Your ride today....

[13 rider]

Another lovely evening so out with the bike . Took the defy out again . Off through Newtown Linford up Sharply hill ,out to Woodhouse then Quorn and Mountsorrel . just as was nearing the junction with Swithland lane a guy on a roadie with aero bars and even a aero helmet pulled along side At the junction we both turned left and he shot off but not as quick as I thought .So what to do but chase him down after a quarter of a mile at full gas I was on his back wheel had a nice draft to Rothley . Going over the station bridge he slowed slightly so I went passed and let him draft me . He said he was having a rest before chasing a Kom on strava coming up so I played domestique and lead out to the junction were he headed left chasing a segment while I went straight on through Cropston. Just as I turned towards Anstey another guy on a roadie came by ( where have all these quick guys come from) so a quick acceleration and I was on his wheel and had a nice tow into Anstey . I repaid the favour and took a turn at the front . but then he put the hammer down came by at at rate I knew I could not match so I let him go .up the climb to home .15.2 miles at an average of 17.2 mph so the other guys were not hanging about.Lovely ride on a lovely evening

 

[mybike]

First ride for me since the beginning of the month, and for wife five weeks so we took it easy & did a short run south. South is also down hill so it was uphill on the return. A few folk were around but it wasn't crowded by any means. One dog owner kept his dog clear for my wife, and the dog promptly moved his rear end into my path as I approached. It must be a sign of my improving skill that I managed to get past. One lady with two small dogs had to almost throttle one to keep it clear.

Sometimes these bridges are a bit low to cycle through. This was the only bird seen I'm afraid.

Plenty of boats around, and cyclists too. One couple were from South Africa I think, presumably heading for London.

Some very new bridges, like the M25, on this section.

And plenty of picturesque lock keepers cottages.

The vegetation along here has grown up a lot since I last rode along here. I got a hard whack from one bush and we both had to duck a lot.

All these photos were taken with my 99p Vivitar F259, which has the great advantage of being small and light, but lacks a viewfinder. It's not a good camera but it is adequate. One problem is that it always starts numbering from 1 when you empty the SD card!

8.3miles max 17, avg 5.9 mph. Year to date, 173.5miles

 

[Hacienda71]

Rode the third of a three race crit series at Oulton Park with @400bhp. Having learn't from the first race a break would be very hard to make stick on the circuit and learning from the second race that going on a charge too soon can result in getting caught on the line, I learn't tonight that if you don't go early enough you don't have a chance to catch the eventual winner.
Anyway third on the line and a £10 prize which was nice.

Photo courtesy of my 10 year old lad.

 

[derrick]

A nice little 32 miles with the gang, Six of us set of this evening for a nice loop of Enfield Potters Bar and Barnet, 4 of us ended up at the local Weatherspoons pub, 3 pints of Kronenberg 1 bottle of Sol 2 x Steak and chips 1 x 5 bean chilli, £24 60, What a bargain, Steak was really tasty, had another 2 pints then a gentle ride home, Life is soooooooooo good. But i think we have become a drinking club with a cycling problem.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Good Pint, @derrick . (Okay, I'll stop with it now.)

 

[I like Skol]

Did something a bit out of the ordinary last night. After tea was finished I asked my oldest son (12yo) if he fancied a mountain bike ride before bed. He jumped at the chance and at 7.30 we left the house, heading for the hills.
After a mile or so on the canal we opted for the direct, tarmac climb from Stalybridge up Mottram Road to the cutting. I was amazed by the pace he set up here and other than a quick stop partway up for me to tweak the indexing on his gears he romped along at a fair pace and actually kept putting in short sprints as well . Turning sharp left just before the cutting we headed off-road and continued to climb, almost all the way to the Trig point high on the hilltop before turning down hill for a blast over the bumpy trails down to Hobson Moor. When we got to the bottom of this descent he wasn't far behind me and got of his bike to try and shake some life back into his pulverised arms. He's no slouch when it comes to descending .
We then worked our way around to Higher Swineshaw Reservoir, up above Stalybridge/Mossley for the main target of the ride, the descent from above Higher Swineshaw down into Buckton Vale. It's a gnarly, rock-strewn track that zigzags down from the moorland and has been a favourite of mine since my teens (I once ended up in A&E while riding down this track!). We were rewarded with glorious views of the setting sun sinking behind the moors as we crested the top and I desperately wished I had brought my camera to capture the moment as we rode into the sunset.
Skol Jnr did a cracking job of riding down the hill and although he admitted he was at the edge of his comfort zone on the rockiest parts he enjoyed the ride and wants to go back and do it again some time. We returned to the canal after riding across the dirt track land where the Herod power station used to be and got home at 10pm, just as it went dark. Jnr was starting to flag a bit as we had covered 14 tough, hilly miles but he still wasn't beat. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I've created a monster! Some of you guys think I am a strong rider but just wait, you ain't seen nothing yet!!!!!

 

[coffeejo]

First ride for me since the beginning of the month, and for wife five weeks so we took it easy & did a short run south. South is also down hill so it was uphill on the return. A few folk were around but it wasn't crowded by any means. One dog owner kept his dog clear for my wife, and the dog promptly moved his rear end into my path as I approached.

I attract dogs like that. The owners always look mortified but I explain that I have a Labrador. It usually gets a laugh.

 

[biggs682]

a nice pre 6 am ride this morning normal 12 mile loop around western side of the boro quiet roads , but loads of nice bird noises so a very good ride and hopefully it has woken me up enough to have a good day

 

[mybike]

I attract dogs like that. The owners always look mortified but I explain that I have a Labrador. It usually gets a laugh.

Yes, I think it was a Labrador.

 

[coffeejo]

Yes, I think it was a Labrador.

Yeah ... on behalf of all Lab owners, to all cyclists everywhere, sorry about that. Don't know how it happens. The laws of physics as we understand them don't seem to apply.

 

[Spartak]

Rode my clubs Evening 10 TT - got a seasons PB 26:57 on the sporting UC108 course.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Another day and another ride. and a little more happened today.
The weather was good and with the electricity being off I decided a ride was in order. Slightly longer than yesterday and with 65m extra climbing I always knew it was going to be a slower day, so I took it easy and enjoyed the scenery.

So I did the usual route but with a change and a new road which was a single track 6 foot wide lovely road that meant I could avoid the main road. It was great... until I met 2 horses approaching a passing place and unfortunately even with the bell I had fitted to the bike this morning (because I still have no voice) I was unable to attract the attention of their riders. Eventually I resorted to the loudest sound I could get from it and one of the riders finally heard it (I would NEVER normally use a bell around horses but with no voice I have few options at the moment).... I apologised (why I have no idea but there we go) explaining I had no voice only for the other rider to suggest I get a bell. I thanked them and as I left heard the other rider explaining I had one! Oh well, patience is something I am good at. Still I will keep the lane in on my rides. It is a nice one, if not a fast one!

The clouds were doing a good job of looking pretty today. One of those days where the Japanese water colour painters had been out painting the sky.

And yes there is a 22 Halo visible in the sky.

What I hadn't seen when I took this photo was that it was a full 22° halo with a fragment of a Parhelic circle (possibly... that's the arc on the left hand side at 9 o clock half way between the sun and the halo)

Anyhow... just under 15 miles (which came as a surprise) and just over 8 miles an hour plus around 60 m (180-200ft) extra climbing in that 2 extra miles which came as no surprise that I was slower but it was the 4th day in a row and only my 6th ride since getting back (now getting the excuses in)... I did somehow set 2 PR's which rather surprised me. I'm sure it's lying. https://www.strava.com/activities/331903288

 

[Garry A]

New road bike out for its first wee trip. Still got some old flats on till I get used to the drops. Speed down a familiar hill was an eye opener with brakes quickly being applied.
Scenic Helix park shot.

 

[Saluki]

There was a big yellow thing in the sky today. Looked like -> so we went out for a ride before it hid up and went all cold again (It didn't break 12 degrees here yesterday)

We wobbled off, on our roadies, to Bowthorpe and down into Bawburgh and then up to Marlingford, Barford and Barnham Broom and had a quick whizz past Carleton Forehoe and towards Wymondham.
The Barnham Broom Road to Wymondham was mostly deserted as we rode along through the tree tunnel.
I discovered, as we got to Wymondham, that I had been very thirsty and had drunk all my water, so we bobbed into Hagstrom Saab and asked for a top up. We bought our car from there and didn't think that they would mind. They didn't. They were rather taken with our bikes.
Onwards from there to Wreningham, Hethel (at factory chucking out time) and East Carleton where we were overtaken by a couple of commuter chaps from Lotus (probably) and we followed them all the way to Cringleford. My foot was cramping something rotten so I got on a bit when it didn't hurt and didn't get on a bit when it did hurt. Stupid thing. I have since had a couple of bananas.
We stopped at Cringleford for

Then rode the last 4 and a bit miles home. It's actually less than 3 from there - Hubster wanted cake - but we took the pretty route as stopping at 28.2 is just silly.
It took 2 1/4 hours but it was a nice day with little stops here and there to watch the birds, try and turn right out of a junction etc. Hoping for a ride tomorrow.
We have done over half our year's target now so it's all downhill from here.

 

[Dave 123]

I decided to not to to the gym this evening as the weather was decent, a good move too. The scent of honeysuckle on the evening breeze....


http://www.strava.com/activities/332159264