Your ride today....

[13 rider]

After checking milage figures I only needed 30 miles to reach 3500 not the 38 I thought , had missed a commute off the total .This reduction I was thankful for when wheeling my bike up our entry into the wind.
Set off in the direction of Mount St Bernard's Abbey my favourite route . Up through Newtown Linford and up Sharply hill up to beacon crossroads left then right onto Charley rd .At this point I decided to Change route to try and avoid the wind . It would have been brutal at the high ridge at St Bernard's .So straight out to Shepshed then Belton ,Diseworth ,Long Whatton across the A6 into Normanton on Soar .Up the climb out of the village and into Stanford on Soar .on the road to Cotes I expected to see the fields flooded but the river was still in it banks . Through Cotes then into Barrow on Soar then Quorn I where I finally hit a headwind so a slower ride through Mountsorrel were I got overtaken on two teenagers having a laugh one one a bmx the other on a hybrid .They laughed as they went bye so I followed to the bottom of the next hill .Full power flew past them just as they were getting off to walk up the hill ! made me smile as I shouted no stamina as I left them for dead .Rothley ,Cropston and Home 35.6 miles done so yearly goal of 3506 .Nice ride in chilly but windy conditions( when is it not) . Passed loads of riders today everyone finishing the year off .Happy new year to everyone

 

[Racing roadkill]

After checking milage figures I only needed 30 miles to reach 3500 not the 38 I thought , had missed a commute off the total .This reduction I was thankful for when wheeling my bike up our entry into the wind.
Set off in the direction of Mount St Bernard's Abbey my favourite route . Up through Newtown Linford and up Sharply hill up to beacon crossroads left then right onto Charley rd .At this point I decided to Change route to try and avoid the wind . It would have been brutal at the high ridge at St Bernard's .So straight out to Shepshed then Belton ,Diseworth ,Long Whatton across the A6 into Normanton on Soar .Up the climb out of the village and into Stanford on Soar .on the road to Cotes I expected to see the fields flooded but the river was still in it banks . Through Cotes then into Barrow on Soar then Quorn I where I finally hit a headwind so a slower ride through Mountsorrel were I got overtaken on two teenagers having a laugh one one a bmx the other on a hybrid .They laughed as they went bye so I followed to the bottom of the next hill .Full power flew past them just as they were getting off to walk up the hill ! made me smile as I shouted no stamina as I left them for dead .Rothley ,Cropston and Home 35.6 miles done so yearly goal of 3506 .Nice ride in chilly but windy conditions( when is it not) . Passed loads of riders today everyone finishing the year off .Happy new year to everyone

Nice one. I personally got over the 8888 miles I was aiming for, annoyingly though, I came up 90 miles short of 9000 for the year.

 

[13 rider]

Nice one. I personally got over the 8888 miles I was aiming for, annoyingly though, I came up 90 miles short of 9000 for the year.

Thanks , that still an impressive total
My first full calander year of riding target was 2400 amazed I got it to 3500

 

[Dave 123]

I woke up in a really bad mood today, not sure why but I thought that buggering off on a bike would be good for all at Chateau Dave.
I decided to go out on the Spa tourer as I'd just fitted my new Ortlieb bar bag that I'd bought with Christmas Wiggle vouchers.
Up and around to Bourn and past the Lalbagh curry house, I lamented the sad fact that I'd not been there over Christmas...
I turned up into Kingston and then headed for the Eversdens.
I always pass the church and think that it looked interesting, so today I stopped.
They have been doing some sort of earth works out the back. Luckily the new Shimano shoes I was trying out are comfy as they're now unreturnable!

I love these old churches (and despise religion!) it makes me wonder what will happen to these places in generations to come as they're already dropping to bits, and costing a mint to keep standing. Answers on a postcard.

At this point I was busting for a wee, but held it in, not wanting to offend any parishioners that might see. So I rode off toward Harlton, the rutted and pitted road not doing my bladder any favours! There was a vehicle behind me, noisy, spluttery and agricultural sounding. Eventually the MGB went by.
Out the other side of the village I spied a gateway! Hooray! I propped the bike up and scurried off into the scant hedgerow. I glanced back to the bike to give it admiring looks and the wind promptly blew it over! One of the following expletives was 4 letters long and began with a "C". The bad mood not quite gone then! 50 yds down the road and I spotted a lovely pair of Bullfinches, that cheered me up!
Home with a tail wind, which is only fair really. 19 and a half sunny miles to end 2015.

https://www.strava.com/activities/459939224/segments/11064424917

Hope you all have a great 2016!

I stood it back up again for a photo....

 

[mybike]

With nearly every day this month having had some rain the prospect of reaching 400 miles while using the canal towpath just wasn't on. The towpath has been incredibly muddy and the puddles have joined together making it hard work to ride. But I decided I'd make an effort for the last day of the month.

The sunshine must have encouraged people out to walk off the weight they'd gained over Christmas. Not that I could have ridden very fast as the mud seemed to be manically gripping the tyres.

One patch of road where I usually achieve my highest speed was actually flooded, so that's my excuse & I'm sticking to it. And isn't it cold when you're freewheeling downhill.

The Winkwell swing bridge with the viaduct carrying the West Coast Main Line in the distance.

Extended my ride a little today to take in Potten End, it has some hills I can manage, unlike the hill up to Little Heath, which I still walk up.

Yep, the bike was tired & muddy, just like me.

This week 11.3 miles max 16 avg 6.0 mph. Year to date, 391.1 miles, Target 400 miles

Seeing that as of 18 months ago I'd not ridden a bike any distance for 50 years, I'm satisfied.

{edit} It is now raining, for a change, so no way I'll attempt a ride tomorrow.

 

[gavgav]

Big thanks to @Rickshaw Phil for turning out to lead me on the ride.

Local route knowledge is invaluable and he has lots of it, meaning I was able to do a well thought out circuit which I would not have found just by staring at a map.

A short stretch of our ride was new to Phil, so he was able to bottom out that bit which should be of use to him in future.

Very agreeable cycling, although I think that's true of most parts of the country - if you know where to find it.

Given the area's industrial heritage, a lot of the villages are surprisingly chocolate box picturesque.

My area in the north east is also post-industrial, but wears its heavy industry background more obviously.

Phil and I got on well, which is more a testament to his affable nature than my ability to deal with new people.

Given that I admire qualities in others which I don't possess, I reckon as well as being an excellent riding companion, Phil is also a good signing for the mod team on here.

Having been good friends with @Rickshaw Phil for around 15 years I definitely agree with you on all of the above

The last ride of 2015 is done. The weather forecast looked a bit iffy so it was just a short one this time but was hilly.

My route was one that I used to do very regularly but haven't been on for ages: up Lyth Hill and along the bridleways to and through Exfords Green before rejoining the tarmac along Long Lane and up to Oaks. I took the back way to Pulverbatch then skirted the lower slopes of the Long Mynd through Wilderley before dropping back down to Dorrington, Condover and home.

It felt a lot windier out than the Met Office reckons so progress was a bit slow at the start. The track over the top of Lyth Hill has had some drainage channels dug since I was last up there so it was much better to ride but the path down the other side was very muddy and slippy - not great when running the tyres pumped up hard for road riding.

The views were good from Oaks with blue sky overhead and the air fairly clear but I could see a bank of cloud gathered to the west and by the time I got to Wilderley it had started to rain. Not being able to tell if this was just a shower or something more prolonged I decided not to go for the longer route I had in mind to do today. I'll leave that for next time.

The wind and gradient was in my favour now so the remaining 7 miles were done at a nice brisk pace.It was good to see a few other riders out and about.

18.5 miles, 11.4 mph average which isn't fast but I think is okay with the hills and off road bits.

View attachment 114482
The view from the top of Lyth Hill looking in the direction I'm headed.

View attachment 114483
The bridleway at Exfords Green

View attachment 114484
From near Wilderley. The Wrekin is prominent as always and Lyth Hill is the little ridge against the horizon on the left of the pic.

View attachment 114485
Time to make a decision. It's started raining and dark clouds are sweeping across from the west.

Good to hear about the drainage on Lyth Hill! I'd pretty much ruled rides out up there until the Summer, so will give it a go now. Well, if the weather ever allows me to.....

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Last ride of 2015 this morning. Mrs 26 and Miss 26 #2 and me joined 5 other pals for a lovely social potter out into the Severn valley. Sun did some shining. We had lots of lovely chats and a nice stop in a cafe in Pershore. We wended our way back with a tad of south westerly being a pain. 37 smiles in good company and we made it home before the correctly forecast deluge started up again.
Now for 2016!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Good to hear about the drainage on Lyth Hill! I'd pretty much ruled rides out up there until the Summer, so will give it a go now. Well, if the weather ever allows me to.....

The puddles are still there but are only shallow now so can be ridden easily without the risk of dunking feet.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Nice one. I personally got over the 8888 miles I was aiming for, annoyingly though, I came up 90 miles short of 9000 for the year.

There's still time

 

[arranandy]

Last ride of 2015 done. 32 miles up to EK via Blantyre then back home via Strathaven and Larkhall. Weather was dreich, cold and dank with a stiff SW breeze. Lots of surface water and debris on the roads and lanes. When I got home I gave the bike a quick clean. As I was doing this I noticed the inner tube sticking out of a big cut in the sidewall of the rear tyre. Seconds after spotting this the tube went bang so a repair was in order. Small piece of tyre repair boot and a new inner tube should do the trick until a get a new tyre. Bit annoyed about this as the tyre - a Conti Gatorskin - is only 4 weeks old

Total mileage for the year is 7044 miles. Not too shabby considering I missed 13 weeks of cycling when I was away in Singapore/South Korea with work.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Last ride of 2015 done. 32 miles up to EK via Blantyre then back home via Strathaven and Larkhall. Weather was dreich, cold and dank with a stiff SW breeze. Lots of surface water and debris on the roads and lanes. When I got home I gave the bike a quick clean. As I was doing this I noticed the inner tube sticking out of a big cut in the sidewall of the rear tyre. Seconds after spotting this the tube went bang so a repair was in order. Small piece of tyre repair boot and a new inner tube should do the trick until a get a new tyre. Bit annoyed about this as the tyre - a Conti Gatorskin - is only 4 weeks old

Total mileage for the year is 7044 miles. Not too shabby considering I missed 13 weeks of cycling when I was away in Singapore/South Korea with work.

The year has gone out with a bang then!! Glad you made it home before it all went wrong.

 

[Saluki]

https://www.strava.com/activities/460088527

Utility ride really. I told my Slimming World leader lady, I would deliver some leaflets for her. I did most of them on Tuesday but still had about 90 to go so I rode, with Hubster (shock horror) up to Trimley - via the Post Office, to pay a bill and the Blue Cross to donate some stuff, then on to Faulkeners Way. Delivered the leaflets up 5 little cul-de-sacs, then rode home.
Nice stew in the slow cooker about to be scoffed.
10 miles to my new target. I'll do that meeting Hubster from dialysis later. Cool beans!

 

[Old jon]

I can never judge the wind strength from my back garden, so the blast straight in the face as I rode along Jack Lane was quite a surprise. Towpath to Viaduct Road, Cardigan Road, Otley Road and it finally dawned on me. The roads are quiet 'cos of the new year thing. Message received. An unusual number of riders out today, I guess for the same reason, I was passed by a group of seven who seemed to be wearing club colours and there were quite a few singles and pairs out also. Dropping down the hill from the Dyneley Arms I could see rain enthusiastically soaking the moor tops, so a bit of effort down the hill, a loop through Otley via the end of the river bridge and back up the hill I went. No stopping to be rained upon while enjoying a sandwich.

As I crossed the ring road at Lawnswood I turned on the camera, just to have something to show. I do not think I have ever seen panniers this big, the stuff I used on my motor bike was a tiny imitation.

 

[Racing roadkill]

There's still time

 

[DaveReading]

Another 30-miler today, into the southwesterly wind so the return leg was great. I discovered (the hard way) that the route planner at cycle.travel lets you plot a route that includes a narrow, steep, muddy footpath (clearly also used by lots of horses, judging from the depth of the mud) - had to get off the tourer and push at a couple of points, after removing assorted twigs and leaves from the spokes.

Aforesaid path was just NE of the Roman town at Calleva (Silchester):

First ride for ages where I've had to hose down the bike afterwards.