Your ride today....

[Saluki]

Feeling tired today but we decided to go out for a pootle, this evening. We headed off towards Bowthorpe, Bawburgh and Marlingford but didn't head for the watermill but carried straight on through Barford and then to Barnham Broom, where we turned off to Carleton Forehoe and then Wymondham.
We went through the middle of the town and then headed off towards Silfield, Wreningham, Hethel and then to East Carleton, Intwood, Cringleford and home. I then took off for another 3 miles to put in a nice round 30 miles.

On the way out, we had some dozy woman just step out in to the road without looking. Good job I was on a bike and going slowly. If I'd have been in the Saab, she'd have been flattened. On the way back, while waiting at a junction, some dozy pillock on a BSO overtook me and went left onto the main road and was narrowly missed by a large yellow van (that I was waiting to pass before I pulled out). He then went up on the path and rode up our road. As I was riding up our road - not on the path - he then just crossed into the road and nearly took me and my bike out. I might have given him a piece of my mind. I have discovered just how good my brakes are though. I've never had to yank them on with quite so much force before. I figured that the BSO would have done my PX some damage if he'd have ridden into me.

30.01 in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Nice and leisurely for a quiet evening ride.

 

[RedRider]

Slept late today - the joy of annual leave - and set out for Rochester after 11am.
I'd plucked a random route there and back from Ride With GPS and whilst the earlier part would be familiar territory the middle section onwards was a magical mystery tour as I'd never been to the town before.
Was pretty hard going at first, I'd missed the best of the early morning sun and the legs felt heavy slogging through the constant ups and down. Seemed to be riding into a slight headwind whichever way I turned and I'd forgotten to take the heavy d-lock from my bag, weighing down my trusty but sturdy surly steamroller still further. It was all playing on my mind, man!
As ever, things improved and as I was riding through a little pine wood the sun broke the cloud and and so emerging from the trees it was suddenly a bright new day.
Later on some typical Kent view...

Then I stopped in West Malling for a cig and a packet of salt and vinegar Square crisps. Someone once told me the salt and the vinegar replenish important minerals last in the act of cycling. No idea if it's true but a good excuse for some deep fried potato anyway.
A but further on a pretty scene crossing a river

The descent into Rochester was fab with good sight lines meaning you can leave the brakes alone. Took snaps of bike in front of castle of course..

Nipped down to the high street and had a big load of cod, chips and gravy. (Gravy, I know but it was lovely.) Always thinking of my cycling performance I added tonnes more alt and vinegar. Yum.

Probably ate a bit too much and sat around for too long so despite multiple caffeine hits the way back home was again tough going and there were times I wished I'd flit the train. My late start was catching up on me and as the route threatened to take me back through the lanes around farningham and eynsford I was concerned I might lose the daylight with inadequate torchpower so I bailed towards the bright lights of Dartford. it's that time if year folks! Probably a wise decision but not the most romantic.
Anyhow, good ride all in all which clicked in at 88.3 miles and 5466 ft of climbing.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Aww! I want one!

No, you want the Alpaca, which does not spit as much, and also has the added convenience of all of the Alpacas pooping in one place. Also, I am told(by a churchwarden, no less,as the previous ) that their hair is easier to spin, and worth more to knitters.

 

[Lisat]

Fairfax's view over Naseby

Imperial Century taking in the delights of Oundle, alps of Market Harborough, undulations of Bedfordshire (where I spotted a place you can do indoor sky diving and surfing) before returning to the flatlands. I had planned to go further and round trip it back to Oundle but discovered I had forgotten to put my front light back on the bike and didn't want to risk riding round the flatlands early evening without a light.
Longest ride since I came off in May and fractured my wrist.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Slept late today - the joy of annual leave - and set out for Rochester after 11am.
I'd plucked a random route there and back from Ride With GPS and whilst the earlier part would be familiar territory the middle section onwards was a magical mystery tour as I'd never been to the town before.
Was pretty hard going at first, I'd missed the best of the early morning sun and the legs felt heavy slogging through the constant ups and down. Seemed to be riding into a slight headwind whichever way I turned and I'd forgotten to take the heavy d-lock from my bag, weighing down my trusty but sturdy surly steamroller still further. It was all playing on my mind, man!
As ever, things improved and as I was riding through a little pine wood the sun broke the cloud and and so emerging from the trees it was suddenly a bright new day.
Later on some typical Kent view...
View attachment 101930 Then I stopped in West Malling for a cig and a packet of salt and vinegar Square crisps. Someone once told me the salt and the vinegar replenish important minerals last in the act of cycling. No idea if it's true but a good excuse for some deep fried potato anyway.
A but further on a pretty scene crossing a river
View attachment 101931
The descent into Rochester was fab with good sight lines meaning you can leave the brakes alone. Took snaps of bike in front of castle of course..
View attachment 101932
View attachment 101933

Nipped down to the high street and had a big load of cod, chips and gravy. (Gravy, I know but it was lovely.) Always thinking of my cycling performance I added tonnes more alt and vinegar. Yum.

Probably ate a bit too much and sat around for too long so despite multiple caffeine hits the way back home was again tough going and there were times I wished I'd flit the train. My late start was catching up on me and as the route threatened to take me back through the lanes around farningham and eynsford I was concerned I might lose the daylight with inadequate torchpower so I bailed towards the bright lights of Dartford. it's that time if year folks! Probably a wise decision but not the most romantic.
Anyhow, good ride all in all which clicked in at 88.3 miles and 5466 ft of climbing.

@RedRider

Good stuff! That brings back some memories - many years since I have been to Rochester/West Malling - about 20 years in fact. The castle's not changed much!

I was born in Dartford - West Hill Hospital which I believe has now been demolished!

That's my kind of diet btw.

 

[cosmicbike]

Still keeping up the daily rides, and only missed 1 day in the last 4 weeks. Just passed the 2000 miles mark for my Trek 1.2 since July 2013, my first road bike which was collected upon leaving hospital after 'Episode 1', much to the disgust of SWMBO
It's had another 178 miles on the turbo trainer but I don't count those, and so far it's cost me a chain through wear.

 

[ianrauk]

Slept late today - the joy of annual leave - and set out for Rochester after 11am.
I'd plucked a random route there and back from Ride With GPS and whilst the earlier part would be familiar territory the middle section onwards was a magical mystery tour as I'd never been to the town before.
Was pretty hard going at first, I'd missed the best of the early morning sun and the legs felt heavy slogging through the constant ups and down. Seemed to be riding into a slight headwind whichever way I turned and I'd forgotten to take the heavy d-lock from my bag, weighing down my trusty but sturdy surly steamroller still further. It was all playing on my mind, man!
As ever, things improved and as I was riding through a little pine wood the sun broke the cloud and and so emerging from the trees it was suddenly a bright new day.
Later on some typical Kent view...
View attachment 101930 Then I stopped in West Malling for a cig and a packet of salt and vinegar Square crisps. Someone once told me the salt and the vinegar replenish important minerals last in the act of cycling. No idea if it's true but a good excuse for some deep fried potato anyway.
A but further on a pretty scene crossing a river
View attachment 101931
The descent into Rochester was fab with good sight lines meaning you can leave the brakes alone. Took snaps of bike in front of castle of course..
View attachment 101932
View attachment 101933

Nipped down to the high street and had a big load of cod, chips and gravy. (Gravy, I know but it was lovely.) Always thinking of my cycling performance I added tonnes more alt and vinegar. Yum.

Probably ate a bit too much and sat around for too long so despite multiple caffeine hits the way back home was again tough going and there were times I wished I'd flit the train. My late start was catching up on me and as the route threatened to take me back through the lanes around farningham and eynsford I was concerned I might lose the daylight with inadequate torchpower so I bailed towards the bright lights of Dartford. it's that time if year folks! Probably a wise decision but not the most romantic.
Anyhow, good ride all in all which clicked in at 88.3 miles and 5466 ft of climbing.

Good route that. Know and have cycled most of that route. That second pic is taken from the old Aylesford bridge.

 

[ianrauk]

A nice early morning ride to Yalding in Kent for a Egg & Bacon sarnie and a nice cup of tea.
Was a very mild morning weather wise and the winds seem to have dissapeared for the time being.

So 55 of your Imperial miles. Lovely deserted Kent lanes and roads made for a quick outward journey. The return had a lot more climbing including a self inflicted 14%er over the downs. (I do ask myself when ascending the hill why am I going this way, when there are far easier routes home).

It looked like everyone and his brother/sister were out riding this morning. A few years ago when I did this route I was lucky to see 1 or 2 other cyclists. Today I lost count, easy 30 or 40 other cyclists. Cycling has really taken off now... onwards and upwards.. more, more, more please. More bikes, less cars. Brilliant.

55 early morning miles

Yalding Cafe for Brekkie

The Knatts Valley. Not far from Brands Hatch. Hard to believe this is just outside of London.

Kent village of Eynsford. No I didn't do the Ford.. though have done in the past.

Eynsford train viaduct.

Looking towards London from Chelsfield.
The tower blocks on the left are in the City of London, the ones on the right are in Canary Wharf.

 

[EltonFrog]

Nice to see a ride report from you @ianrauk.

Haven't seen @BigonaBianchi around here for a while. Where's he at?

 

[ianrauk]

Nice to see a ride report from you @ianrauk.

Haven't seen @BigonaBianchi around here for a while. Where's he at?

He's running his own cycling tourism business in Cyprus.

 

[EltonFrog]

He's running his won cycling tourism business in Cyprus.

Ahhh, right.

 

[13 rider]

Today's ride was supposed to be a recovery ride after Thursday Imperial century . Set off with no plans just do a few miles .Anstey to Cropston the first two miles the legs felt like lead but then they kicked in and I was flying and the average speed was creeping up on to Rothley , Cossington and Sileby .Cut through the estate chasing a couple of strava segments my mate Andy does and has some good times but I had not done before .The first one got the 5th fastest time and the second one 9th this year both faster than Andy ( I not competitive honest) Out to Six hills then Wymeswold and turn for home at this point I realised why I was flying a tailwind so headwind all the way home ! .on through Hoton , Barrow on soar ,Mountsorrel ,Rothley . At this point I realised I could do a metric half century in under 2 hours a first for me so head down and pedal .On to Cropston and Anstey watching the odometer 31.25 miles done in 1hr 52 mins 16.6 mph at this point I set up and coasted home finished with 32.8 miles at 16.3 mph so much for a recovery ride but throughout enjoyable in lovely weather other than the wind ( will it every go away).

 

[Goonerobes]

Yet another trip to my favourite county of Wiltshire in search of hills & also taking in a bit of Dorset today too so three counties in one ride including my home county of Hampshire.

Pleasant temperatures & just a gentle breeze greeted me as I set off across the forest to Fordingbridge & through Cranbourne & Sixpenny Handley en-route to Tollard Royal & the first of todays little hills, a 569ft hike to Donhead Hollow where lunch was duly taken. A short ride through Berwick St John to Ebbesbourne Wake followed where I decided to go up a hill I'd only been down before so a new one for me to learn & with that safely negotiated it was down through Bowerchalke to Broad Chalke & the final up hill before heading for home, back through Martin, Fordingbridge, Frogham & across the forest again.

Three counties, three little hills & 76.2 miles in total making it a very satisfying day on the road.

https://www.strava.com/activities/380047317

The lovely Wiltshire & Dorset countryside.

For those old enough , note the interesting use of 6D to replace the word Sixpenny in the signposts directions to Sixpenny Handley.

 

[EltonFrog]

Yet another trip to my favourite county of Wiltshire in search of hills & also taking in a bit of Dorset today too so three counties in one ride including my home county of Hampshire.

Pleasant temperatures & just a gentle breeze greeted me as I set off across the forest to Fordingbridge & through Cranbourne & Sixpenny Handley en-route to Tollard Royal & the first of todays little hills, a 569ft hike to Donhead Hollow where lunch was duly taken. A short ride through Berwick St John to Ebbesbourne Wake followed where I decided to go up a hill I'd only been down before so a new one for me to learn & with that safely negotiated it was down through Bowerchalke to Broad Chalke & the final up hill before heading for home, back through Martin, Fordingbridge, Frogham & across the forest again.

Three counties, three little hills & 76.2 miles in total making it a very satisfying day on the road.

https://www.strava.com/activities/380047317

View attachment 102003

View attachment 102004
The lovely Wiltshire & Dorset countryside.
View attachment 102005
For those old enough , note the interesting use of 6D to replace the word Sixpenny in the signposts directions to Sixpenny Handley.

Did you know "...In the case of the letters s and d it is generally agreed that these stand for the Latin words solidusand denarius, originally Roman. The first use of these abbreviations to indicate shillings and pence given in the Oxford English Dictionary is dated 1387. It seems safe, therefore, to assume that in medieval times, when Latin and English were both in constant use, these two symbols came to be applied to the English shillings and pence as their Latin counterparts became obsolete."

 

[NorthernDave]

Today I was on a mission to get at least 27 miles in and achieve 300 miles for the month with a couple of days to spare, so it had to be the Road Comp, didn't it?

Out via Coal Rd and Skelton Lane to Thorner, where I enjoyed a forced pass from a taxi (got your number) and then an oncoming Nissan driver who pushed through between parked cars despite me already being in the gap and it being my right of way...such arsery made me forget I was going to take an alternate route out of the village for a change and I turned up Church Hill as usual. I was almost at the top of the hill when I remembered so decided to plough on the way I was going. Past Bramham Park where some rather sleepy / rough looking festival goers were wandering around the verges aimlessly, like music-less zombies, then on towards Bramham. Turned up to Wattlesyke Roundabout and in a moment of inspiration decided to continue on to Wetherby and pick up NCN R665 and loop round to Boston Spa that way.
Over the bridge and through Wetherby, turning up Horsefair and past the bike shop (who waved as i passed) and then out through the 'burbs to get onto R665 via the A1(M) underpass, previously referred to as 'Dog Poo Tunnel'.
I'd been on R665 all of 100yards when I realised this route might not be such a good idea. Although the former railway line is tarmaced the surface is full of ridges and imperfections and is horrible to ride on. It might be tolerable on an MTB, but on the road bike I was struggling to maintain a speed in low double figures due to the way it was threatening to shake the bike to pieces. Next time I'm going to stick to the road - which makes a bit of a mockery of putting a cycle route in.
Anyway, I eventually arrived at Walton Gates and got back onto public roads for the spin down to Thorp Arch village, which it must be said is very picturesque.
A brief pause to get my bearings and then on down to the bridge and up into Boston Spa.
Through Boston Spa, heading east into the countryside towards Tadcaster when I got suddenly punched hard in the face by Mike Tyson.
Well, that's what it felt like, but it was actually the worlds biggest fly hitting my bottom lip when I was doing 25mph. I struggled to the top of the hill and stopped at the top to check the damage. Talk about pain! Anyway, I sorted myself out, rinsing the damaged area with water from my bottle and carried on.
Although it was overcast, this is a nice bit of rolling countryside, although the final hill before Tadcaster is one of those sneaky ones that doesn't look much on the approach and then has you clicking down the gears to get to the top. I stopped for another drink and a photo on the town limits:

Carried on past Tower Brewery, where some motorcyclists hung back and left me loads of room to negotiate the parked cars on the busy run down to Station Road (thanks guys!) where I turned right and headed back out of town towards Bramham. More new roads for me and all very scenic. I hit 31mph on the run down into Bramham and after passing through the village stopped for a drink and a stretch, before getting onto NCN R66 for the run down to Aberford, now into a stinker of a headwind which was to be there pretty much all the way home.
Then on through Barwick and Scholes, plus a loop round Pendas Way / Manston lane and Pendas Fields to bump up the mileage a little more before home.

Now for the good stuff:
33.68 miles in 2hrs 18m at an average of 14.6 mph, with 1212ft climbed.
Which puts me nicely over 300 miles for the month - a first for me and a real achievement after the problems I've been having with my knees.
Plus, I've completed my first metric half century (54.2km) on the road bike.

Edit to add that this ride took me over 100 miles for the week - another first!

And apart from a bottom lip which is now roughly twice the size it was when I set off this morning (and which still blooming hurts), I feel remarkably good. In fact I'm just deciding where to go tomorrow...