Your ride today....

[i hate hills]

Given that I haven't posted anything for a while and that the weather was so good today, or should I say the light, I thought I would post today's ride... or at least some of the photos from it (and yes, I think I have a problem with the camera which I may need to look at...)

So not having had much energy of recent and also wanting to rule out cycling as the cuase of a problem I have with my knees (ligaments are very sore) I have only been going out at the weekend with my OH rather than during the week alone. But yesterday and today the weather was sooooo nice that I decided I wanted to get out (and cycling has been ruled out) so off I went for a short ride along the Whitegate way... Its the usual dodge the dogs, walkers, occasional horse riders, many many horse landmines and the occasional cyclist not looking at where they are going...


View attachment 103419
So the A556 bridge....

View attachment 103420
My favourite silver birch trees (just past the A49 bridge)

View attachment 103421
The far end where all the wild garlic grows in the spring

View attachment 103422
Coming back, roughly half way back

View attachment 103423
Somewhere around the scout camp

View attachment 103424
And almost home again.... (and a moment when the wind wasn't blowing)....

It was a lovely morning to be out and I only wish I had the energy for doing more, but at the moment I am very tired and my back is hurting me, so I am just taking life easy.... so a gentle and slow 11 miles

yesterday https://www.strava.com/activities/389767397
And today https://www.strava.com/activities/389767401

You always seem to be able to catch the light and take great photos, some lovely shots there.

 

[Simontm]

Remember me? Took advantage of a rare morning off and unexpected sun as the forecast was originally going to be rain and headed north. Tha t was it, no other plan just head north. So Kingston, Richmond, Kew, Hanger Lane and the Ace Cafe.

Then Wembley


The thought I'd have a look at the Neasden Temple.



Would have gone in but thought it may have been a bit disrespectful for a sweaty cyclist to go in!
Anyway headed back south, Willsden, Paddington Bowl, through Ken Gardens onto the Kings Road where after overtaking a cyclist, he ran a red light to get ahead but caught him up and blasted him out before Putney.
All the way from Putney to Richmond similar thing happened. A cyclist overtook me by RLJ three times and three times I caught him up and overtook him. On the third, I think he gave up
Over Strawberry Hill, through Bushy Park home.
40 miles in about two and a half hours

 

[Jacqueslemac]

Another one here whose ride was to watch the Tour of Britain. It was raining when I left, so I took the tourer (mudguards, see) and put an extra jersey and a fleece in the pannier. It was a 20 mile ride there and I got soaked twice and dried out twice before I arrived. The village (Old Buckenham) was en fête so there was a good atmosphere with a fun fair, real ale festival and plenty of food stalls.

By the time the riders came through the sun was out. As normal, it was over very quickly (I only recognised Alex Dowsett in the breakaway and Sir Bradley Wiggins riding last but one in the peloton, the rest were strung out a bit because of the crosswinds, but were still packed fairly close together).

My round trip was a little over 40 miles which is my longest ride this year (to my shame). My, the tourer is heavy compared with my usual road bike!

 

[Racing roadkill]

https://www.strava.com/activities/390536662
Off up to London to ride the TOB stage, ahead of the Peloton tomorrow, courtesy of Skride Social.

This photo is always sobering.

Just for Goonerobes.

 

[13 rider]

Saturday ride this week family commitments tomorrow .Got up this morning to a damp start waited until 12.30 as the weather was improving .Set off Anstey ,Cropston ,Rothley ,Cossington ,Ratcliffe on the Wreake ,Thrussington ,Hoby caught up with couple of riders heading for Ragdale doing the sportive the tour of Leicestershire after they turned off a half mile later caught another guy quick chat and he told me he's also doing the tour and heading for Ragdale informed him he's missed the turning and he thanked me and turned round. On through Frisby then Rotherby at the crossroads over the A607 chatted to the Marshall directing the riders I then realised all three of the other riders I'd seen had got to Ragdale by missing a good chunk of the route . While chatted to the Marshall a rider was asking if we had seem a woman in colourful shorts we said no .while chatting we could see her approaching very colourful shorts . Anyway parted company heading in opposite directions passed the last couple of stragglers before Gaddesby ,Barsby ,South Croxton ,Queniborough, Rearsby ,Cossington ,Sileby , Mountsorrel. As I came into Mountsorrel was flagged down by a lady its was the feed station for the sportive I explained I wasn't in it but she said I could have a flatjack anyway While I was there the group including the woman in colourful shorts rode in .Had a quick chat and asked if I could tag along as they were heading my way. Into Mountsorrel up bond lane a nasty climb into Swithland left at the triangle and up the first climb then straight up Warren hill all this for them after 65 miles a tough end to finish a 75 mile ride .I got up the climbs nice and easily I'd only done 35 miles .A couple of ladies on hybrids were well chuffed to have made up it Warren hill its a nasty climb well done .Into Newtown Linford where the sportive riders went right towards Groby I parted company I promised I see then next year .Home with 37.7 miles done in 2hr 20mins at 15.8 mph nice ride with some nice company

 

[Simontm]

https://www.strava.com/activities/390536662
Off up to London to ride the TOB stage, ahead of the Peloton tomorrow, courtesy of Skride Social.

View attachment 103525
Just for Goonerobes.

Can I just complain about liking a post with that in it!
Must have passed each other at some point.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Can I just complain about liking a post with that in it!
Must have passed each other at some point.

I was very distinctive today, very bright green Fluoro shoe covers, and a bright pink bag cover.

 

[Goonerobes]

You nearly didn't get a like for that last photo @Racing roadkill but seeing as though they lost again today.......

Todays planned ride taking in the Test Valley & New Forest didn't go quite to plan as network rail decided to close the road at a crossing at East Dean but being forever hopeful I went down the road anyway just in case they were letting pedestrians cross but no, so back I went to find another way round to get to the little hill I did for the first time last week.

Following my instincts I headed towards West Tytherley & to where I thought I needed to go & after going up & down the same stretch of road twice I was was back on track & found said hill (although it felt harder today for some reason). From there I headed back to the better roads of the New Forest & down to Downton where I planned another new route to Hale, along a narrow single track road which was okay & adds another option for my midweek rides.

The rest of the ride was on familiar forest roads, through Frogham to Linwood, where I finally picked up a tailwind, & across the former airfield to Nomansland, down to Bramshaw & home via Copythorne & Tatchbury for a pleasant 64 mile round trip.

https://www.strava.com/activities/390464610

Why I'll never be a photographer as I managed to cut the cross off of St. Johns Church at Lockerley!

The Millennium beacon at Downton.

After Tuesdays donkeys, it was the turn of the sheep to bring a halt to proceedings today.

 

[Diggs]

Slightly disappointed that the road was kicking up so much spray I couldn't really use the footage from the new cheap cam I picked up in the week but otherwise seemed to work ok.
The ride itself was a lot warmer and less wet than I was expecting and a lovely ride through the damp Essex countryside.
Getting to the stage where it's taking as long to clean the bike as I was actually out for.

 

[andytheflyer]

Continuing the testing of my audax gears on the Defy, and my legs......

Tried a bit of @Rickshaw Phil's route from last weekend. Parked car at Penybontfawr and rode over to Llyn Vyrnwy via a short sharp climb after the village (2 houses?) of Hirnant. Stopped (early) for a quick cuppa before rolling along the nice and flat western side of the lake, before turning west to head for the T with the Bwlch-y-Groes road about 5 miles further on. Was passed on the climb by a very tall and slender gentleman (so a proper grimpeur) and a lady companion on the carbon Cubes - but since it was drizzling slightly I was optimistic that their bikes would dissolve and I could reclaim bragging rights. This is a tough climb for me - it's more or less up all the way from the lake, some steep bits, some flatter bits, but fairly relentless - but apart from having to get off and walk around a sheep truck blocking the road half way up, I rode it in one go, with no stops. I met the Cube couple again at the T junction (so carbon does not dissolve in the rain - or maybe it takes more time) where they were preparing to descend to Dinas Mawddach down the Bwlch-y-Groes pass before turning around and climbing back up. Nutters.

I turned rt and slogged to the top - the highest road pass in Wales at 565m. Shortly after the clag cleared and I had a fantastic, sunny and scenic roll down to Bala lake, turning E also the shore of the lake. Once at the top end, I turned R to head over the Berwyns via the B4391, under blue skies, topping out at about 495m before a fast run down into Llangynog. Am I allowed to say I was doing a bit more than the required 30mph on the way into the village?
From there, a quick run back to Penybontfawr, via the village shop (still open at 5pm!!) for a very reasonable Magnum clone ice cream at 60p. Yes, 60p - or 30% of the real Magnum price. And just as good.

About 4500ft of climbing and 40 miles. Could have done a bit more, but the boss had tea on......

Must get a cheapo digital camera...

 

[Elybazza61]

Went out yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours in the sun to get the legs going as my cold seems to be going;not too bad apart from one bit into the wind but a 31kph average is not too shabby.
Didn't feel too tired which bodes well for next week-ends L'Etape London;should be ok for 100+ miles at a lower tempo,just hope the weathers ok.

https://www.strava.com/activities/389949303

 

[Saluki]

https://www.strava.com/activities/390697580

The rain that had been forecast didn't materialise and the BBC gave out a nice forecast for this afternoon from about 4pm onwards.
The morning was spent working so no going to watch the Tour coming past ours today. Heigh ho. Not quite ours, 2 main roads over though so near enough. 3 miles away. Once home packing was done, more packing and taking apart cupboards for moving and getting them packed. Oh, putting a curry in the slow-cooker too.

10 to 5 saw us on the roadies and riding down the Marriotts (tons of people walking on it today) and through the edge of the city to the Riverside where there were even more people, all wearing Norwich City scarves so the football must have kicked every one out of the ground. We delivered a key back to an old client, who's dogs we used to walk but won't any longer due to moving house. We then retraced our tyre tracks to the Red Lion pub and crossed Riverside Road and cut the corner off by going up Rosary Road, where a friend of ours used to live. The traffic was bonkers. We filtered through slowly until we got onto Yarmouth Road and continued filtering along the outside of the traffic all the way down to Thunder Lane when it got a bit clearer. Very slow but we were busy watching the cars and didn't notice the little hills.

At Dussindale we popped into Sainsbury's for a wee break and grabbed a couple of Danish Pastries (we didn't ride far enough but who cares). From there, we went up Pound Lane to Laundry Lane and rode past my old Grammar School on the right and then the old Recreation Ground on the left. I spend many happy hours on the Rec when I was a kid. We rode past the house that I grew up, some of the time, in and then doglegged through Heartsease and through Moushold (dog walking country and where I had a really great flat) before whipping through Mile Cross and tried not to have to stop anywhere before picking up the Marriotts back home.

Sort of a nostalgia route today. Only 14.8 miles in an hour and 30 or so. Very slow but we didn't get over 7mph through the Riverside area or along Thorpe/Yarmouth Road, until we got to the bottom of Harvey Lane and then it was quick-slow-quick-slow until Thunder Lane. Only 107m of climbing. It felt like more. Felt really tired. Really looked forward to going out but felt a bit pants after the first 9 miles or so.

 

[i hate hills]

https://www.strava.com/activities/390697580

The rain that had been forecast didn't materialise and the BBC gave out a nice forecast for this afternoon from about 4pm onwards.
The morning was spent working so no going to watch the Tour coming past ours today. Heigh ho. Not quite ours, 2 main roads over though so near enough. 3 miles away. Once home packing was done, more packing and taking apart cupboards for moving and getting them packed. Oh, putting a curry in the slow-cooker too.

10 to 5 saw us on the roadies and riding down the Marriotts (tons of people walking on it today) and through the edge of the city to the Riverside where there were even more people, all wearing Norwich City scarves so the football must have kicked every one out of the ground. We delivered a key back to an old client, who's dogs we used to walk but won't any longer due to moving house. We then retraced our tyre tracks to the Red Lion pub and crossed Riverside Road and cut the corner off by going up Rosary Road, where a friend of ours used to live. The traffic was bonkers. We filtered through slowly until we got onto Yarmouth Road and continued filtering along the outside of the traffic all the way down to Thunder Lane when it got a bit clearer. Very slow but we were busy watching the cars and didn't notice the little hills.

At Dussindale we popped into Sainsbury's for a wee break and grabbed a couple of Danish Pastries (we didn't ride far enough but who cares). From there, we went up Pound Lane to Laundry Lane and rode past my old Grammar School on the right and then the old Recreation Ground on the left. I spend many happy hours on the Rec when I was a kid. We rode past the house that I grew up, some of the time, in and then doglegged through Heartsease and through Moushold (dog walking country and where I had a really great flat) before whipping through Mile Cross and tried not to have to stop anywhere before picking up the Marriotts back home.

Sort of a nostalgia route today. Only 14.8 miles in an hour and 30 or so. Very slow but we didn't get over 7mph through the Riverside area or along Thorpe/Yarmouth Road, until we got to the bottom of Harvey Lane and then it was quick-slow-quick-slow until Thunder Lane. Only 107m of climbing. It felt like more. Felt really tired. Really looked forward to going out but felt a bit pants after the first 9 miles or so.

Always nice when the rain fails to come and you managed to get a ride in that you thought wouldn't happen.

 

[Donger]

Hi guys, I'm back! (Don't groan). Currently whiling away an hour or two in a northern French motel room and catching up with this thread after spending a week in the (Wifi-less) dark ages in the French Alps. Once again, the local search engine threw a wobbly over "Cyclechat" and helpfully suggested a site about menstrual cycles in cats! Spent a stunning week living the dream around lake Annecy, with glorious sunshine and fantastic views everywhere. I had been building up my training for almost a year specifically to make sure I made the most of this chance, and it was worth every ounce of effort spent in training. My Ridgeback was well pampered this week, as the garage of the house we were staying in had been fitted with a marble-tiled floor, so this turned out to be a luxury bike stable, with room for me to lay out all my kit and my tools and keep the bike nice and dry.

We arrived in Doussard, at the Southern end of Lake Annecy, late on the Saturday night, and I was straining at the leash. Got up and out at stupid o'clock on the Sunday morning for a gentle cruise around, and ended up doing one of my favourite rides of all time. Took the brilliant cycle path along the lake as far as St Jorioz, where I turned off and headed up the side valley signposted "St Eustache". The road immediately kicked up to something between 8 and 10% and kept going like that up through a housing estate, past a chateau and up through a series of hairpin bends through alpine meadows and outlying farms. The bends just kept on coming, and I just kept on going. Eventually I heard a group of English cyclists coming up behind me, and I caught sight of them a couple of times coming round hairpins beneath me. Of course they caught me and overtook me in the end, but I managed not to look as tired as I actually was. Managed to get to the top of the hill, where I rested for a few moments and had a drink by an old lavoir that had goldfish in it. The sign in this shot shows that I was actually quite close to the Col de Leschaux, which I would like to have climbed, but I was running short of time by now, and I set my sights on the vilage of St Eustache instead.

Just after this point, I spotted a sign stating that this had been the "Cote de Puget", and that the altitude was 796 metres. (The bottom of the climb was at 448 metres). Just as I was congratulating myself at doing my third biggest climb ever ..... all without stopping on the climb, the road started to drop quite steeply, and for the best part of a mile, losing hard-earned altitude as it went,

before a short climb back up into St Eustache - which was stated to be at an altitude of 728 metres.

At this point I turned tail and headed back, first down, then up the hill again back to the top of the Cote de Puget. By my reckoning this now added up to about 450 metres of climbing, and unbelievably, I was still feeling great. Now I had the chance to take some photos of the stunning views of Lake Annecy that I had glimpsed on the way up. Wow!

Every hairpin or treeless stretch you came to had a view like these....

Here you can see the road doubling back on itself over and over just beneath me to the left. Annecy is at the far end of the lake as you look at it...

What a truly stunning ride to start the week with..... and even got back in time for breakfast, and a lovely day out with Mrs Donger. The bike behaved itself perfectly, repaying me for the pampered lodgings. This next shot is from the lakeside cycle path, and is of the village of Doussard, where we were staying ...

I'd told the missus to "smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast ", and here I was, back again barely half an hour after my Kingsway CC club ride would have started back in Gloucester. Definitely one of my favourite three rides ever. What a way to start a week, never mind a day.

More (and even better) to come.
Cheers, Donger.

 

[Rustybucket]

Hi guys, I'm back! (Don't groan). Currently whiling away an hour or two in a northern French motel room and catching up with this thread after spending a week in the (Wifi-less) dark ages in the French Alps. Once again, the local search engine threw a wobbly over "Cyclechat" and helpfully suggested a site about menstrual cycles in cats! Spent a stunning week living the dream around lake Annecy, with glorious sunshine and fantastic views everywhere. I had been building up my training for almost a year specifically to make sure I made the most of this chance, and it was worth every ounce of effort spent in training. My Ridgeback was well pampered this week, as the garage of the house we were staying in had been fitted with a marble-tiled floor, so this turned out to be a luxury bike stable, with room for me to lay out all my kit and my tools and keep the bike nice and dry. View attachment 103549
We arrived in Doussard, at the Southern end of Lake Annecy, late on the Saturday night, and I was straining at the leash. Got up and out at stupid o'clock on the Sunday morning for a gentle cruise around, and ended up doing one of my favourite rides of all time. Took the brilliant cycle path along the lake as far as St Jorioz, where I turned off and headed up the side valley signposted "St Eustache". The road immediately kicked up to something between 8 and 10% and kept going like that up through a housing estate, past a chateau and up through a series of hairpin bends through alpine meadows and outlying farms. The bends just kept on coming, and I just kept on going. Eventually I heard a group of English cyclists coming up behind me, and I caught sight of them a couple of times coming round hairpins beneath me. Of course they caught me and overtook me in the end, but I managed not to look as tired as I actually was. Managed to get to the top of the hill, where I rested for a few moments and had a drink by an old lavoir that had goldfish in it. The sign in this shot shows that I was actually quite close to the Col de Leschaux, which I would like to have climbed, but I was running short of time by now, and I set my sights on the vilage of St Eustache instead. View attachment 103551
Just after this point, I spotted a sign stating that this had been the "Cote de Puget", and that the altitude was 796 metres. (The bottom of the climb was at 448 metres). Just as I was congratulating myself at doing my third biggest climb ever ..... all without stopping on the climb, the road started to drop quite steeply, and for the best part of a mile, losing hard-earned altitude as it went, View attachment 103552
before a short climb back up into St Eustache - which was stated to be at an altitude of 728 metres.
View attachment 103553
At this point I turned tail and headed back, first down, then up the hill again back to the top of the Cote de Puget. By my reckoning this now added up to about 450 metres of climbing, and unbelievably, I was still feeling great. Now I had the chance to take some photos of the stunning views of Lake Annecy that I had glimpsed on the way up. Wow! View attachment 103555
Every hairpin or treeless stretch you came to had a view like these....
View attachment 103556
Here you can see the road doubling back on itself over and over just beneath me to the left. Annecy is at the far end of the lake as you look at it...
View attachment 103557
What a truly stunning ride to start the week with..... and even got back in time for breakfast, and a lovely day out with Mrs Donger. The bike behaved itself perfectly, repaying me for the pampered lodgings. This next shot is from the lakeside cycle path, and is of the village of Doussard, where we were staying ...
View attachment 103554 I'd told the missus to "smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast ", and here I was, back again barely half an hour after my Kingsway CC club ride would have started back in Gloucester. Definitely one of my favourite three rides ever. What a way to start a week, never mind a day.
View attachment 103558
More (and even better) to come.
Cheers, Donger.

Brilliant photos - well done!
Well bloody jealous too!