Your ride today....

[TheDoctor]

A very pleasant 30 miles from Watlington to Dereham via Chez Wafflycat, sometime of this parish. I've got a weekend pass to go and do Norfolk. I'm currently doing an IPA and awaiting some dinner. Might go to Hunstanton tomorrow...

 

[iandg]

Off road on the local park trails on the Cross-Check

https://www.strava.com/activities/697835852

 

[screenman]

50 minute blast on the 29er half and half on road and off road, 17mph average, that will do for this old bloke.

 

[Racing roadkill]

https://www.strava.com/activities/697985746/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-GB&v=1472833775

102 miles up to Littlehampton via Bognor Regis, then back via Pompey. There was a lot going on today. People throwing themselves off the pier ( can't say I blame them ), then the weather got all horrific, then I got a visit from the p*ncture fairy. Then a knackered expensive type 45 was leaving from Pompey. The puncture was resolved with this.

It's the best inflator I've used to date.

The top screws down onto the cartridge, then you just press the springy top valve onto the tube valve, and about 5 seconds later, you get a 100 psi tyre .

The puncture happened about a minutes walk from a Halfords store, that has a Joe Blow track pump outside, for anyone to use, should the pump I had, or the inflator failed. They both worked brilliantly

I learned something in Littlehampton as well.

Despite the shocking weather, and the p*ncture, and the phone crashing, I got this month's imperial done.

 

[NorthernDave]

A bit of an earlier start this morning, so I thought to ride across Denton Bridge, but I should tell the tale in the order I rode it.

It starts with the foray around a bit of Holbeck to find Office Lock for the ride along the towpath, missing dozens of sets of traffic lights, and then ride down Viaduct Road and up all the way to the Ring Road at Lawnswood. By the time I reached there I was wondering what was slowing me down, it seemed slow going this morning. This decided me against riding through Cookridge, so I stayed on the A 660 all the way to the Dyneley Arms at the top of Pool Bank. It would have been silly not to ride down it . . .

From Pool itself, the good old A 659 goes to Otley, cross the River Wharfe and up Billams Hill to turn left on Weston Lane, that not so little hill before Weston is as steep as ever. Straight through the village and on to Askwith.

And straight on from the end of the video towards Denton. And Denton dreadful expression Bridge was closed! Properly closed. Ah well, on to Ilkley I pedalled, it seemed a lot further than I thought it would be. After Ilkley there was really only the A 660, not fancying the ride up to the Cow and Calf, and all the Guiseley and Menston riding about, no fun there. Not a great deal of fun on the A 660, maybe, but it is wide, quietens down considerably after the Bradford turnoff and along Leeds Road there are not many buildings to obscure some rather good views.

Forty two point two miles today, the longest I have ridden since I bought the Garmin mapmaker. Probably the longest I have ridden this century, and it does not feel too bad at all.

All that fuss, it don't look far at all on this map.

View attachment 142242

Nice ride @Old jon - were you not tempted to try get the bike across the stepping stones?
It's a while since I've been up that way - isn't there a footbridge near the water treatment works - before you pass the lido?

 

[Gravity Aided]

Not sure if 1st September is the proper start of Autumn, but the bloomin wind felt autumnal this evening!

Our National Weather Service claims it is the start of Meteorological Autumn.

 

[Old jon]

Nice ride @Old jon - were you not tempted to try get the bike across the stepping stones?
It's a while since I've been up that way - isn't there a footbridge near the water treatment works - before you pass the lido?

I did note that the stepping stones had been re topped, they are now square and flat. Takes all the fun away.
There is a footbridge there. I cannot remember the date it was erected, it is at least five years since I walked across it, the surprising thing about it, for me, is that it was made by an engineering firm in Westminster.

 

[biggs682]

Out and clipped in just after 5.30 am this morning , with a route in my mind . As you can see a fair bit of early morning mist as the sun came up .

Stuck to the route of Wilby ,Grendon,Bozeat , Carlton ,Stevington , Oakley ,Pavenham ,Felmersham ,Sharnbrook ,Knotting Green , Knotting , Melchbourne ,Yelden,Wymington , Poddington ,Irchester , Little Irchester and home just over 46 miles .

 

[msi64]

Just a 9.3 miler today, only 2 miles left to my 50 mile marker.

 

[Arjimlad]

Out for a confidence building 3.5 miles along our local quiet lane with my favourite riding companion.

 

[Dave 123]

Out on the tandem before 9 to get a decent ride in before the rain. Jo has a vest top on and it was cold in the shady bits. After a bit of moaning she declared that nobody had ever died from cold arms. Who knows?

Over to Haslingfield, the hedges laden with fruit. Next was up Chapel Hill. Bottom gear, but at a fair old cadence. Down the other side and we hit our top speed for the day of 36.2mph. In Barrington we bumped into a friend and his daughter outside the shop. She had 2 birthday parties to attend today, so they were buying cards. The social life of the under 5's eh?

At Wimpole we stopped for tea and cake. The park run had just ended. The participants were filling up on cake too.

From Wimpole house we rattled over 3 cattle grids and went to Arrington and Croydon.

The road ends at the bottom of a steep hill. No run up.
We started in 3rd gear, and were soon down into 1st. No problems. 15% was the steepest my Garmin said.

On down to Gamlingay. Jo had a craving for iced coffee, so we stopped at the co-op, opposite this place....

The Cock Inn, Gamlingay. I'm sure there's a joke somewhere.

Next came Waresley. 'We could stop at the garden centre...' Suggested the stoker.
2 stops would be stupid!

Home via The Gransdens for a change.

34 dry, buzzard & long tailed tit miles.


https://www.strava.com/activities/698777373

 

[SteveF]

A slow 40km or so taking in the Thames Estuary, Ingrebourne valley to Hornchurch and Upminster then across to Belhus woods, stopping on the way at Damyns Hall aerodrome for a bacon baguette (which was very nice!).... https://www.strava.com/activities/698807592

A bit of an industrial riverscape:

A little further along an old WWII pill box with a couple of ships and the QEII bridge as a backdrop:

Talking of the bridge, here's a close up...

Meandered up the Ingrebourne valley to Hornchurch where there was a bit of a WWI exhibition going on complete with a bi-plane (apparently it's a film prop not a real one):

Then finally on to the aerodrome where I had a great bacon baguette while watching this chap do a bit of wing walking...

All in all a pretty relaxed ride with the majority of it off road and traffic free.....

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Early start for us today due to a wet forecast. 5 out including me, Steve E., Sara P., Margaret P-R., and Julian H. We took the southerly run around the Combertons for Pershore with the chat and laughs keeping us distracted. More chat and laughs in the cafe. And then the rain started. We took the brisk route along Rebecca Road for Upton and then the shortest way back. Soaked? Yep I was. 39 miles but good fun despite the rain

 

[Racing roadkill]

https://www.strava.com/activities/698841908/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-GB&v=1472904906

A short one to help with the after ton legs today. It was very nice, but I forgot my lock, which meant I couldn't do all the stuff I needed to do. Then I got stung on the leg again. The perp got the same punishment as the last one.

I stopped in at the bike friendly Mettricks coffee shop, so not having a lock didn't matter.

The weather got a bit cack on the return leg, but meh.

 

[Flying Dodo]

Out of the house by 5am, to do a 100 mile route from Luton down to Bognor.

Although I've done a number of 70 milers this year, it's been some time since I last stretched out to a 100 and I felt I ought to push myself a bit, bearing in mind in a couple of weeks time I'm leading a charity ride to the Somme doing 240 miles in 3 days.

There were some lovely misty bits near Watford which did a good job of disguising the place and an added bonus of nice clear roads with very little traffic until Uxbridge.

I last did this particular route about 11 years ago, and surprisingly the roads now are quite a bit better with lots of new tarmac north of Heathrow. So many of the roads now have a painted cycle lane as well, although of course they disappear whenever the roads is too narrow or there's a traffic island.

Guildford was an exception though especially where the main road goes around the High Street. Lots of concrete potholes, coupled with bad drivers.

As I got further south, the wind got up, slowing me down a bit, so I was a bit peckish when I got to the seaside. So only an "after" photo of my food!