Your ride today....

[Puddles]

User76 & I rode to the local Country Park today and then did the Dinosaur Trail, stopped and had lunch we had to haul the picnic rug out the panniers as the picnic tables were full.. as was the bike parking almost, then did bouncy castle type things, sploshing in the mud and a train ride then home again... it was lovely and sunny but cold in the wind!

 

[Dark46]

Today's two rides were my commutes and the morning ride was not a pleasure as there was far too much ice about, and was probably the slowest ever ride to work.

The ride home was much better and got 2/3 PB'S.

So all in all just a short 5.4 miles, and hoping not frost or ice in the morning

 

[guitarpete247]

Today was the first ride since (I never realised how long it had been till I saw Sports tracker) September. This was part weather and part being I'll over Christmas. I really felt it. I had to walk 10 yards to the top of one bit (can't call it a hill but an incline). My early finish Fridays, I used to use as ride day, have been taken up picking up granddaughters from school. Hope to get out tomorrow or at the weekend. Thurs and Fri have the girls so can't get out till their mother picks them up at aboujt 5:00, to dark.

 

[mikeee]

A nice ride out. Dry, sunny and fairly warm. Tried to better my pb on my 33.7 mile fairly hilly circuit (1648ft ascent) but realised I was in trouble on the final climb, tried for an out the saddle effort and legs felt dead, so had to stay seated and grind it out. Also seemed a little breezy today. Can't think of any other excuses!

 

[Accy cyclist]

A pleasant 25 miles in the winter sun today though the stiff breeze was knackering when climbing those hills on my 34lb Carrera. Especially as i hadn't eaten before setting off!

 

[Saluki]

I rode from home to the outskirts of Wymondham today, to walk a dog. I cut across the estate instead of the slightly longer, via the cyclepath, route. Then down Bluebell Road, throught Eaton/Cringleford and up alongside the A11 and crossed at the crossing. I followed the cyclepath along until the A47/A11 junction and crossed the crossings there.

At the second crossing there had been an RTA, lots of people standing about, bloody great Jaguar blocking the entire cyclepath, police cars with flashy blue lights and so on. I picked the bike up and walked around the whole scene. There was no available pavement so had to brave the prickles and thorn bushes. One of the policemen stopped me and asked if my bike was too heavy to carry for me. Cheeky. I don't really look weak and weedy. I told him it was a whopping 8.5kg and that I could cope. Only carrying as I didn't want to roll my tyres over all those prickles. He asked if it was a mountain bike with drop bars or a 'racer' with fat wheels. I spent a couple of quick minutes educating him on CX/Adventure bikes. He asked where to get one from and made a note. I'm sure he should have been directing traffic or something but always happy to chat about bikes.

From there I rode along the cycle path along the Norwich - Hethersett Road, struggling a bit really. I followed the curved road through Hethersett rather than go up the titchy 10 metre hill to the junction. At the second junction it's a totally flat right turn and a nice spin to the outskirts of Wymondham.

7.42 miles in a hideous 42 minutes. I am shattered and off to forage for some lunch. I'm feeling a lot better after a shower though.

 

[numbnuts]

I rode round the village 6 miles on the trike

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I rode round the village 6 miles on the trike

I'm really not sure how to translate that sentence.

• I rode round the village. 6 miles on the trike.
• I rode around the village covering 6 miles on the trike.
• I rode round the village doing 6 miles on the trike. (Queries if it can still be a village of you can cover 6 miles going around it)
  
• I rode round the village of 6 miles on the trike. (Queries if a village can be called 6 miles, but given we have 11am instead of Ilam in this household/family after an innocent childhood mistake reading a sign post .. ILAM in the peak district for those not in the knew around)
• ... I'm sure there must be other variations...

OK I'll go and find a corner....

 

[Pale Rider]

A rare contribution from me to this thread to mark my new bike.

Set off at about 7.30am for a loop along the south side of the River Wear in Sunderland and back along the north side.

It wasn't quite daylight by the time I reached the edge of built-up Sunderland at South Hylton.

Bit of a climb to that point, but then there's a flat stretch.

I've always liked this wooded section

Across to the north side of the Wear over the foot bridge at Cox Green.

'Cyclists Dismount'.

I don't think so.

On the C2C path now, passing the Washington Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre.

Back in Sunderland, Liebherr's yard on one side of the Wear, Sunderland AFC's Stadium of Light on the other.

I was there a few years ago when Liebherr demolished an old static crane using explosives.

The blast blew out half a dozen windows of the football ground's main entrance - oops.

May as well nip along to the National Glass Centre.

This wasn't there last time.

A quick look at what's in the port, before heading home.

Round trip of about 17 or 18 miles.

Bike performed a treat, apart from the engine which struggled at times - I'm told that will improve with use.

 

[I like Skol]

First ride today since I smashed my knee last Saturday. 15 easy miles along the R492 cycle route from Cwmbran to shortly past the Garndiffaith Viaduct.

9yr old Skol minor made the call on when we turned back as we had been steadily climbing from the start of the ride and he was starting to flag. We both wished me had gone on a bit further as the return leg was far easier.

 

[numbnuts]

I'm really not sure how to translate that sentence.

• I rode round the village. 6 miles on the trike.
• I rode around the village covering 6 miles on the trike.
• I rode round the village doing 6 miles on the trike. (Queries if it can still be a village of you can cover 6 miles going around it)
  
• I rode round the village of 6 miles on the trike. (Queries if a village can be called 6 miles, but given we have 11am instead of Ilam in this household/family after an innocent childhood mistake reading a sign post .. ILAM in the peak district for those not in the knew around)
• ... I'm sure there must be other variations...

OK I'll go and find a corner....

 

[ColinJ]

I had been thinking about doing this month's 100 km ride today but it was a bit too windy so I decided that I would do my 50 km ride instead (I'm trying to do at least one of each every month). Then, before I could get ready, my stepdaughter phoned and we ended up chatting for an hour. That used up a lot of the remaining daylight so I improvised a shorter route taking in a steepish climb that I haven't done for years.

(The light wasn't great so I decided not to bother taking any photos today.)

I called in at a corner shop in Hebden Bridge on the way out to buy some parkin to have with my post-ride coffee. I made a stupid mistake in the shop which could have had really inconvenient consequences. More of that later ...

Route: Hebden Bridge, Pecket Well, Old Town, Midgley, Jerusalem Lane, Booth, Solomon Hill, Luddenden Foot, then the steep climb - Ellen Holme Road/Sykes Lane - HERE, Sowerby village, Hubberton Green, Cotton Stones, then Blue Ball Road in the opposite direction to the way I normally ride, up to Coal Gate Road and then followed my normal route - Hubberton Green again, Steep Lane, Cragg Road, Mytholmroyd, Calder Valley Greenway, Calder Holmes Park, Home. 42 hilly km/26 miles.

Profile:

As I was tackling the initial climb out of Hebden Bridge I spotted a cyclist ahead riding more slowly than me (which makes a change!) so I soon approached them. I noticed a rearview mirror on the RH end of the rider's handlebars so I assumed that I would have been seen catching up. As I overtook the rider I said hello and she almost jumped off the bike in fright! I think she was deep in thought and hadn't looked in the mirror during the 2 or 3 minutes that it took me to close the gap. It seems a bit of a waste to fit a mirror and then not use it ...

There were some sunny intervals but the blustery wind was creating quite a windchill, despite the air temperature being pretty mild today. I felt that I had made the right decision to do a shorter ride. I will make the effort to get my 100 km and 50 km rides in some time in the next 10 days.

The Sykes Lane climb was as tough as I remembered but I had the advantage of both lower gears and lower weight than I suffered on my previous ascents. It was more a case of panting than of full-scale grovelling. A couple of drivers coming down the narrow road were good enough to pull over and let me crawl up to them - it would have been horrid being forced to stop and then trying to set off again! They seemed to find my suffering quite amusing for some reason so I gave them a little wave of thanks and shouted "I am getting too old for this kind of thing", but with a big grin on my face!

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. I would have preferred less wind, but it is still only mid-February so I am not going to complain.

So, when I got home I discovered the mistake I had made at the shop when I bought my post-ride goodies ... I dismounted and took off the Camelbak bag which I use on all of my rides to carry my stuff. 'Stuff' includes doorkeys. 'Doorkeys' includes the keys of a friend who is away, and whose house I am keeping an eye on. Those keys which were hanging on to the open bag by a thread - I had forgotten to zip up the bag after putting the parkin in there at the shop and had come within a whisker of losing both sets of keys on the ride ... Get a grip Col!

 

[BigonaBianchi]

62 miles 1445 m climb today in northern Cyprus. Riding with a young lady rider from Budapest on her felt carbon with electronic shifting ...a real climber flying up the climbs here...made me look like an old fart, erm ...anyway...the weather shut down in the mountains and we were riding at 1c which felt a lot colder in the wind . I'm a bit out if shape after the flu and a week.off the bike...its my excuse and I'm sticking to it lol!

 

[gavgav]

Took advantage of the much milder weather (dizzy heights of 11c today) to get out for a short ride after work. Even used the fingerless gloves for the 1st time since last October i think....!

Took the cycle paths down to Meole Brace, but had only been going for 1/2 a mile, near to Morrisons, when I came the closest I have been to a head on crash on my bike. Was on the cycle path, to the LH side when a ninja cyclist/numpty loomed ahead, coming towards me. He was of the teenage sort who cycle with no hands on the handlebars, and looking into his phone and up in the air, anywhere but where he should be. I thought "he's bound to move over to the left soon" but he hadn't even seen me (I had my very bright Cateye 700 lights on!) and just as I was about to shout "watch out" and swerve, he looked up and spotted me and I would imagine, by the horrified look on his face and immediate "God im sorry", now has a different colour set of pants on than he set out with. Idiot!

Thankfully that was the only incident on the ride, as I continued through Meole Village and then into Nobold, past the nice big houses and came out halfway along Mousecroft Lane. From there I decided to head through Radbrook, into Copthorne, Porthill and down into the Quarry Park. I love being down there in the dark on a bike, seems so peaceful, but it is unlit and so I wouldn't fancy walking through it in the dark on my own.

It was then following the River Severn towpath into Castlefields and home.

There was a strengthening head wind for a fair proportion of the ride, which made it hard going at times, but an enjoyable 13.0 miles.

 

[Donger]

Enter "Big Red", my 17 year old No.2 bike whose maiden voyage it was today, after a recent major refurb following years spent languishing, unloved, at the back of the garage. It is a 1998 Saracen Skyline steel tourer. This is going to be my explorer bike from now on .... for days out in the back of beyond with a bar bag that will take a rain jacket, a packed lunch, a camera, a spare tube, a tool kit, my mobile phone, maps, keys and money ..... and (ahem) perhaps the odd can or two.

Took it for a gentle 21.5 mile test ride around the lanes to Frampton on Severn and back , with a little detour to the riverbank at Framilode. Stopped off at the Anchor Inn at Epney in much better spirits than when it was used as a control point in a recent very icy audax ride.

This next shot is my usual turning point at the 10 mile point of my standard ride, on Splatt Bridge over the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. This is the canal's closest point to the River Severn, which you can see in the background.

I returned home via Saul Marina today .... where there is a nice little cafe that our club (Kingsway CC) calls in at regularly on Sunday mornings.

Then back via Epney again. The river looks quite serene here, but there are some monster Severn Bores (tidal waves) due shortly, and the tides have been getting bigger daily ..... as evidenced by the tree floating past.

A nice comfortable ride, with a very different, more upright feel to it today. A little disappointingly, the chain slipped a couple of times on the chainring under stress on the only things approaching "hills" around here- perhaps because it used to be an 8 speed, and is now a 9. I'll have to consider replacing the chainset to compete the job. Overall, though, I was chuffed with the way it went today, and I'm looking forward to taking it to new places this year. If I find any good new routes, I'll be sure to keep you all posted.
Cheers, Donger.