Your ride today....

[DCLane]

Tim's back to racing in the next week. However it'll be on his new race bike, which needed testing properly with the new 48T front and rear U12's cassette which I'd fitted yesterday. So despite a cold and it being freezing we popped out this afternoon, when it snowed.

Only 17 miles ( https://www.strava.com/activities/493435205 ) but he's certainly quicker than his current Felt Jr. Mind you it should be; his new Argon's much better equipped than mine. Or at least that's my excuse when being dropped on any incline

 

[Donger]

St Valentine's Day today ..... so naturally I buggered off on my own on the bike for the day. Actually Mrs Donger really was OK with that! And not in that saying-it-but-not-really-meaning-it way either.

It was time for me to put in my Metric Century ride for the month, as there was an audax on down in Wiltshire, called the Flapjack. Did everything by the seat of my pants today.... from arriving at the start only minutes before the audax started (after dodging suicidal pheasants all the way from Gloucester) to only making the cut-off time for the final two control points by mere seconds, due to a combination of getting lost, going back to look for @Pikey when he punctured, and generally chatting way too much and hanging around the feeding points for way too long consuming flapjacks.

Met up with @Pikey at the start, and rode with him for nearly three quarters of the (supposedly) 102km course. Nice to meet again and have a good natter. He was riding his recumbent trike in an audax for the first time today, having ridden it up to Chippenham from Trowbridge for the start, and had quite a rough ride through potholes and puddles and a strong headwind for the first half of the ride. He also turned out to be the scourge of horses everywhere, freaking most of them out with his trike.

@Pikey (and his trike-y), being tested to the limits by the terrain:

Eventually also met up with a decent Scottish guy called Billy who was a member of the local Chippenham Wheelers cycling club, and a young lad called George who was a pupil of @Pikey's, and the three of us finished the ride together. Sadly, shortly before the third control point, @Pikey suffered a slow puncture on his rear wheel, and decided he needed to abandon, as he still had to get back home to Trowbridge. I had turned around to go looking for him, and added another kilometre in the process . After shaking hands and saying our goodbyes, I time trialled it, nose-to-the-bars all the way to the third check point, making the cut-off time by seconds and and wrecking myself for the rest of the ride . Billy,George and I then made it to Castle Combe, where young George went off on his own, leaving auld Billy to lead me home just in time to make it before the cut-off time by mere seconds again. There were others still on the road behind us, but I was lucky to have Billy's local knowledge to guide me home.

Castle Combe:

Ended up turning a 102km audax into 108.2 km ride, and only just made the cut-off .... though to be honest, the day I care more about getting a brevet card with a stamp on it than I do about enjoying a fabulous ride in great company is the day I should probably give up cycling. Beautiful ride today in fine (though chilly and breezy) weather. Enjoyed meeting up with @Pikey and one or two others I knew, and had a brilliant time. That's me still in the Metric Century a Month challenge, too.

Bad selfie, looking unaccountably stern after finishing:

Cheers, Donger.

 

[Pikey]

Twas a good ride and good to see you @Donger, glad to see you made the second to last control and glad that George finished. I ended up doing 95 miles in total. Think riding to and from the start was a little ambitious without my bent legs yet!!!!

Cheers again for the company.

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

Short on time today, I fancied a couple of laps of a local training loop that I devised a while ago, just to give the legs and lungs a bit of a test. Put in my best time yet @ a 22 mph average for a lap.
Nice little effort, 21.76 miles total, 1 hr 2 mins, just over 1500ft of climbing and the legs with a nice soft ache right now

 

[robjh]

Out on my road bike this morning and within half a mile I'd turned left instead of right.....! Down to Dry Drayton and on to Madingley village. On my way through to Coton the Uni ladies cyclists were rolling by the other way.
On to Grantchester and past Jeffery Archers place, you never see him, they must keep him under lock & key.
The only place I didn't see other cyclists today was along Shelford Road, the TdF route.
I saw some lovely buzzards as I came into Whittlesford, it's a village I've never cycled through. It was then onto Duxford, @robjh 's manor I seem to remember. A fine choice of pubs to be had...
Down to Ickleton, then I headed back the way I came, pity really, but I didn't have the legs today, and I'd be facing a headwind most of the way home (second amateur mistake of the day!)
In Haslingfield o could have gone over Barrington Hill, but I opted for the easier return.
Approaching Comberton I had 3 choices-
A- carry on to Toft for a 2mile uphill drag into a headwind
B- Long Road, a bit of a drag in the wind, a big down and a sheltered up
C- Sit on the verge and sulk.

Plan B it was, and I'm glad I did, as I saw 2 Thorn tandems and a lovely red frog eyed Sprite coming the other way.

My fitness is returning, this may be my longest ride this year.... 35 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/493227584

Nice to see you're making it down to the Wild South of Cambridgeshire. Judging from your Strava route, you came right past rjh mansions.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I managed 41.32 miles today. That's my longest solo ride for about 5 years. I set off intending to do 25 miles but i kept adding 5 miles on as i felt strong enough even with that freezing north easterly wind at me all the time. It took me 3 hrs 9 minutes. I might go out tomorrow but Tuesday's out the question as i've ridden the last two Tuesdays and then struggled on the Wednesday club run.
There were quite a lot of cyclists out today with it being dry and sunny. I must've counted about 70. One was wearing shorts and a short sleeve jersey (in 4 degrees)!

 

[Dave 123]

Nice to see you're making it down to the Wild South of Cambridgeshire. Judging from your Strava route, you came right past rjh mansions.

The Bentley and the sweeping driveway?

 

[robjh]

The Bentley and the sweeping driveway?

No, that was just the butler's lodge

 

[Elswick Cotterpin]

In honour of the day I had to go this way

I like that bike of yours; it looks the business.

 

[PeteXXX]

Yesterday's ride was a short play around some local woodland to stretch my legs before w*rk....

It was a bit moist in places, but generally avoidable.

As I didn't have much time to spare, I wound my way through the rhododendrons towards home.
A pleasant 10 miles in chilly but nice weather.

https://www.strava.com/activities/493212597

 

[Buck]

A cold ride out this morning but when the sun is shining it is hard to say no! I waited until the commuter traffic had gone and (hopefully) any patches of ice!

I had around an hour so decided to do my Hoylandswaine roundabout and back! It was a touch above freezing but only my face felt the chill but that breeze was more of a gust on the tops and at one point I had to check my gears by glancing down as I thought I was in completely the wrong gear I was moving forward so slowly!

There was one stretch near Scout Dike reservoir where they had resurfaced the road (previously it was so worn out it resembled cobbles and was horrible to ride on) Further on, I realised that they were still resurfacing so temporary lights then an uncomfortable section on the planed surface conscious that I was probably holding up the traffic that was due to come towards me as I was relatively slow on what was quite a long stretch. Anyways, courteous drivers where in abundance and a a quick wave of thanks from me as I rejoined the normal side of the road before heading up to the roundabout at Hoylandswaine.

I enjoyed the resurfacing works so much I turned around and headed back then just after Scout Dike, took a left and headed up past Ingbirchworth reservoir and up the hill onto the windmills and a drag to the top before heading down to home.

Overall, a nice ride out but it did feel a lot slower and at times a bit of a battle with that wind and another 16 miles towards my goal (I think I was a little conservative as I am already 397 miles into my 1000 mile target for the year!! Need to reassess me thinks!!)

15.9 miles
1,030ft elevation

https://www.strava.com/activities/494030370

 

[SteveF]

55km loop in the peak district, absolutely freezing out there today.
https://www.strava.com/activities/494024307
Few ice patches and one pretty dodgy bit just outside of Ellastone, I found myself doing a 180 and looking back up the lane I just came down, my brother in law fell off as both wheels went from under him, luckily we knew it was slippy so going very slowly, no harm done.

Went through Ashbourne and plodded along the Tissington trail to Hartington (to buy some cheese!), we stopped off in the Charles Cotton to warm up with tea and teacake:

Then caught the Manifoild Track back to Waterhouses where we staying for the week.

 

[Cold]

40k loop around Gloucester today on my singlespeed freezing cold wind but enjoyable.

 

[Garry A]

Sun's oot=bike's oot. 29k around the local roads and bridges today. First time on the roadie since October and it felt great .

 

[Elybazza61]

Yesterday had a little spin out with the better half,her first ride of the year due to illness and iffy weather.

Think she did ok considering it was her first of the year and it was pretty cold with a cross/head wind to start;was barrelling along nicely on the way back though but the 19kms was a s far as she wanted to go.

Garmin co-operated today so dunno what yesterdays glitches were about.

https://www.strava.com/activities/493437450