Your ride today....

[cyberknight]

club ride , well 2 of us turned up
the other chap is 30 years younger and races so i got a good workout which is good as most riders in the club are social riders which is great but i tend not to push myself as hard as i want .
67 miles in total to Astley Book Farm that sells second hand books and a great cafe
test ride for the rebuilt boardman with sram rival 22 went pretty well just a few mis shifts which i reckon is just a case of tweaking the barrel adjuster and bedding in

 

[wafter]

Despite the untold quantity of successive nights' poor sleep it was such a nice day today it seemed disrespectful to to universe to remain inside.

The default Fuji in bits I dragged the Genesis out for the first time in a long time. With it's higher spec this should have been a bit of a treat, however in reality it was less-than-pleasant. My ostensibly capable steed and the glorious weather were undermined by my total exhaustion and the now-very-obvious unsuitability of the bike's crankset; amongst other things.

As has already been discussed on CC I've found the far wider (larger-Q-factor) MTB-derived Deore crankset on the Fuji to be far more accomodating to the fact that I walk like a penguin than the narrower 105 item on the Genesis.

Even though in the past I've done many miles on the Genesis, I think much time away in favour of the more accommodating Fuji has really polarised the situation. The 105 felt conspiciously, awkwardly narrow upon setting off; the situation worsening to aching / hot spots at the front of both feet within only a couple of miles.

In addition to that the crisp STI shifting and sublime performance from the 105's hydro discs weren't enough to distract me from the lack of comfort on the round-section bar-tops compared to the deeper, flattened items on the Fuji.

All in all a bit disappointing as the Genesis feels very much like a once-close friend not seen in ages and no discovered to have grown a world away.. I love the bike and hope these issues can be resolved, although with the crank at least there seems to be no obvious off-the-shelf solution.

About 9 sunny, if somewhat disappointingly sobering miles..

 

[Dave 123]

Out on my road bike in the glorious sunshine down past Bull and Bear, and down to the entrance to Flete. Then I took the sharp pull up the ridge road. Down and up through Shipham, on to Mary Cross and Modbury.

I then got a little lost in the lanes and with a choice of 3 I took the hard one!

Single track, 14%, shale on one side, grass down the middle and greasy on the shady side…. It was long and steep and my back wheel slipped. Great fun!

Along to California Cross, then back to Modbury and home via Flete and Holbeton.

27 sunny miles.


https://www.strava.com/activities/10000695084

Vagrant darter

 

[ianrauk]

Todays cycling shenanigans.
Out of the door at 6.30am in the dark. Bonkers mild morning, temps showing 14degs at that time No need for jackets or arm warmers etc.
A great ride in the Kent Weald down to Appledore via Hollingbourne to Tenterden, then on to Wye via Ashford then back home via the Pilgrim's Way from Hollingbourne, Malling, Wrotham, Brands Hatch and Farningham.
Is it really October? Weather tells me its July or August. I feel a bit sun crisp.
So scores on the doors.
120 of your British miles (so a bonus bagful of Eddingtons)
Imperial Century month 155 in a row. Imperial century #332
Back on the cycle commute tomorrow, the legs had better behave.

 

[Donger]

Drove down to Cambridge (Glos) to start a gentle ride with my mate Simon. A lovely sunny October day that felt more like May or June. We took the quiet lanes through Slimbridge and Wanswell to Purton to visit the ships' graveyard known locally as the Purton Hulks. Within about 100yds of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, a bend of the River Severn was protected in the 1960s by the sinking of about 30 barges to prevent erosion. These have all long since filled with silt and become part of the natural river bank.

You can stand on the deck of one hulk and see 4 or 5 more in either direction. It all feels quite surreal. After some very high tides and heavy rain in North Wales, the Severn has been extremely high lately, but you would never have guessed as mud flats seemed to stretch all the way across at low tide.

From there we carried on to Sharpness, where we went and explored the docks.

The only ship that was in port was this lovely tallship, the Pelican of London that was in (so they say) for a "bottom scraping":

Simon and I went and investigated some old railway wagons on a stretch of disused railway that has been rotting away for decades, This rather nice little shunting engine looked well-maintained though:

After that we went and took a look at the Severn bridges from the viewpoint before heading back to Slimbridge and Cambridge via a couple of pubs and some nice quiet lanes.

The ride ended on a sour note, when a huge, American style flatbed truck came past so fast and so close on a narrow, single track lane that Simon was blown off his bike and into a bank of nettles by a blast wave from the truck. A soft landing, and no damage done, but what an idiot driver. Didn't even stop when Simon went flying. A gentle 21.3 miles today along roads that I'm not usually lucky enough to ride at this time of year as they are usually full of wet cow muck.

 

[Emanresu]

Visit to Dungeness Power Station today en route to Folkestone. Didn’t mean to go there but the gps file for the new Cantii route seems to indicate a route through there. Not the only one to make the mistake as two French cyclists did the same using the same gps file.

So when you see this sign follow the outside of the fence and not the road.

 

[geocycle]

Today‘s ride took me to Bowland for the first time in quite a few weeks. A lovely with light winds made the decision easy. I took a road out through Wray and the road that looks back to Whernside, Ingleborough and Penyghent. I the headed south and up to Cross ‘o’ Greet, one of the high level routes into Bowland. The lovely Hodder Valley took me to Slaidburn and lunch. From there I tracked westward to Dunsop Bridge before picking up the road to Chipping for a second cafe stop. The clouds gathered but got home in the dry. 104 km with 1338 m of climbing.
Photos are of the bike in front of the three peaks, an interesting barn on the grouse moors, the Hodder valley and bike posing bike a nice lump of millstone grit.

 

[Spiderweb]

Wow, it was windy in the Yorkshire Dales on Saturday. Out with friends Martin & Gaynor from Middleham to West Tanfield for coffee and ice cream.
Really struggled in the killer headwinds!
Nearly 34 miles with an average of 12.7 mph.

 

[Spiderweb]

Another ride in the Yorkshire Dales today. A little cooler than yesterday but thankfully much less wind.
Out From Middleham to Masham for Coffee & Ice cream again!
32.9 miles with an average of 13.2 mph.

 

[Gunk]

Visit to Dungeness Power Station today en route to Folkestone. Didn’t mean to go there but the gps file for the new Cantii route seems to indicate a route through there. Not the only one to make the mistake as two French cyclists did the same using the same gps file.

So when you see this sign follow the outside of the fence and not the road.

I really like that area, we were there for a week post pandemic, stayed in Tenterden

 

[Dave 123]

A lovely evening ride. Warm but cool but warm. The light was fading as I set off, and I rode with bats swooping over me and owls hooting in the distance.

At Battisborough I could see the heavy fog that was sitting in the Erme valley, it was creeping up. Holbeton was lost in the mist (and the 18th century).

The lane from Bull and Bear is single track and I was wondering what was going on as 5 cars came towards me…. Then I twig that at Creacombe there’s a posh old house with a stone barn where they do Pilates and yoga.

Kindly the cavalcade of downward doggers stopped for me.

11 miles. Not sure there’ll be many more evenings like this this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/10007985300

 

[Dogma F]

Sunday Coast ride

 

[lazybloke]

Had to put cycling on the backburner in the last week , but made time for a ride after dinner last night.
A friend declined to join me, so it was a solo ride on the pitch black lanes of the North Downs; a little spooky when the owls started hooting & screeching.

I always like to switch off my front light at night and ride by moonlight or starlight, but under the canopy of beech and oak the darkness was absolute and I risked cycling into a ditch so could only cycle for a few seconds of darkness at a time, playing chicken with the edges of the road. I soon tired of that game.

I'd intended to cross the North Downs to Dorking then wind back to Leatherhead on a cyclepath alongside the A24, but the fresh air and distant views from the NOrth Downs Way was so delightful I couldn't face the thought of descending to the the noise and fumes of the dual carriageway in the valley below; instead I struck to a mixture of bridleways and small lanes in the hills.

Whenever I crossed roads the temperatures were balmy, almost like a summer evening. Between the fields, the temperature plunged as low as 11 C; much colder, making me thankful of a softshell jacket.

At one point the path stopped at a farm gate, and the cold air of the field beyond created a wall of fog that my torch couldn't penetrate. The ground beyond the gate bore no evidence of the onward path, and i opted to turn back to the road and find a more familiar bridleway that took me most of the way back home.

A lovely ride of 12 miles.

The night mode on the phone does a good job with buildings

Lights of bike - 5 metres distance.
Lights of London - 21 miles distance.

Night mode not so good for views of towns

 

[ColinJ]

I have adjusted my Devon bike's setup (lowered the handlebar by 1 cm) to try to stop my left shoulder aching on rides longer than about 60 km. I went out this afternoon intending to do about 30 km to test my new position on the bike. Best laid schemes and all that though...

I was climbing the hill over to Shobrooke from Crediton when I suddenly heard an awful clattering from behind a hedge on the other side of the road ahead of me. I knew immediately what it was - a farmer flailing the hedge. I looked up and saw debris flying over the top into the road. I had no sooner thought to myself to watch out for thorns when... Psssst - a rear wheel puncture!

I have been aware of the risk of this happening since I started visiting my sister here 3 years ago, but this is the first thorn puncture that I have had.

I was close to the top of the hill so I dismounted and walked the bike up there, then round to the left at the crossroads so I could sort the bike out away from traffic.

A cyclist stopped for a chat.

After cyclist #1 had gone another one stopped. He said that I didn’t sound local - where was I from? I told him originally the Midlands, but that I have lived in the NW of England for 40 years...

Today‘s ride took me to Bowland for the first time in quite a few weeks. A lovely with light winds made the decision easy. I took a road out through Wray and the road that looks back to Whernside, Ingleborough and Penyghent. I the headed south and up to Cross ‘o’ Greet, one of the high level routes into Bowland. The lovely Hodder Valley took me to Slaidburn and lunch. From there I tracked westward to Dunsop Bridge before picking up the road to Chipping for a second cafe stop. The clouds gathered but got home in the dry. 104 km with 1338 m of climbing.

The cyclist said that he had been on holiday to the Forest of Bowland a while back and loved it there. Then he had visited Hebden Bridge (I told him that I lived there for 29 years...) and Todmorden (I told him that I have been living there for the past 8 years!) We had a chat about the cycling in the NW vs that here in the SW. Off he went.

Back to work on my flat tyre... A 3rd person stopped to chat. He was walking his dog, but turned out also to be a cyclist!

Friendly folk round here, but it did mean that the repair took me about 35 minutes, by which time the sky had clouded over and rain threatened. I decided to cut my ride short and head back so I only rode 15 km in total. Still, it was good to be out riding in the countryside for a while, and the bike did feel better with the new setup.

NB...

• If you need specs to work on your bike, make sure that you are carrying some. (I do and was.)
• You might need tweezers or a sharp tool to remove thorns, glass, or other sharp objects from a punctured tyre, so make sure that you are carrying some. (I DID, but was NOT, which was annoying! )

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

First cycle (a commute) today since a fractured scaphoid earlier in the year. Had been keeping my legs spinning on the Wattbike where I found the drop bars causing a bit of pain in the injured area after 20 minutes or so. Thankfully on a static bike that is not as much of a problem. So for today’s commute I pulled out my flat bar bike and set it up with all the lights etc.

A strong headwind made the outward journey hard work but I arrived safely and without pain. The anticipation of a tailwind on the return journey was dashed immediately upon exiting work as it was immediately apparent that the wind had moved round a bit though diminished in intensity.

Surprisingly, for October, shorts and a short sleeved jersey were adequate.