Your ride today....

[CanucksTraveller]

It's the best thread on CC.

It is. The church spires, the beamed village halls, the country pubs, the urban cityscapes, the random wooden eggs, the rolling green or golden fields, the knobbly trees and stony paths, the mountain top firebreaks, the canal paths, and the bikes, lots of bikes; Of all different sorts, from shoppers to full suspension downhillers to hybrids, to brommies to roadies. It's the diversity, quirkiness and fabric of cycling Britain in a thread and I love it dearly.

 

[PeteXXX]

Thanks, I really enjoyed today, it far exceeded expectations. I love the contrasts in photos in this thread, from cities to way out in the wilds and everything inbetween. This thread could be used as an advert for the UK Tourist board.

It's the best thread on CC.

Agreed. Even the dodgy photographs, including many (dodgy) one's of mine, show the diversity of places and things to be found whilst out on a bike...

 

[PeteXXX]

It is. The church spires, the beamed village halls, the country pubs, the urban cityscapes, the random wooden eggs, the rolling green or golden fields, the knobbly trees and stony paths, the mountain top firebreaks, the canal paths, and the bikes, lots of bikes; Of all different sorts, from shoppers to full suspension downhillers to hybrids, to brommies to roadies. It's the diversity, quirkiness and fabric of cycling Britain in a thread and I love it dearly.

And photographs of cake, bacon sarnies and other rideside sustenance...

 

[robjh]

It was a beautiful calm cold cloudless day across East Anglia today with a touch of mist always in the distance. The local train company has got some good promotional tickets around the region at the moment, and I decided to take advantage of a them by riding from home, south of Cambridge, to Southend and getting the train home for £10.
There was frost around when I set off at 9.15, but it soon burnt off. The route through Saffron Walden, Thaxted and Great Bardfield was on familiar roads through the north Essex hills, but I had reached new ground by Braintree. I got temporarily lost here trying to find a particular minor road while ignoring the car-oriented signposts onto the ringroad, and this would be an argument (the only good one I can think of) for getting a gps one of these days. Next destination was Witham, which has a very attractive long main street, and then it was just a few more miles to Maldon on the Blackwater estuary. I had some lunch in a café here, and went down to the quayside where a number of beautifully-preserved sailing barges are moored.
I headed then for South Woodham Ferrers, and Battlesbridge to get round the River Crouch, and took country roads eastwards before hitting suburbia around Rochford for the last few miles to Southend. I got to the seafront about 4, in time to see the sun set over the mudflats, beyond the enormously long pier. As the light faded I could see the lights of north Kent in the haze. It was quite a view to end the day on. I then dragged myself away and caught the 16.50 train to Liverpool Street, where I had to kill an hour until 19:00 when bikes are allowed on the Cambridge trains. It was a long journey home but a very good day.
I took a mix of quiet B- and unclassified roads right until the Southend suburbs, and outside the towns was little bothered by traffic.

A rough plan of the route

Photos : Thaxted; Essex road near Great Bardfield; Maldon ; Battlesbridge; Southend pier

 

[Gravity Aided]

It was a beautiful calm cold cloudless day across East Anglia today with a touch of mist always in the distance. The local train company has got some good promotional tickets around the region at the moment, and I decided to take advantage of a them by riding from home, south of Cambridge, to Southend and getting the train home for £10.
There was frost around when I set off at 9.15, but it soon burnt off. The route through Saffron Walden, Thaxted and Great Bardfield was on familiar roads through the north Essex hills, but I had reached new ground by Braintree. I got temporarily lost here trying to find a particular minor road while ignoring the car-oriented signposts onto the ringroad, and this would be an argument (the only good one I can think of) for getting a gps one of these days. Next destination was Witham, which has a very attractive long main street, and then it was just a few more miles to Maldon on the Blackwater estuary. I had some lunch in a café here, and went down to the quayside where a number of beautifully-preserved sailing barges are moored.
I headed then for South Woodham Ferrers, and Battlesbridge to get round the River Crouch, and took country roads eastwards before hitting suburbia around Rochford for the last few miles to Southend. I got to the seafront about 4, in time to see the sun set over the mudflats, beyond the enormously long pier. As the light faded I could see the lights of north Kent in the haze. It was quite a view to end the day on. I then dragged myself away and caught the 16.50 train to Liverpool Street, where I had to kill an hour until 19:00 when bikes are allowed on the Cambridge trains. It was a long journey home but a very good day.
I took a mix of quiet B- and unclassified roads right until the Southend suburbs, and outside the towns was little bothered by traffic.

A rough plan of the route
View attachment 334803

Photos : Thaxted; Essex road near Great Bardfield; Maldon ; Battlesbridge; Southend pier
View attachment 334804 View attachment 334805 View attachment 334806 View attachment 334807 View attachment 334808 View attachment 334809

A fine selection of great photographs, much like the picture magazines of old. Well done, @robjh !

 

[Arjimlad]

Beautiful but icy morning cycle to work.

 

[chr15b]

Managed to squeeze a flat 11 miles in during my lunch hour today, did a loop that brought me down by Glasgow Airport. Captured this shot of a private jet while I passed.

I'm going to attempt a 50 miler this weekend but think that may be a bit ambitious - I'll go out and see how the mood is.

https://www.strava.com/activities/843714322

 

[Old jon]

Back on the single speed for twelve and a quarter miles along the towpath again. I have allowed the low temperatures to put me off riding all too often recently, must do better. Happen. That said, the Quella is still hard work to ride, so personal temperature, on an hour and a bit ride, is not a problem. See what the next ride brings.

Only a short ride, so very briefly described. Jack Lane, Marshall Street and Water Lane to Office Lock, along the towpath to Newlay, about turn and back again, with a bit of Hunslet thrown in. The video reminds me that I do want to lower the gearing, probably a couple of teeth on the sprocket. Even on the flat I was turning those pedals very slowly and twenty three mph ( don’t be daft, downhill of course ) was easily maintained.



So, do that and make an attempt to stop the brake squealing and the bike is sorted. Until the next time. Oh aye, the saddle mount has proved itself incapable of holding the saddle securely, took the bike back to where I bought it and they happily swapped the seatpost in its entirety. I shall report if anything else fubars.

For not much of a change, cross stitch map making in today's world.

 

[Salty seadog]

Agreed. Even the dodgy photographs, including many (dodgy) one's of mine, show the diversity of places and things to be found whilst out on a bike...

You take a good pic Pete. I need to learn how to use my phones camera better. I know they are really good these days. I just point and shoot and invariably the pic is ruined by being flooded with light. I shall teach myself some tricks. Mind you I don't really stop for longer than it takes to make a wet patch up a tree.

 

[i hate hills]

Another ride out this afternoon taking in the golf course route. Lot of grumpy folk out today , smile and say hi back for gods sake......I had my first diet coke break of the year as i stopped to purchase said can from Tesco. No clothes were taken off during this as it was a bit cold. Cycling wise i would say its getting easier the more i do . Cant believe i'm out this early in the year . Totally loving every ride . Mike.

 

[PeteXXX]

You take a good pic Pete. I need to learn how to use my phones camera better. I know they are really good these days. I just point and shoot and invariably the pic is ruined by being flooded with light. I shall teach myself some tricks. Mind you I don't really stop for longer than it takes to make a wet patch up a tree.

Thanks. Some of them turn out OK. I just use the basic point and shoot on my phone, then edit them on the laptop later.

 

[GuyBoden]

Pleasant slow ride in the blues skies, I even took a visit to Daresbury, where you can see the old Daresbury Nuclear Physics Laboratory. ALICE is the name of their electron accelerator, presumably because Lewis Carroll was born nearby.
https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmaps/route/1021684/33miles-Lymm-Budworth-Daresbury

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

A slight change from the mundane commuting regime today when my brother suggested joining me for the extended ride to work. He is talking about doing a metric half century a month so with only a few days of January available this looked like the best time to try it.

It was cold but not frosty at home but within quarter of a mile there was ice on the pavements and the sound of car windscreens being scraped - not good. Fortunately the first few miles were on gritted roads and when we went onto the ungritted lanes they appeared to have had enough traffic to clear any ice.

The cold was a shock to the system for Doug who was much slower than he had hoped. We continued though and he did improve a bit but still wasn't quick.

The trip was mostly uneventful apart from Doug's Strava throwing a wobbly (second ride it's done this) and dropping onto auto-pause every 10 minutes or so. He didn't bring his speedometer with him as it needs a new battery so that put the challenge into doubt. Fortunately having ridden these roads a lot I could give him a route to do that I knew was at least 30 miles plus an extra bit that I know is at least 1.75 miles which would give the required distance to complete the 50k.

I stuck with Doug as long as I could but about 3 miles from work I realised I was going to be late so reluctantly had to press on.

Doug completed the route I suggested so has his first metric half of the year in the bag but took nearly 4 hours to do it so I feel bad about bringing him out on such a cold morning. I'm hoping to persuade him to register here to join the relevant challenge thread but we'll see what happens.

My day was completed with an uneventful trip home with a nice tailwind for the last couple of miles giving 28.2 miles at 12.1mph average for the round trip.

Sorry, no photos this time.

 

[Reynard]

The commute was chucked in the can today - woke up, looked out of the window and couldn't even see the fence, so that's now been shifted to Friday. The fog didn't really lift until midday, and even then it was pretty murky. By teatime I figured I could at least make an effort to get out for a spin, so wrapped up warm and off I went.

Tried something totally different today to try and avoid all the mud on the road between Way Head and Coveney. So went out via Main Drove and California, up into Downham and then left onto the B1411 Ely Road. Did the drag up to Orwell Pit Farm (not steep but long), straight over the roundabout for the A10 by the football ground and into Ely. Did the climb up Downham Road past the college, left into Egremont Street and then a left onto the Lynn Road. There were quite a few cyclists out and about in town including one elderly chap clad head to toe in orange high viz riding an equally elderly town bike. He waved at me, so I waved back.

After the left turn it was basically a follow-the-road, past the local hospital, out of Ely proper and into Chettisham. Out the other side of Chettisham it was over the railway crossing and the start of a long slog uphill, past the old Beet factory, reservoir and the bin lorry depot. Once there, it's downhill all the way into Littleport along the Ely Road (had to stop at temporary traffic lights for two lots of roadworks) and then the High Street. By St George's Church it's a left turn onto the Wisbech Road, past the Co-op, back out of Littleport, back over the A10 and a left turn onto Black Bank Road. All along Black Bank, then a right turn and the short spin back home.

Was truly horrible out there; dull, murky and cold. There was a drizzle that wouldn't let up, and, in the more open areas, a breeze with a real edge to it. Roads were wet and mucky and I got right royally slooshed by a passing bus. 13 and a half miles-ish, 1 hr 20 mins in the saddle. Didn't feel great out there today, but getting back indoors and sitting down by the fire with a hot cuppa was truly sublime afterwards.

 

[Dave 123]

A quick, Chilly tandem ride for us today as we won't get a ride in at the weekend.

Bullfinches, buzzards, goldfinch and fieldfare were all seen close by. One buzzard nearly landed on my head!

Someone mentioned the nice pictures this thread generates, here's one of Mrs Dave freezing her nips off whilst I have a wee

https://www.strava.com/activities/844805058