i was contemplating going through Painter Wood. I've seen these blokes before,i just thought you might've been one of them.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Day in due to Parish Annual Meeting, Done by noon after brunch and a meeting, then a trip to the grocery store and 11 miles on the indoor recumbent trainer, would have gotten out except for snow/sleet falling through the day. Bitter cold return has been taken out of the forecast, so a return to outdoor riding may be in the works for Wednesday. Yesterday's ride also saw other riders, a phenomenon quite rare lately, even with the nicer winter weather.

 

[ColinJ]

There were three cyclists,i couldn't make out the bikes the drizzle made it hard to see. They were passing Billington Brass Band Club as i was contemplating going through Painter Wood. I've seen these blokes before,i just thought you might've been one of them.

That's what I call heavy drizzle!

I only get out there about once a month at most because it is at least a 40 mile round trip from here by the most direct route which is busy and boring as far as Padiham. I dislike the A671 from Padiham to Spring Wood for similar reasons, but at least now I use the lanes through Read instead.

 

[Dark46]

Well I was late getting out of the house today ( @Donger is thinking nothing new) and missed the KCC.

People were talking about going up Cleeve Hill and i wanted to do 40 miles. So I thought let's go for it.

I know the way I wanted to go as I deliver in the area. I wasn't going to push it as Cleeve Hill is long and steep I'm.

I didn't encounter much traffic which was a good thing,and the lights seemed to be with me so didn't unclip to often. I headed for Gloucester business park and then headed up to the A46 to Shurdington and Cheltenham. I took the road into Charlton Kings then took the back roads to eventually come out by Cheltenham Race Course.

From there it was right at the light to Sandown and upto Cleeve Hill. I had a few problems changing on to the lower ring but finally got there.

Going up Cleeve Hill was was easier than I expected but was still passed by a few people on road bikes. Coming down the other side was great and passed 2 of the people that passed me up hill.

In Winchcombe I stopped for about 5 mins. I took the wrong road out and found myself at Teddington services. Then headed down the. A46 towards Cheltenham in a head . It was almost as bad as coming home from Tewkesbury a few weeks ago.

Just outside Bishops Cleeve I turned right towards go to Staverton and Churchdown. Going down the main road it still amazes me how people pull right over to the curb as quickly as possible after just passing you . From there I justcwent straight through the centre of Gloucester and back to home.

I wanted to do 40 miles getting ready next weekends first Sportive. It ended up being 53 miles which is my biggest ride ever.

So what next ? I guess 75 miles , but hopefully I might have a road bike before I attempt that.

 

[Dave 123]

Day in due to Parish Annual Meeting, Done by noon after brunch and a meeting, then a trip to the grocery store and 11 miles on the indoor recumbent trainer, would have gotten out except for snow/sleet falling through the day. Bitter cold return has been taken out of the forecast, so a return to outdoor riding may be in the works for Wednesday. Yesterday's ride also saw other riders, a phenomenon quite rare lately, even with the nicer winter weather.

"indoor recumbent trainer"...... everybody else calls that a chair!

 

[Gravity Aided]

It's a good chair for keeping fit in the winter, then.

 

[numbnuts]

My ride to day was a wee bit lumpy

 

[EltonFrog]

My ride to day was a wee bit lumpy

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You must've needed grip hooks to get up some of those hills.

 

[PeteXXX]

I was hoping to get out fairly early today, but the rain was lingering around a bit longer that was forecasted, so I descaled the coffee machine instead. Once that task had been completed, I Nikwaxed all of my waterproof clothing. Then, as the weather had dried up, I popped out in my day clothes for a few miles. Just to the library, and into Wilko for a couple of bits and pieces.
As I had an hour or two to spare, I added a bit of a loupe to the rideback.

The newish Marina on the Nene near the town centre.

Back home on 15 miles. That tots up to just over 500km for the year so far.

https://www.strava.com/activities/246409308