Your ride today....

[13 rider]

Day of work so after taking mum food shopping an activity I loathe it was out with the bike . With @Supersuperleeds posting yesterday about doing a new fastest speed down Beacon hill. I thought Ive not been down the Beacon recently so I set out that way not in a competitive way . Up through Newtown Linford and up Sharply hill then left at old John to Beacon crossroads and up the Beacon the easy way and on to the descent . Mid 30s until I hit the bend were it drops again and hit the after burners just before the speed notification board doing over 40 there was a metal clattering sound as something fell from me making me just sit up slightly .The board flashed up 43 mph so sat up and coasted to a stop half a mile away and realised my pump had fell from my back pocket so back up the beacon to search for my pump . Found it still in one piece if slightly dented . So turned back though Woodhouse to Quorn and then decided to climb wood lane by the quarry a climb I never done .Up wood lane not as bad as feared and onto Swithland ,Cropston and back to Anstey . Rain was holding off so a loop of Groby and Newtown Linford was added before home . 22.7 miles in the bag and strava got me at 44.7 mph down the Beacon . For the record that's faster than @Supersuperleeds just saying.But I must confess my cateye computer has me at 42.8 but obviously I believe Strava

 

[Old jon]

A cooler start to the day. Decided to ride along a collection of familiar roads, and set off for the usual wander around Holbeck to Great Wilson Street and across Crown Point Bridge to start the escape from Leeds via the Oakwood Clock and the ascent of Boot Hill. Turn left just past the pub at the top for that pleasant little lane to Shadwell, and once there turn left again for Slaid Hill. Turn right at the lights onto Wike Ridge Lane.

Did I mention I was riding in very thick mist? Anyway, I rode off the end of the video and through East Keswick, up Potts Hill to reach the A 659 just before it enters Collingham. Through the village and turn right onto Wattle Syke up to the clutch of roundabouts that hatched there in the years I wasn’t looking. Almost all the way through Boston Spa to Clifford Road. Just past the former convent I stopped for a sandwich, then carried on through Bramham and the amazing amount of traffic that is taking people to the festival there, all the way to Thorner.

I think I was still in primary school when I first rode Sandhills out of Thorner, still find it tough going, along to Skeltons Lane and back on the A 58 via Red Hall Lane. A quick whizz back down Boot Hill and complete thirty three and a quarter miles by the time I crossed Leeds and found my front door. Just where I had left it.

Collection of roads, ridden by jon today, drawn by Garmin.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

My usual Thursday loop stopping at Hatton Locks, not a nice day for a bike ride, it had rained over night and was damp under foot grey and cool, but best of all that wind had eased a lot. A dry fast ride out, well fast for me these days, 30 miles in 2 hours for a 15 mph average. On the way back it rained for the first hour before drying up. unfortunately I managed to fall off on the road before mine. its busy round here at the moment with the gas main work, I was trickling at walking pace riding up behind a parked tarmac lorry waiting for an oncoming transit to pass the lorry and managed to get my foot tangled up in the front wheel, I went down like a sack of spuds, fair play to the transit driver and his mate, they stopped and checked I was OK before carrying on. I've got a sore right calf, right wrist and shoulder plus a pair of skinned knee's . The bikes got scuffed bar tape and a battered looking front mudguard, apart from that its OK. I'm cross with myself for a silly mistake, I know I have toe overlap, all my bikes have toe overlap and all ways have, I'm a short arse, I normally make allowances for it, this time I didn't. After all that I ended up with 54 miles at 14.8, and managed the 50 miles in 3 hours 22 minutes, the fastest I've done 50 miles this year, a good ride that I enjoyed until the mistake.

 

[13 rider]

@dave r a like for the ride not falling off hope your not to sore in the morning

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Day of work so after taking mum food shopping an activity I loathe it was out with the bike . With @Supersuperleeds posting yesterday about doing a new fastest speed down Beacon hill. I thought Ive not been down the Beacon recently so I set out that way not in a competitive way . Up through Newtown Linford and up Sharply hill then left at old John to Beacon crossroads and up the Beacon the easy way and on to the descent . Mid 30s until I hit the bend were it drops again and hit the after burners just before the speed notification board doing over 40 there was a metal clattering sound as something fell from me making me just sit up slightly .The board flashed up 43 mph so sat up and coasted to a stop half a mile away and realised my pump had fell from my back pocket so back up the beacon to search for my pump . Found it still in one piece if slightly dented . So turned back though Woodhouse to Quorn and then decided to climb wood lane by the quarry a climb I never done .Up wood lane not as bad as feared and onto Swithland ,Cropston and back to Anstey . Rain was holding off so a loop of Groby and Newtown Linford was added before home . 22.7 miles in the bag and strava got me at 44.7 mph down the Beacon . For the record that's faster than @Supersuperleeds just saying.But I must confess my cateye computer has me at 42.8 but obviously I believe Strava

You use the Strava app on the phone don't you? It is common knowledge that it is unreliable for speeds due to the way it records

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Special day out today.28 miles to Roberts Park,Saltaire near Shipley.Special because my daughter rode with me.She is off the Edinburgh soon to Uni.It was a wonderful day.

You look nowt like your avatar

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

see if they sell glue alone

They do

 

[NorthernDave]

A ride of two halves.
There are a few bits need looking at on the new bike, so rode that back down to Halfords for them to sort it (a cynic might argue that they should have covered everything in the build / PDI, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt this once). The weather was a spot or two of rain as I set off, full on biblical monsoon by the time I was half a mile from home. My 'showerproof' jacket gave up the ghost within seconds and I was soaked by the time I got there, a whole mile further on...hey ho!

Mrs NDs bike had been in for a service, so that was my transport home. See what a caring husband I am?
Did I mention it has a 16" frame? No, thought not, so seat up as high as it would go and I was off into the maelstrom. At least the grim weather meant there was no-one about to see me on her bike...
As I was already soaked I didn't get any wetter, but the weather must have spurred me on as I set a 4th fastest segment time on the way back up the hill...

So, just a massively moist 3.68 miles today. Still, it could be worse - I could have been up at Bramham Park trying to put a a tent up in all that rain for whats probably the worst Leeds Festival line up ever

 

[i hate hills]

Special day out today.28 miles to Roberts Park,Saltaire near Shipley.Special because my daughter rode with me.She is off the Edinburgh soon to Uni.It was a wonderful day.

Lovely pics , postman. I was speaking to one of the girls along the road from me and she was at Edinburgh Uni last year and was preparing to go back and she loved the Uni life and Edinburgh itself. Sure your daughter will have a ball.

 

[Diggs]

No photos for what I guess was a sort of commute.
Up early and heading to Southend on Sea to spend a day with the Diabetes UK roadshow, raising awareness of Type 2 Diabetes to the local shoppers.
A nice 32ish miles there and back in glorious sunny weather on a combination of road and gravelled bridleways

 

[booze and cake]

I was lucky enough to be granted access to artist David Nash's secret Ash Dome yesterday, so wangled the visit into a glorious 100 mile bike ride. I'd arranged to meet David in Blaenau Ffestiniog, so got the train from London with me Brian to my parents in Mid Wales on Tuesday, and set off yesterday morning.

I've driven from Mid Wales to Blaenau a few times but always avoided cycling it. The roads are good quality and the scenery stunning, but they're usually very busy, especially during the summer. With recent weather being rated as scorchio, I was fearful of being repeatedly buzzed by a flood of people heading to the coast along the A458 & A470. Despite this I have always wanted to ride that road, there was an epic hill, a great long descent and views that sell Wales more than any words could. So I committed to the mission.

I got lucky, it was one of my best days in the saddle. I was chased down the road by 2 dogs in the 1st 5 miles, but burned them off, not the nicest start, but all worries quickly evaporated. Heading down the A458 towards Dolgellau.

Bursting with colour, even looks good on a phone camera.

There's a lovely 4-5 mile gradual descent to Mallwyd, then start climbing up past Dinas Mawddwy, with the leg breaking Bwlch y Groes, on the right

….whose 32% gradient I unashamedly dodged having only a 39-25 smallest gear on me Brian. It was then onto the big climb of the day, a 3 mile climb up to 1200ft. When I mapped the route on ridewithgps.com it said the maximum gradient was 12%. LIES. My hear sank as I approached the bottom of the climb and saw a sign saying 20%. ….lets just say a few photo sudden opportunities presented themselves

All altitude chips were cashed back in with the following 5 mile descent, I hit 47mph, and if I did'nt have a ruksak would have cracked 50 I think.

From Dolgellau it was approx 10 miles very sapping gradual uphill through Coed-y-Brenin to the decommissioned nuclear power station Trawfynydd, under suitably moody skies.

It was hot, too hot for the woollen jersey I've selected for the journey, so I take a few stops on this section to soak my hot feet and head into a few cold water mountain streams. I have yet to grow or lose any toes since.

At Blaenau I stop my GPS to keep the location secret, and meet David and he kindly agrees to put my bike in the back of his car and we drive up there. I first saw the ash dome on the BBC4 programme Forest, Field and Sky, art inspired by nature, its on youtube and is well worth a watch. I've been desperate to see it ever since. Its every bit as enchanting and magical as I expected, I could'nt stop smiling. David planted the trees in the late 70's and has repeatedly revisited and used old technicques to cut and coax them into their current shape. I'm going to be writing up a more detailed report with more pics of my visit at a later date, but here's a taster. It has a real wow factor. If only there was a bike in the middle it would look like trees dancing round in honour of the great bicycle, like dancers round a maypole….oh hang on
http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/muldoon72/media/IMG_20160824_145021_zpsjvgopzbm.jpg.html] [/URL]

The return journey is just as pretty, oh these roads are so choca

I don't fancy the 5 mile climb I descended earlier, so at Dolgellau, decide to go round the coast by Barmouth and Towyn instead. Its getting late and I've got no lumens but there's a few train stations en route if I run out of light, which is looking likely. Its still really warm in the evening sun as I get to the estuary.

From there it was over the charming rickety toll bridge, 25p for bicycles, it was easily worth 50p so they got a tip.

Despite being a coastal road it was still pretty lumpy

. ….photo limit reached I think, to be cont……

 

[booze and cake]

….cont. The village of Llwyngwril had a thriving guerilla knitting heart, or some sort of show was on, the place was covered in bright knitwear. I had to stop for this full size farmer, dog, sheep and even seagull. Top work.

Just before I get to Towyn about 7.30pm I admit to myself I'm miles from home and not going to make it back in the last hour of light, so train it is. I've mostly had little or no phone reception all day but Towyn had 4G, amazeballs. But yay is followed by nay as the internet reveals I'm not going to get to Aberystwyth before the last train leaves, my only hope is to head it off at the creek by cutting across country, and battling yet more hills, and meeting it at Machynlleth where it arrives at 8.09pm.

So at the tail end of a hot day with many hills and about 90 miles in the legs, I have to finish with a 10 mile drag race which starts with a 5 mile climb, the likes of which I'd decided against over 20 miles ago, oh the irony….At least the short cut is called Happy Valley, the race against the setting sun is on. I get a 2nd wind and fly up, even have time for a last snack and a photo at the top.


Then an amazing fast descent which gives me even more time in hand. I'm going to make it, relax. Final photo on the approach to Machynlleth to bring the curtain down on a spectacular day.

Within an hour my parents meet me from the station the other end and I'm ferried to theirs and presented with a roast dinner a cold beer, legends. I admit I got lucky with the weather and lack of traffic, but Wales delivered beyond expectations again. 102 miles, 8900ft climbing, my legs still ache, but they'll be fine tomorrow, the day will live long in the memory.
View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/10684209

View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/10689570

 

[raleighnut]

….cont. The village of Llwyngwril had a thriving guerilla knitting heart, or some sort of show was on, the place was covered in bright knitwear. I had to stop for this full size farmer, dog, sheep and even seagull. Top work.

Just before I get to Towyn about 7.30pm I admit to myself I'm miles from home and not going to make back in the last hour of light, so train it is. I've mostly had little or no phone reception all day but Towyn had 4G, amazeballs. But yay followed by nay as the internet reveals I'm not going to get to Aberystwyth before the last train leaves, my only hope is to head it off at the creek but cutting across country and yet more hills and meeting it at Machynlleth where it arrives at 8.09pm.

So at the tail end of a hot day with many hills and about 90 miles in the legs, I have to finish with a 10 mile drag race which starts with a 5 mile climb, the likes of which I'd decided against over 20 miles ago, oh the irony….At least the short cut is called Happy Valley, the race against the setting sun is on. I get a 2nd wind and fly up, even have time for a last snack and a photo at the top.


Then an amazing fast descent which gives me even more time in hand. I'm going to make it, relax. Final photo on the approach to Machynlleth to bring the curtain down on a spectacular day.

Within an hour my parents meet me from the station the other end and I'm ferried to theirs and presented with a roast dinner a cold beer, legends. I admit I got lucky with the weather and lack of traffic, but Wales delivered beyond expectations again. 102 miles, 8900ft climbing, my legs still ache, but it was a day that will live long in the memory.
View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/10684209

View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/10689570

 

[Dave 123]

@booze and cake great ride and pics!

@dave r hope you mend quickly.

 

[hondated]

Sorry no photos again.
Given it was another hot night and I woke up again at 2am I decided to go for a ride. Not wanting a too strenuous ride I decided to head over to Pevensey marshes.
So I rode out to Polegate, up to Stone Cross through Westham and got to the lanes on the marshes.
Another warm dry night and once again I found the solitude I love in them.No one about at all.
Took a right in lanes and rode via Normans Bay to Sovereign Harbour. From there I rode on the sea front path and deviated home to Hampden Park.
Once home nice cup of tea shower and back in bed and I am not even sure whether my wife knew I had been out.
Yes this night time riding is proving to be compulsive and I am already planning another ride at the same time next week with a friend.