Your ride today....

[Jon George]

A postscript to my earlier post:

My mate Dan has picked up his new stead: a Ridgeback Tour. I was on Patsy #3 The Hybrid and we went for a quick 3 mile spin on the way back from the LBS so he could acclimatise. He nearly had an off as he struggled with toe-clips for the first time, but what does not augur well for Monday is that the bugger went off like the wind. (The Tour is much, much lighter than the BSO he had been using.) So, twice in one day I've been made to suffer from blokes on bikes much younger than me.

I have a feeling that, instead of Patsy #2 The CX being used by me on Monday as has been usual, Patsy #1 The Carbon will be called into service ...

 

[cosmicbike]

A somewhat erratic commute in to work, waited for ages at the Egham level crossing and in the end gave up and headed back almost to the front door to get to the Staines crossing. Otherwise quite a nice ride in, not too hot.
Coming home I decided to go the scenic route, reckoning on it being a little cooler. 34 degrees at the airport, dropped to 32 as I cycled along the side of Stanwell Moor and Wraysbury River. All quite pleasant, but at the same time nice to get off the bike into a cold shower when I got home.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Had a couple of hours this afternoon, passing along parts of the old "Great North Road' route

Wentbridge Cutting was a bit wearing in the heat, the phone thermometer was showing 33 (presumably from nearest mast??)

It's a tough little climb, feared in the coaching-days, as the worst climb along the entire-route, and not much better for motor-traffic, untill it was bypassed by the A1 bridge over the Went Valley, in the late 60s

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

What a hot day. I put it off till this evening and then did a short (16 mile) loop I haven't done for ages. Can't believe I got well under the hour. Very warm but lovely evening out there.

 

[Donger]

One of those rides tonight when I saw dozens of cyclists, but every single one of them was going in the opposite direction.
Left it until after 5.00 to set off as it had been so hot. Even so, it was still 33C when I got going. Turned out that all the way to Arlingham I was heading straight into a stiff and HOT breeze. It was like working out on an exercise bike with a fan heater in your face. Felt like the south of Spain. Once I got to the Old Passage Inn at Arlingham, I sat on my favourite bench looking out over the river towards Newnham on Severn, swigging a warm sports drink and appreciating the breeze on my bonce. 24.4 miles in all tonight.

If you didn't know better, the dangerous mud flats looked like a beach tonight. The river looks different every time you see it.

The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed the new stickers all over my bike. I've been trying to make it more unique and easier to identify if, perish the thought, it ever gets stolen. Say hello if you see me around on it. Cheers everyone. Enjoy the weather.
Donger ...... A.K.A:

 

[Simontm]

Have a like for the write up and for the injuries. I hope the arm isn't broken.

Sorry should have made it clear - the result was dislocated little finger that was reset by a large Dutchman but luckily it seems after x-rays that I've just got heavy bruising on the arm. Cheers anyway

If you're not of a squeamish, I do have a photo

 

[biggs682]

Once it cooled down I went out intending to a 14 mile loop but man and machine were going well so ended up doing 22 miles.

Route was up the mad mile then Sywell,Holcot,Hannington,Orlingbury where we rested on the village green.

Next was Isham , Burton Latimer,Finedon and back across the borough. Longest ride to date on the Ian May and all went well.

 

[gavgav]

Sorry should have made it clear - the result was dislocated little finger that was reset by a large Dutchman but luckily it seems after x-rays that I've just got heavy bruising on the arm. Cheers anyway

If you're not of a squeamish, I do have a photo

Glad to hear there is no break!

 

[Aravis]

This is "my ride yesterday". I was on a mission, checking out a route I've been hoping to use as a forum ride at some time. What I did was this (anticlockwise):

The detail can be found at https://www.strava.com/activities/645226149. It visits the lower Severn and the infant Thames, hopping over the Cotswold ridge twice and peaking at a smidgeon over 1000 feet. An important section proved unsatisfactory, as it serves a very active quarry with frequent noisy lorries (the empty ones are the worst) and copious dust. This is not what the Cotswolds should be, so I'll have to find something different. But 90% of the ride was magnificent.

Having a route to recce in the Cotswolds constrained me somewhat and pushed back my liaison with my favourite roadside tap in Upton-upon-Severn to about 88 miles, and I confess I was a bit reckless in not taking on additional water before that. A couple of miles after Upton I had a flat tyre, and if that had happened before the water stop I could have been in serious difficulty. The flat seemed to be caused by the heat dislodging an old patch, which I'd not experienced before but it seems plausible. A white van driver, who'd seen me stopped, came back to check that I was OK.

Another priority yesterday was to test a shoe insert provided by a podiatrist to alleviate Morton's neuroma in my right foot. It felt a little odd but I soon got used to it. However from about 40 miles onwards the pain started, far worse than before. Most of the time it was sheer agony, yet for some reason I persisted for another 30 miles before removing the insert. After flexing my foot for several minutes I had very little trouble thereafter. In fact it felt better than it had for some time in the latter stages of a ride, so maybe the pain and perseverance did me some good after all. At least I have something to tell the podiatrist!

Cramp was a nagging problem as well. Maybe I'll have to check out those electrolyte things. The Met Office site suggests that the temperature was "only" high 20s, so chapeau to anyone who was out there today.

 

[john59]

My usual 54 km circuit before work this afternoon. We had thunderstorms around 7.00 am but after that it was a beautiful morning.

View: https://www.strava.com/activities/647194469/embed/4d3a6dd7d8967325183fab65535fb54f1268c10f

 

[PatrickPending]

First ride post broken hip and arm...5.6km on the hybrid...great to be back on the bike.....first ride since the begining if May.....

 

[Elybazza61]

Single speed commute again today down twenty pence road but with a minor mechanical;left crank had worked it's way loose so multi tool out and off again only for it to happen again a few km's later.So multi-tool again and this time really tightened it and all good so a staight forward run in to the City.

https://www.strava.com/activities/647151598

 

[gavgav]

Managed to finish slightly earlier than normal at work, due to being on a training course and so it left me enough time to head over to dads and see my niece for half an hour

The one way roadworks system has disappeared thankfully and so I headed up through Bayston Hill, swerving to avoid a stupid bat in a red Rover 214 who came round past a parked car into my path .

Very gusty winds and still warm but much more bearable at 25c than yesterday's 34c. Up Lyth Hill and then the steep descent, where I applied the brakes hard and again had the awful sound of what I think is metal on metal and rear brakes sticking. It continued to happen all the way to dads and appears to only be when the brakes get very hot. I've arranged to head up to @Rickshaw Phil's tomorrow evening for some expert emergency repairs!

View from top of Lyth Hill to the Wrekin

Had half an hour with my niece, bit of playing and bit of picking her tea up off the floor where she had chucked it ! She also called me Gav for the first time which was one of those priceless moments .

Took it steadily back home through Condover and Betton Abbots, the brakes had cooled and so weren't making a noise but I feathered them as much as I could to avoid any more issues.

15.3 miles

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Hot again today. I thought the breeze might help. But it didn't. It was a tough headwind out there. I got the occasional bit of shelter but it wasn't until mile 40 that I got clear of the headwind. Working into that wind was tough. My HR was already up in the heat so I had to ease off. Drinking was important too. I was downing the fluids right from the get go.

Lots of farm traffic today. Monster tractors mostly towing empty trailers. What was going on? These monsters just fill the lanes, gutter to gutter. So passing places were today's gold dust.

The Wye looked lovely under the blue skies but not many swans about today. There's usually quite a gaggle (is that the correct collective noun for Swans?) at Hoarwithy. Just two today. I'm sure they will return. I will too. It's a lovely ride over there. 67 miles on this one.

 

[raleighnut]

Hot again today. I thought the breeze might help. But it didn't. It was a tough headwind out there. I got the occasional bit of shelter but it wasn't until mile 40 that I got clear of the headwind. Working into that wind was tough. My HR was already up in the heat so I had to ease off. Drinking was important too. I was downing the fluids right from the get go.

Lots of farm traffic today. Monster tractors mostly towing empty trailers. What was going on? These monsters just fill the lanes, gutter to gutter. So passing places were today's gold dust.

The Wye looked lovely under the blue skies but not many swans about today. There's usually quite a gaggle (is that the correct collective noun for Swans?) at Hoarwithy. Just two today. I'm sure they will return. I will too. It's a lovely ride over there. 67 miles on this one.

The Tractors would have been full going back to the farm, they've gotta shift the stuff they grow off the field on summat.