Your ride today....

[Jenkins]

Oh, my giddy aunt! It's got to have been over three years since I last went out for a morning ride that involved the building rush hour traffic and I'd forgotten about the increased odds of encountering numbers of people - presumably stupefied by the regularity of their commute - who have been turned into twonks. When you're riding in Primary and someone STILLS tries to overtake and to push you back, you know the next few miles might be 'interesting'. Mind you, the first twonk so heightened my awareness I took even more care than I normally do down some of the back lanes in the countryside as I thought - correctly as it turned out - there would be a lot of folk barrelling down them on their way to work.
Anyway ... That's another qualifying 50k ride in the bag (now up to 81 consecutive months ) and it became one of those rides where I think to myself that anything else I achieve today will be a bonus. A great ride!

A classic shot of The Orwell that @Jenkins and I occasionally post.

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And one towards The Deben form Old Felixstowe.

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Went past the first location of your pictures on this afternoon's ride and will be passing the second tomorrow as it's a daily part of my commute.


Today's ride was just another quick ride out in the sunshine around the Nacton, Ipswich, Claydon and Kesgrave areas, but with the added bonus of being able to re-unite an iPhone with its owner. Coming out of Nacton I saw a phone case in the road and went to pick it up to move it out of the way when there was some music from the verge. A quick search located an iPhone with a very badly damaged screen as if it had bounced along the road or been run over. Reasoning that it was the owner trying to locate it, I picked it up hoping that they'd ring again and I could get their details to send it back - they did later on, but it cut off before I could find a safe stopping point.
Then, approaching Kirton, an Audi pulled alongside and the passenger asked if I'd picked up a phone - they'd somehow been tracking it and had been following me around and couldn't believe how far I'd gone! It turns out that the lady's mother had died in the morning and she had left the phone on the roof of the car while they were out. I just hope they can retrieve whatever info she had stored on the phone/sim card.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

A pleasant couple of hours on my tourer, photo looking towards Bavelaw and Black Hill.

 

[wafter]

Today a box of things needed delivering to a client a couple of miles away in the city, and the Routier and its pannier soared to stratospheric new heights of ridiculous utility

The mission was accomplished and everyone walked away alive, the unladen return journey made even better by witnessing this epic space-cat mural:

Neither fast nor far but a very welcome waft on the old shed

 

[wafter]

Crikey - surprised nobody has posted since my last one on Tuesday; is everyone afraid that they can't trump the epic space cat?

This week has been especially stressful thanks to a number of events and circumstances against the usual grotty backdrop. My sleep's been crap and I woke up this morning feeling exhausted and miserable; got a few small productive tasks done but largely stalled and just moped about the house.

By early afternoon I decided to try to make something useful of the day and get some eggs for dinner. Off I went down the bridleway on the CdF in the baking afternoon sun and 1.5-ish miles later I was at the farm shop with two boxes of eggs in my bag. Then it was back down the naughty track into the village and of course I couldn't go home so hung a right north out of the village.

Uncharateristically I rode to the nearest town on the main roads which were busy but tolerable, saw an old acquantance and chatted for maybe 20 minutes, then back home via some more paletable, rural roads.

All in all around 20 miles at about 13.6mph (from moving time) for around 1100Kcal burned. Not sure if it was the toast I binged on for lunch but it was a fast (for me) ride with a high average HR of around 70% and about a third of the ride at 80% plus - which is unheard-of of late as I've just been going out and wafting around.

To say the ride was transformative wouldn't be overplaying it; now I'm back home (after a really nice omlette) I feel really, really good both mentally and physically and very much appreciate this reminder of the restorative effects of a bloody good thrash

 

[DCBassman]

First ride on the new-to-me Marin Pine Mountain. Very much a shakedown, let's-see-what-else-needs-doing kind of ride.
First off: light. Great! Nice low gearing. Great! Bit creaky here and there. Hmmm. Despite the heel on the pedal length seeming OK, my knees seem to be meeting my chin. So needs a small adjustment in saddler height. It has 175mm cranks. So need to account for that. Maybe shift the saddle back a fraction. The bars are very low: Will have to check that out. Some definite issues with random gear slippage or maybe freehub drive dropouts. Whatever, will recheck all gearing and run some decent engine oil into the freehub.
Stopped for a drink at my usual point on the Leg O'Mutton ramp. Rear tyre felt a little soft. As I began to pump, the valve tore halfway off. Pffft. Carp, I don't yet have any spare tubes this size. Definitely unrepairable! So opt to shoehorn a 622 18-25 tube into a 559-32 tyre. What could possibly go wrong? Hoping that some of the creases and folds would expand out to fit the (to the tube) oversize tyre, I got it inflated enough. As I'd already discovered that the gearing was what I'd hoped for this hill, there was nothing left to try out so it was time to turn and go home. The tube is still holding, but I cannot get correct ones for a few days yet, so a planned sprint up and down the Camel Trail on Saturday will be done, teeth-rattlingly, on the Scott.
After getting home, tweaked the saddle as indicated. The bars, though...The supplied bars are simply what they are. They are either flat on the head tube or one inch above. That's the whole range of movement. So I will need to fit a longer quill stem with less reach. I still have this from the Revell mixte. But I will also need a cable stop for the canti brakes. As I'm now having to step out of the originality of the bike, I might just convert it to V-brakes. We'll see. I also noticed that the front brake blocks are on backwards...
So, lots to do, but it's a fine steed!

 

[gavgav]

A beautiful sunny evening, with warmth, finally and so I got out for a ride. There was still quite a keen wind, Northerly in the main and so that was behind me for the first 5 miles or so, through Meole Village, Hook a Gate and Annscroft.

I got on fairly briskly, after turning East also, to Exfords Green and Stapleton, where I almost fell of the bike in shock as they’ve properly resurfaced the end of Pump Lane, which was a rutted mess and Dad has been reporting to the council for 3 years!!

I continued on to Gonsal and Condover, along Lyons Lane and then turned into the wind for the final few miles home via Betton Abbots.

Really enjoyed that and wished I could have kept going for hours, after a rubbish day in the office, but time didn’t allow that.

14.89 miles at 13.5mph avg

 

[Donger]

On the first of the month I started a new self-imposed challenge. In response to my pathetic 516 miles in the first six months of the year, I determined to ride at least 10 miles per day until the end of the Tour de France. My best month so far this year (post covid) was March, when I managed a paltry 134 miles, so anything that would get me up and out there and guarantee a further 240 miles in 24 days had to be worth trying.

Well so far so good. Seven days in, and I'm averaging 19.1 miles per day, having done 133.7 miles so far. Every time I work out my current average, something in me just won't let me do less than that distance the next day. So long as the bike holds up and I don't get saddle sores, I think this little-and-often approach might well deliver one of my biggest ever monthly totals. And I'm loving getting out at silly o'clock, riding in the cool morning air and hear a cacophony of bird song .... cock-a-doodle-doing, pigeon cooing and early morning hedgerow twittering everywhere. This morning I even made it out to Arlingham, 12 miles away, in 53 minutes ..... about the same as I always used to before covid. Definite progress.

 

[theloafer]

just a short ride today ..over to Hamsterley Forest going a different route than i usually and is a lot less traffic my normal way out via Shildon then down to Tindale along the track to west Auckland to pick up the offroad cycle route to Hilton ,then headed up to cross over the A688 and up through Esperley -high lands.
once in Hamsterley i dropped down to Bedburn and the road into the Forest, travelled a long forest drive which seemed strange as there was not many people about. i climb out at the other end then headed for middleton in teesdale , but so far along the road i was not enjoying the ride so called it a day, i headed over to the woodland to Tofthill road , to head back to West Auckland and back on my outward route, been back early i stopped off at my old works to see a few old buddies .and back in time to watch the tour
41 miles better than nout
https://www.strava.com/activities/7435674262

 

[Grant Fondo]

Quick 12 mile utility ride on this lovely evening ... the gravel section around Earl's Eye Meadow in Chester was fun.

 

[lazybloke]

Too much sun at the Hampton Court flower show yesterday. Plenty of Factor 50 but maybe too much heat.

But after lots of rehydration fluids last night (okay, Theakstons), I was up and out on the bike today at a surprisingly chilly 5.30am.

Had a couple of nervous miles of rriding directly into the early sun, but soon turned south.

Went past the house where I lived in the mid 70s, then out into the south Surrey countryside.

Headed off my usual roads to explore down a dead-end lane towards a railway. The council PROW map showed a cycletrack that would detour the closed level crossing, it wad a farm access track that varied between tarmac, concrete slabs and gravel, but it felt like the middle of nowhere. Glorious. Peaceful.

Farmland fell behind me and I approached some old cottages. Recognised some of them from a paper-round I did a couple of times in the 80s.

Then back on the roads and continued near Charlwiod, directly under the Gatwick flight path, then west to Okewood Hill.

Started to feel odd from yesterday's sun, so slowed and headed back via Walliswood and Leith Hill. One final burst of effort to climb Tanhurst Lane up the side of Leith Hill to Coldharbour village, then I rolled back down into the valley of the River Mole and followed it towards home.

A very pleasant 45 miles at a gentle 14 or so mph.

 

[cyberknight]

18 miles in total to hicks lodge with mini ck 1, definitely improving as we only walked up 2 hills rather than most and now in the big ring on the flat

 

[Grant Fondo]

Too much sun at the Hampton Court flower show yesterday. Plenty of Factor 50 but maybe too much heat.
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But after lots of rehydration fluids last night (okay, Theakstons), I was up and out on the bike today at a surprisingly chilly 5.30am.

Had a couple of nervous miles of rriding directly into the early sun, but soon turned south.
View attachment 652060
Went past the house where I lived in the mid 70s, then out into the south Surrey countryside.

View attachment 652061
Headed off my usual roads to explore down a dead-end lane towards a railway. The council PROW map showed a cycletrack that would detour the closed level crossing, it wad a farm access track that varied between tarmac, concrete slabs and gravel, but it felt like the middle of nowhere. Glorious. Peaceful.
View attachment 652062
Farmland fell behind me and I approached some old cottages. Recognised some of them from a paper-round I did a couple of times in the 80s.
View attachment 652064

View attachment 652065
Then back on the roads and continued near Charlwiod, directly under the Gatwick flight path, then west to Okewood Hill.
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Started to feel odd from yesterday's sun, so slowed and headed back via Walliswood and Leith Hill. One final burst of effort to climb Tanhurst Lane up the side of Leith Hill to Coldharbour village, then I rolled back down into the valley of the River Mole and followed it towards home.

A very pleasant 45 miles at a gentle 14 or so mph.

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Wow that's early! Suspect it may be the best time of day for a ride over the coming weeks though? Lovely pics

 

[lazybloke]

Wow that's early! Suspect it may be the best time of day for a ride over the coming weeks though? Lovely pics

Thanks Grant. So many cars in Surrey so I enjoy an early start to avoid the noise/smells/traffic. Lovely light and cool air too.

Not sure my better half enjoys my early starts; not only was my alarm set for 5am, but she also had a kitten pronking on her head for the next 2 hours because I forgot to shut it in downstairs.

 

[gavgav]

A beautiful sunny morning, but with a keen North Westerly breeze, as I set out in the direction of Baschurch, which I’ve not done for a while and planned some new territory as well.

I meandered my way out of Shrewsbury, through Meole Village, Mousecroft Lane, Radbrook and Gains Park, before following Calcot Lane, to Bicton. The surface dressing has settled down there now and so it was a more pleasant trip on to Montford Bridge.

I climbed up to Forton and then took the lane to Great Ness, passing Adcote School but cycling into the wind was quite slow going in places. Had a pretty Orange and Black Butterfly flying at handlebar height, just in front of me, for a good few hundred yards which was nice.

I then turned North and took the lane that skirts around the edge of the school grounds and along to Baschurch. I turned towards the village centre and then past the school and onto the lane towards the Merrington area. Halfway along there I turned onto the start of new territory, following the car less lane to Old Woods.

From there I followed the “B” road to Leaton, which was also further new territory. It was busy at times, but quietened down after the rat run traffic turned towards Harlescott and I continued towards Rosehill, along the Berwick Rd and into Shrewsbury past the showground. The wind was behind me along parts and it made for good speedy progress.

I arrived at the Coton Hill traffic lights and was initially going to turn right, into Shrewsbury town centre, but traffic was queuing even from there and so I decided to go left, along the Ellesmere road, which I’d also not ridden before.

There was too much traffic though and it felt very unpleasant, particularly on the hill after Herongate, where impatient traffic blasted past, despite it being a 40mph limit, including a knob head in a Mini, that sounded like a tractor,who decided to blast past me, into the path of a car coming the other way and swerve in front again. The chap coming the other way gave him/her a blast of the horn and a sarcastic handclap, I gave them a less pleasant hand gesture.

I was glad to turn right and down through Heath Farm, where when turning right I gave good signal and yet one pillock still wanted to overtake and when he couldn’t decided to hoot his horn. **** off was what he got from me, loudly through his window.

I joined the cycle paths at Heathgates and followed those to Reabrook, Meole and back home.

A nice warm, but not too hot a morning for a ride, with 28.22 miles at 13.4mph avg

 

[roubaixtuesday]

What a marvellous day to be alive!

70 miles en tandem with Mrs T, flat on the Cheshire plain.

Feat. lunch on a terrace overlooking the canal in Middlewich at the Big Lock pub:

Then cake and/ or ice cream at the excellent community cafe at Whitegate Station when we passed over the Whitegate way.

And finally a wonderful swim in Pickmere before hurtling the last 15 miles home with the tailwind on our backs:

Time for a beer.