Your ride today....

[cosmicbike]

For those of us old enough to remember, the phrase 'its not all work work work you know' is certainly not the case at the moment. After a cracking first club ride last weekend I have had 1 day off work, so my ride today, and yesterday, and the day before, and in fact all this coming week, was commuting. I suppose it gets the miles in, and being the Easter weekend the roads are quiet so I find myself adding extra miles on the way home after the night shifts, apparently I wake the house up if I come straight home. This mornings commute home extended by about 5 miles.
Back to work in an hour.

 

[bruce1530]

Bright morning, but breezy. Ventured out in short sleeves, which turned out to be a mistake.

Followed the main road, then NCN73 for a while. Good brisk progress, with a tailwind. Around Irvine, then back on the NCN73 for a bit. Left it and headed for Crosshouse, then Dundonald.

It started to rain, and the wind got up. Stinging cold rain on my arms.... wish I’d worn long sleeves - stopped for a coffee and something to eat - and some shelter!

Rain stopped, sun struggled through. Headed in the general direction of home. Wind was stronger, and now in my face :-(

Through Irvine, then back home, again via the NCN73.

Took a detour down an overgrown path to see where it went to. Was hoping it would take me into the back of the old ICI factory - an explosives factory, which is fenced off from the other side. Was hoping I could get onto the site to claim a missing veloviewer explorer square. Followed the path as far as I could on that bike - it didn’t take me right into the site, but close enough to get the square.

Homewards, 45k on the clock. Took a detour around the shore front to make it up to a round number.

50k, and unusually flat for this part of the country.

 

[Dave 123]

A quick nip out on the mountain bike this afternoon. Down past Hardwick wood, a haze of bluebells and into Caldecote. Past the church and up to Kingston, past the church, then on to the Wimpole Way. I avoided the swamp today.
I had a swift ride through the woods at the top of the Wimpole ridge. I stopped at the end to take in the view. A thought came into my head 'who the f*ck wants to hurl nuclear bombs about...?'
2 swallows twittered as they flew by. I felt sad and confused.

Never mind, enjoy yourself while you can. So I did, down the hill to Great Eversden. It's a bit shaley and loose, but grand fun. A short spell on the road until a bridleway sign that says Mares Way. It takes you back to the top of the ridge. I went along the other side of the hedge back toward Wimpole. I headed down the hill toward the car park, a million windscreens glistened in the distance.
I'd intended to fly down the grassy hill but there was a couple and their dog spread across the way, so I made do with the stony, rutted track.

At the bottom I stopped to say hello to the sheep

They said hello baaaack!

A trudge up Old Wimpole hill before a return to Kingston, then on to Bourn. Past the Lalbagh where somebody has a table booked for this evening....

Back through the woods and fields to Hardwick, more bluebells, oxlips and cowslips. Good for the soul.

22 sunny, blowy miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/943280132

 

[Tommy2]

44km with 693m climbing, Straight from work as wife and daughter had gone to a kids party. Harrogate, Birstwith Darley, Dacre, Summerbridge, Wilsill (was gonna go to Patley Bridge but the wind was frustratingly strong and I thought my legs were gonna pack up if I didn't turn round soon).
Took a turning up towards Brimham rocks, forgot how long the climb was, I'd avoided Hartwith bank as I wasn't supposed to going too hilly today but maybe that would have been the better option) then went Burnt Yates, back to Hampsthwaite and home in Harrogate.

Caught a guy heading up to Brimham rocks so rode together, thought about starting a conversation but didn't in the end, took a turn at the front and ended up dropping him for a little bit, didn't realise he wasn't on the back, the only reason I put the power down was because I didn't want to take a turn but end up slowing him down as I wasn't feeling particularly strong at that point, bet he thought I was a right bell.

Weather was a mixed bag but mostly nice, wore my club jacket which at some points was a bit too warm but was probably better than if I'd gone Jersey and long sleeved base layer.

Got home and decided to do a little brick run off the bike, only 2km, splits were pretty good considering I haven't really run for about 6 weeks due to injury and illness but legs were cramping.

Feel good though like I'm getting it back after being il, so depressing when tours starting with illness and your fitness declines but its not until you get properly I'll that you realise the decline was the start of illness.

 

[Ian H]

Two of us spent the last three days route-checking the Peregrine Mountain Roads of S Wales 300k.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

 

[Tin Pot]

Instead of a 4.5hr mega ride, just a 30 minute pootle with son and daughter - the only time I've managed to get them on the bikes this whole holiday!

 

[Gravity Aided]

7.1 miles this day, due to being a bit out of shape, and riding a mountain bike as well, a Gary Fisher Advance I bought last Saturday from a local pawn broker. A fine bicycle, a bit small for me, but useful in just this situation, where the winds are too strong for the thin tire bikes. It will be my day tourer now as well. No one else on the roads today, outside of a fellow riding along engrossed in his smart phone while his daughter rode on ahead.
79F 26C
Winds SW29 G35 mph
Relative humidity 42%
Barometer 29.93 in, 1014.8 mb
Very nice day, one of the warmest we've had so far. Ham forecast for tomorrow evening.

 

[biggs682]

A quick 30 miles this morning as we wanted to be and out at car boot before 8 am

So up and out at 5.15 am headed up the mad mile and onto Sywell , Ecton , Great & Little Houghton before heading down the old Newport Pagnell road towards Horton and Hackleton.

The across the a428 into Denton to be confronted the resident Peacock family strutting there stuff up the old Bedford Road once clear of them out towards Whiston with a quick descent through the village then head towards Dunkleys and Earls Barton taking a detour under the A45 and up through the newer side of the village then along to Great Doddington and home through the outskirts of the boro .

Just had time for a quick cuppa and shower before going off to the car boot

 

[Hugh Manatee]

Four (count 'em, four) miles! Exactly (more or less) one week after being trialled as an alternative to the three pointed star logo on the bonnet of a Mercedes, I was back on my tourer. The crashed bike is in the LBS and the tourer is my old mountain bike with a Softride stem.

We are off now to walk to Brewood along the canal towpath so needed a car in there so we can get back again. Felt a bit sore like I had done a lot of miles yesterday. This is either a hangover from the crash or simply a hangover!

What else? A headwind all the way. Nice!

 

[Donger]

Another "Chilled Group" club ride with Kingsway CC today. The five of us started off along country lanes with Ian and @Dark46 from the "Beginners/Recovery Group" as far as Frampton, then went our separate ways as they headed for the cafe and a trip down to the riverbank at Arlingham while we headed off for the hills. Did a nice little climb up to Selsley via Middleyard before dropping down into Stroud and climbing back up to Paganhill before heading for the Malt House near Pitchcombe for coffee and cakes.

Then more climbing up through Painswick and on to the top of Painswick Beacon before cutting back to our left along Sevenleaze Lane, which follows the Cotswold escarpment and affords great views of the Forest of Dean and the Malverns, with the Welsh mountains and the Long Mynd clearly visible in the far distance. We stopped to sample Lisa's home made flapjacks by a little folly directly above the M5 Gloucester Services. The view was obscured by bushes, so we vaulted over a Cotswold stone wall and strolled towards the edge to take in the views over Gloucester and the Severn Vale:

Those are the Malverns in the distance:

Getting back over the wall was a bit more of a challenge, and we all managed to land in stinging nettles on the other side! I shall be doing that again, though, as it is a cracking viewpoint. Another 35.3 miles for me today, taking me over 200 for the month so far, with a big Welsh adventure with @Banjo still to come next week. Loving this sunny, dry Spring weather. Enjoy your rides, everyone, and keep the photos coming.
Cheers, Donger.

 

[NorthernDave]

After predicting wall-to-wall rain for today, the forecast suddenly changed at about 10pm last night to say it would be dry with sunny intervals until between 10 and 11am. As all three weather apps (yr.no, Met Office and BBC) agreed, I decided to take a gamble and set the alarm for 6am.

Awoke and looked out of the window to find it was indeed bright and dry, so up and out on the Road Comp again. Still breezy though not as bad as yesterday - although the gusts definitely felt stronger than the 13mph predicted.

But what the heck, it was time for a ride. Started off with the familiar route up Coal Road, Red Hall Lane and the A58, then onto Whin Moor Way and the fun but lumpy descent through Shadwell to Bay Horse Lane and left for the rise, drop and climb up to Ling Lane. Along there, past all the big gates and security cameras and left at the end on the A58 down the hill into Scarcroft, taking a right at the pub onto Thorner Lane.
I'd set an unintentional PB along here yesterday, so decided to really go for it and got the hammer down straight away on the downhill section to the bridge over the beck and tried to keep the momentum going through the climb up Scarcroft Hill, across the old railway line and to the top. I damn nearly burst a lung doing it, but I took a whopping 42 seconds out of my previous best, suggesting I'd been taking it far too easy previously. That said, I think that particular record might stand for a bit...
So, lungs re-inserted it was along Milner Lane, almost getting unseated by a gust of wind passing one gate, and on to East Rigton, before the little climb onto Bramham Lane between the fields with not another soul in sight. Across Jewitt Lane and the climb up to the other Thorner Lane, taking a right, then right again back onto Jewitt Lane to loop down towards Collingham, past the piggeries.
As the hill started to drop down it was left onto Compton Lane for more (near) deserted countryside riding, passing the first car I'd seen since Milner Lane and then a couple of dog walkers. Dropped down to Rigton Green and then retraced my earlier route back onto Milner Lane heading towards Thorner, stopping about half way along for a drink and a couple of photos. I've passed this spot scores of times, but only really noticed it a few weeks ago when a couple of tandem riders were stopped having a brew and I thought 'Hmmm, good place for a breather', so here I am.

Literally seconds before taking that bottom pic, I spotted Bambi casually walking through the field about 100yds in, but by the time I'd got the phone pointed in the right direction it was gone. Maybe next time.

After the solitude of the last part of the ride it was like rush hour here while I was stopped, with three joggers, two cyclists and a horse rider all passing in the space of a few minutes.

So, back in the saddle and on to Thorner down the hill and into the village as the church bells were ringing out. Not being quite ready for home, I headed up Carr Lane, despite knowing it was mainly uphill and into the wind. The first rise wasn't too bad, but the section up to the A58 after the dip was a bit of a slog and I got passed by a spread out group of Garforth Wheelers, who said hello.
Onto an nicely quiet A58 for the wiggle down to Coal Road, where it was left up the hill, wind assisted and all the better for it, so I decided to push on again as I headed for home. Approaching the homestead, I decided to add an extended loop around the block on to push the mileage beyond 20.

So, 20.12 miles (32.38km) in an acceptable 1hr 30m at an improved average of 13.4mph, with 1,135ft climbed. And two PBs set on the 'winter' bike (the second one was along Bramham Lane)

Worth getting up early on a Sunday morning for that, plus it started to rain within about 15 minutes of me getting home, so a double win.

And the good news is that tomorrow looks quite good for another ride - and without that pesky wind!

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Today was @13 rider 50th Birthday so in no particular order @13 rider his mate Andy @Lilliburlero @graham bowers @tallliman and myself went out for the Big Birthday Ride.

The original plan had been to meet at 9am in Market Bosworth do a 30 mile loop and finish with a picnic in the park kindly provided by @13 rider sister.

However the weather forecast was for rain today so the plan was changed to meet at 9:30, ride 20 miles to @13 rider house for tea and cake then for those that wanted to head back to Market Bosworth.

As usual I planned to do an imperial century so set off at at 05:30 with the aim of doing 55-60 miles before the meet. Yesterday I fitted some clip on mudguards to the bike in anticipation of the rain and as I set off they were rubbing, took me 7 minutes to do the first mile as I kept stopping and adjusting them, but eventually they were fine.

My original plan had been to do 50 miles so I decided to follow that route and then tack another route on at Market Bosworth once I knew how much time I had. By the time I got to Kirkby Mallory I knew I could do another 7 or 8 miles and still be on time for the meet. So I changed the route and my Satmap cleared my data! 46 miles wiped out

Feeling peeved off I arrive at the meet having done 57 miles, within a couple of minutes everyone was there, quick introductions for the new fellas and we were off.

Nice gentle pace to @13 rider house were his sister had laid on a full spread Sandwiches, pork pies, quiche and more, plus loads of tea and coffee and some sublime cake. A BIG thank you to your sister

Andy's missus and kids turned up and when we were ready to set off Andy headed home and the rest of us headed back to Market Bosworth. @tallliman turned off near Carlton and shortly after @Lilliburlero and @graham bowers turned off. @ 13 rider and myself went through Market Bosworth and up to the Ratby turn were we parted ways.

All the others did metric centuries and I finished the day on exactly 112 miles - when I came to upload my data the GPX had all my ride data in it so I didn't have to load a manual ride on Strava

Thanks everyone for the great company. Thanks @13 rider sis for the great food and drink, and finally thank whoever as the rain held off

https://www.strava.com/activities/944808379


And finally here is the birthday boy cutting his cake

 

[13 rider]

That may have been a few years ago

 

[Katherine]

I am not going to bore you with any stories.. Here are some pics.

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https://www.strava.com/activities/937371126

Stories are never boring on this thread and are far more important than stats and just as enjoyable to read as looking at your pictures.

I reached the grand old age of 40......

A fantastic ride, which amounted to 63.6 miles in total, my second longest ever and longest solo ride.

Happy belated birthday and well done!

Went to work and back, nice weather, but still windy.
Carp telly tonight that SWMBO tends to watch, so I changed into the Easter Bunny (albeit slightly less hairy and with smaller ears) and delivered egg to my niece.
Back on the commute tomorrow

What a great way to deliver an Easter egg.

Got back from my 1st cycle mini-tour last night. Took my two sons age 11 and 14 for a little tester to check out the feasibility of bigger, more involved tours in the future. Travelling from Ashton-under-Lyne on Tuesday headed for a campsite just outside Culcheth for our overnight stay and then on Wednesday slightly less mileage but a little hill at the end before reaching my wife's workplace where we would load the bikes onto the roof rack for a lift home to our own beds.

Day 1
View attachment 347246
From Ashton it was straight onto the Ashton Canal towards Manchester, gradually losing height as we passed along this well surfaced and often travelled route to the big smoke. My bike was like a tank as it had 4 panniers loaded with most of the gear we wanted to try and make the trip do-able but without yet heading out to buy any specialised equipment.
We stopped off at some of the notable landmarks along the way...
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My favourite part of this stretch of canal is the passage under the Piccadilly area where the canal passes under/is built over by the towering buildings above. The narrow walkways and locks all occupy the gloomy space beneath where there are ALWAYS a small number of shady characters loitering suspiciously in the shadows, not really a place I would like my kids or wife to go unaccompanied!
Going underground......
View attachment 347251

Passing through the centre of Manchester along Canal Street and past Deansgate locks we decided to have a little breather outside a bar in Castlefield while the sun was shining, before continuing on the Bridgewater Canal out to Broadheath, near Altrincham, passing another famous stadium along the way.
View attachment 347252

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From Broadheath we then diverted on to the Trans-Pennine Trail past Dunham Massey, leaving the trail just before Rush Green where we crossed the River Bollin on a lane that turned out to be little more than a farm track and deposited us in Warburton just before an unexpected toll bridge.
The Bollin crossing....
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I would have taken a picture of the rather impressive Warburton toll bridge but it was rather busy and I was a little concerned for my two boys. After this we headed up Dam Lane and School lane past Risley Moss where I could swear we met @MossCommuter heading the other way looking fast and focused all in black! I shouted "Mossy" a couple of times as he disappeared into the distance but he either didn't hear or maybe recognised me and pretended not to hear
We crossed over the M62 and then crossed the large Birchwood landfill site via another rather bumpy and unsuitable path! It was here that our carton of milk gave up the ghost and started dripping out of the bottom of one of the panniers. Luckily by this point we were only a mile or two from our destination for the day and passed a local Sainsbury's in Culcheth so could restock the lost milk.
It was gloriously sunny when we pitched our tent for the night.
View attachment 347293
Dinner that evening was taken in the Italian restaurant in Culcheth which brought the days mileage upto 34 miles, not bad for day 1.

Sounds great. Was that your first time of riding over Warburton Bridge? Car drivers on there must be used to cyclists as it's it the best way to get onto the Cheshire lanes from the west side of Manchester. Our club rides regularly come out through Culcheth and Glazebury.
An alternative would be past United's training ground and over the footpath on Irlam locks.

With a few spots of rain hitting the window as I was having my cereal and a predictably non-committal forecast from the BBC, I decided to take the Road Comp for the first time in a few weeks due to it's mudguards.

Out of the door and the first thing I noticed was the 'fresh breeze', swiftly followed by the temperature, which was 10 degrees down on last weekend. Anyway, here I was so off I set.
The predictable combination of local roads up to Coal Road and the Red Hall Lane, which was into the wind and a bit of a slog. Right onto the A58 and left onto Whin Moor Lane for the twisty lumps to Shadwell still into the wind, where I turned left down the hill now with the 'breeze' thankfully behind me
At the bottom of the hill I took a left onto Bay Horse Lane and the mainly upwardness towards Scarcroft, mainly sheltered by hedges.
At the peak of the hill I turned right down Ling Lane, which is still as poorly surfaced as ever and eventually leads to the A58 which provides a fast and well surfaced descent into Scarcroft. Right at the pub and onto one of several Thorner Lanes around here.
With the wind at my back I made good progress down the hill and up the climb at the other side over the former railway line the slightly lower gearing was appreciated.
This brought me out at Milner lane and onto the nice run along the ridge with the wind swirling either behind or across me, which was interesting at the field openings...
Left at the junction and into East Rigton, then the inevitable run along Bramham Lane, again with the wind at my back. Much as I love this little lane I was glad it had stayed dry as there is still more mud than tarmac in places and the council seem disinclined to do anything about it. Across Jewitt Lane and up onto (a different) Thorner Lane, where I decided that heading any further west wasn't going to happen given the gale force winds which would be right in my face on the homeward leg, so I turned back into the maelstrom and headed back to Milner Lane to retrace my route towards Thorner, stopping just before the descent into the village for a few photos:
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Anyhow, back in the saddle and the swift descent down Milner Lane before the short climb into Thorner, round past the church and down a surprisingly busy Main Street, before tackling the inevitable climb up Van Zyl Hill (Sandhills), which oddly seemed to be into the wind as well.
As was Skeltons Lane, which was just a case of head down and spin it out, before a left onto Coal Road and then a wind assisted run down Sherburn Road, spoilt only by a bus driver who couldn't wait and had to get past between the chicanes despite having to stop for passengers 20 yards up the road, where I overtook him again. Into the 20mph section where he was lining up for another pass despite me flying along at 20mph , but he had a sudden outbreak of common sense on (presumably) seeing more passengers waiting at the next stop and dropped back. Then around the block and on to home.

16.71 miles (26.89km) in a steady 1hr 19m at an average of 12.7mph with 1,094ft climbed and an average temperature of just 5.7°C

Good to get out, but that wind really made a difference today - at points I was having to drop onto the small cog at the front just to keep going on flat sections! That said, two sections of the ride were with it behind me and I set PB's on both of them, despite being on the 'winter' bike, so it did help out at points.

Edit to add: Obviously, because I took the bike with mudguards, it stayed dry for the entire ride...

And finally, for all the map fans out there, a map - which looks a bit like a badly drawn chicken:
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I love the 'badly drawn chicken.

Four (count 'em, four) miles! Exactly (more or less) one week after being trialled as an alternative to the three pointed star logo on the bonnet of a Mercedes, I was back on my tourer. The crashed bike is in the LBS and the tourer is my old mountain bike with a Softride stem.

We are off now to walk to Brewood along the canal towpath so needed a car in there so we can get back again. Felt a bit sore like I had done a lot of miles yesterday. This is either a hangover from the crash or simply a hangover!

What else? A headwind all the way. Nice!

Well done for getting back out.

Today was @13 rider 50th Birthday so in no particular order @13 rider his mate Andy @Lilliburlero @graham bowers @tallliman and myself went out for the Big Birthday Ride.

The original plan had been to meet at 9am in Market Bosworth do a 30 mile loop and finish with a picnic in the park kindly provided by @13 rider sister.

However the weather forecast was for rain today so the plan was changed to meet at 9:30, ride 20 miles to @13 rider house for tea and cake then for those that wanted to head back to Market Bosworth.

As usual I planned to do an imperial century so set off at at 05:30 with the aim of doing 55-60 miles before the meet. Yesterday I fitted some clip on mudguards to the bike in anticipation of the rain and as I set off they were rubbing, took me 7 minutes to do the first mile as I kept stopping and adjusting them, but eventually they were fine.

My original plan had been to do 50 miles so I decided to follow that route and then tack another route on at Market Bosworth once I knew how much time I had. By the time I got to Kirkby Mallory I knew I could do another 7 or 8 miles and still be on time for the meet. So I changed the route and my Satmap cleared my data! 46 miles wiped out

Feeling peeved off I arrive at the meet having done 57 miles, within a couple of minutes everyone was there, quick introductions for the new fellas and we were off.

Nice gentle pace to @13 rider house were his sister had laid on a full spread Sandwiches, pork pies, quiche and more, plus loads of tea and coffee and some sublime cake. A BIG thank you to your sister

Andy's missus and kids turned up and when we were ready to set off Andy headed home and the rest of us headed back to Market Bosworth. @tallliman turned off near Carlton and shortly after @Lilliburlero and @graham bowers turned off. @ 13 rider and myself went through Market Bosworth and up to the Ratby turn were we parted ways.

All the others did metric centuries and I finished the day on exactly 112 miles - when I came to upload my data the GPX had all my ride data in it so I didn't have to load a manual ride on Strava

Thanks everyone for the great company. Thanks @13 rider sis for the great food and drink, and finally thank whoever as the rain held off

https://www.strava.com/activities/944808379


And finally here is the birthday boy cutting his cake

View attachment 347730

Happy birthday @13 rider.

 

[ianrauk]

A really nice ride to Whitstable for brunch, and back, the hilly version. With @rb58, @mark st1 & @RedRider of this parish.
The weather Gods threatened heavy rain for some or part of the day but it didn't materialise. Only the smallest of drops near the end of the ride. Certainly not enough to get bothered by. The sun made a sporadic appearance now and again but not enough to get too warm.

We enjoyed a really nice tailwind on the way out, bombing through the rolling hills of the Kent lanes. The return however was blighted by a naughty headwind.
So 111 miles for the day. Imperial century # 12 for the year, # 209 over all.

An awesome days cycling in even more awesome company.

@RedRider cresting the beast that is Hollingbourne

@rb58

The Waterfront at Whitstable

And the fine fare they serve
3 brekkies and a Steak, egg and chips...

..and no cycle commute tomorrow.. the legs are relieved.