Your ride today....

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Sara P and Steve E and I met up in the Green. The forecast wasn't wonderful with temps being lowish and rain about. We headed over to Upton where Pete M and new boy Rob A were waiting. Sara headed homeward as we took to the School and on down onto the Hams. Just before Ashleworth we climbed to Wickridge Street. Downhill and on around a couple of bigger and busier roads took us to the garden centre at Staunton. It was quite busy with the lunchtime crowd but we found a suitable spot to continue with the craic.

Time passed pleasantly with the chat before we saddled up to go by Gadfield Elm and on around to Pendock. Now it was a fairly standard run back through the Castlemorton lanes. Despite the forecast we did not get wet as the attempts at rain were pretty feeble. Our riding kept us nicely warm so all in all a very pleasant social outing. 40 smiles

 

[theloafer]

had a steady route planned Bowes up to tan hill (via the Bowes moor road) then down to Kirkby Stephen out to Nateby towards Keld the left before keld back up to the tan hill and back along Bowes moor.. but as we pulled into Kirkby karon was getting off her bike some how lost her balance and hit the deck flat on her back , which aggravated a old back injury and she could not move ... dialled 999 was told not to move her and keep her calm and warm the lady in halls (newsagents) brought out some blankets and another a hot water bottle as at 30mins laid there cold was getting to her.
first responder arrived and he soon got to work .... verdict no major problems once we got her up and moving.. ordered a taxi back to Bowes to pick up the vehicle then back to Kirkby to collect the bikes ..then home ...been a funny old day

 

[Elysian_Roads]

had a steady route planned Bowes up to tan hill (via the Bowes moor road) then down to Kirkby Stephen out to Nateby towards Keld the left before keld back up to the tan hill and back along Bowes moor.. but as we pulled into Kirkby karon was getting off her bike some how lost her balance and hit the deck flat on her back , which aggravated a old back injury and she could not move ... dialled 999 was told not to move her and keep her calm and warm the lady in halls (newsagents) brought out some blankets and another a hot water bottle as at 30mins laid there cold was getting to her.
first responder arrived and he soon got to work .... verdict no major problems once we got her up and moving.. ordered a taxi back to Bowes to pick up the vehicle then back to Kirkby to collect the bikes ..then home ...been a funny old day

Ouch, hope she is okay after her fall.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Sorry about your mishap @theloafer, hope Karon is going to be all right.
A like for the attempted ride, not for the incident

My ride today was mainly the 1.4 miles for the annual PoP the Pedal on the (Scottish) Parliament, but somehow I made it into a 55 mile ride
Three other Glasgow Belles and I started from Linlithgow (which is half way starting from Glasgow) to the Meadows in Edinburgh.
The day started wet and quite cold, still, we were making good speed (12mph ahem ...) on the canal path for the meet, then I had a puncture.
I really need to change the tyres on that bike for some Marathons, getting too many punctures for my like, always in the pouring rain too.
Anyway, I'm happy to say we made it to the event, where I had a brief chat with @Telemark from the Edinburgh Belles.
As usual it was freezing, even though the sun started to slowly peak from the clouds.
I got confused on the one way system to get back to the canal, this resulted in a well deserved beep by a driver, on the day marked as a lobbying day to improve cyclists' safety on the roads
Never mind, what about the cyclist in the Meadows park that told us of for stopping on the left of the designated cycle lane?
That there Embra' is stressing, so it is!
After we had our packed lunch at the Parliament (the last of the big spenders!), we went for a coffe, then headed back to Linlithgow for the train home.
The sun did come out, so did the headwind.
I'm weather beaten now, ready for my dinner too
Some pictures for you:
start of the ride, it is wet, going to get wetter in a mo'

We have arrived at the Scottish Parliament.
Considering the weather, it was actually very busy, a few thousand cyclists there, on bikes, tandems, trikes, recumbends, kids on trailers, on balance bikes.
I did not take many pictures as I was trying to warm up, eat, drink, all at the same time.



Pictures from the ride back: it was a lovely ride, in spite of the head wind, the weather had turned nice.
Now not restricted by time constraints, we stopped several times for picking wild garlic, admiring the scenery, taking photos.
A great day out for the Belles and for all the cycling groups that pedaled to be heard by them who decide about cycling infrastructure.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

had a steady route planned Bowes up to tan hill (via the Bowes moor road) then down to Kirkby Stephen out to Nateby towards Keld the left before keld back up to the tan hill and back along Bowes moor.. but as we pulled into Kirkby karon was getting off her bike some how lost her balance and hit the deck flat on her back , which aggravated a old back injury and she could not move ... dialled 999 was told not to move her and keep her calm and warm the lady in halls (newsagents) brought out some blankets and another a hot water bottle as at 30mins laid there cold was getting to her.
first responder arrived and he soon got to work .... verdict no major problems once we got her up and moving.. ordered a taxi back to Bowes to pick up the vehicle then back to Kirkby to collect the bikes ..then home ...been a funny old day

Another like for the write up. Hope Karon will be okay after the incident.

 

[Dave 123]

Less than 7 miles, but featuring a 23% hill. That was before the first mile was done too!
Scenic though.....

https://www.strava.com/activities/1538131384

 

[delb0y]

Back in March, when I wrote:

Managed a cheeky 15 today, on top of yesterday's 32. Time to start building... Suspect that means I won't get the bike out again until May!

I wasn't being serious. But it turned out to be prophetic. What with decorating, the garden suddenly bursting into life, lots of weekend trips to the tip, a few family things and so on, there's been no time for riding. So it's back to square one fitness-wise.

Ten miles and one barn owl, today. That's all.

Derek

 

[Spiderweb]

Quite a chilly ride today, where’s the nice weather gone?!
A steady 30.8 mile loop out to Selby with a cafe stop in Beal, very nice.

 

[Mrs M]

Still recovering from a horrible cold.
Decided a spin on the bike was in order.
Thought I’d take Mr M’s Cube, the lovely Big Helga.
Poor Helga is always filthy and Mr M said her gears were slipping
I removed her mudguards and gave her a good clean and lube, raised the saddle then set off.
Wee shower of hailstones as I left but “soldiered on”
Weather improved and Helga behaved impeccably, (think she appreciated the clean up)
Passed 2 ewes and some lambs, stopped for a drink and the lambs were talking to me, went closer and they ran over to meet me, cute wee things
Went to visit my equine pals, not seen them for a while. My favourite dun coloured pal got a bit excited at the “selfie” while her big friend showed off his new purple rug, very smart.
Glad I managed out for a bit, feel better for the exercise, fresh air and my wee pals.

 

[Slick]

Sorry about your mishap @theloafer, hope Karon is going to be all right.
A like for the attempted ride, not for the incident

My ride today was mainly the 1.4 miles for the annual PoP the Pedal on the (Scottish) Parliament, but somehow I made it into a 55 mile ride
Three other Glasgow Belles and I started from Linlithgow (which is half way starting from Glasgow) to the Meadows in Edinburgh.
The day started wet and quite cold, still, we were making good speed (12mph ahem ...) on the canal path for the meet, then I had a puncture.
I really need to change the tyres on that bike for some Marathons, getting too many punctures for my like, always in the pouring rain too.
Anyway, I'm happy to say we made it to the event, where I had a brief chat with @Telemark from the Edinburgh Belles.
As usual it was freezing, even though the sun started to slowly peak from the clouds.
I got confused on the one way system to get back to the canal, this resulted in a well deserved beep by a driver, on the day marked as a lobbying day to improve cyclists' safety on the roads
Never mind, what about the cyclist in the Meadows park that told us of for stopping on the left of the designated cycle lane?
That there Embra' is stressing, so it is!
After we had our packed lunch at the Parliament (the last of the big spenders!), we went for a coffe, then headed back to Linlithgow for the train home.
The sun did come out, so did the headwind.
I'm weather beaten now, ready for my dinner too
Some pictures for you:
start of the ride, it is wet, going to get wetter in a mo'
View attachment 406450 View attachment 406451
We have arrived at the Scottish Parliament.
Considering the weather, it was actually very busy, a few thousand cyclists there, on bikes, tandems, trikes, recumbends, kids on trailers, on balance bikes.
I did not take many pictures as I was trying to warm up, eat, drink, all at the same time.

View attachment 406452 View attachment 406454

Pictures from the ride back: it was a lovely ride, in spite of the head wind, the weather had turned nice.
Now not restricted by time constraints, we stopped several times for picking wild garlic, admiring the scenery, taking photos.
A great day out for the Belles and for all the cycling groups that pedaled to be heard by them who decide about cycling infrastructure.
View attachment 406456 View attachment 406457 View attachment 406458 View attachment 406459 View attachment 406460 View attachment 406461

Great effort again from you Pat and the rest of the Belles. West is best though, so I'm glad you made it back intact.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

A favourite little Audax event of mine, the Merry Monk 105. Stunning route and fabulous cakes all for Dorset Air Ambulance fundraising.

 

[NorthernDave]

Out on the Giant this morning, now resplendent with clipless pedals and me wearing proper cycling shoes and cleats for the first time...what could possibly go wrong?

As often happens, it was up Coal Road, only to get half way along there and find it closed for the second Sunday on the bounce. You might think it would make sense to put a sign up warning of the road closure ahead so you can stay on the main roads might you, but then you'd clearly not work for the council...who instead diverted all the traffic, including me, round a housing estate instead.
Anyhow, it's all miles isn't it?

Back out onto Coal Road beyond the works and onto Skeltons Lane, down the hill to Thorner which was looking magnificent ahead of the TdY with bunting across the Main Street and Yorkshire flags flying from many of the buildings. Up onto Milner lane and along the ridge all the way to East Rigton, before taking Bramham Lane, which is still as muddy as ever, to Jewitt Lane and the climb onto Thorner Lane, through the dip and onto Thorner Road for the drop into Bramham.
Through there and up Town Hill, simply because you've got to climb one of the hills to get out of the village and onto Toulston Lane and back into the countryside. Through the dip on there and then right onto Garnett Lane. I had no trouble unclipping to stop at the junction with the A659, but I did have a few problems clipping back in but got on my way with no great drama. Across the A64 bridge then down the hill and through Stutton, then a few more attempts at clipping back in to climb the A162 up to Raw Lane.
There were signs out warning of stone chippings at the turning to Raw Lane and I nearly avoided it as a result - glad I didn't as whenever the work is being carried out it hasn't been done yet, despite signs for the full length of the road al the way to Ulleskelf. Just beyond the village I stopped at the bench for a breather and a couple of pics:

Next to the bench is a bin and a bus stop - this place only sees an occasional bus but it's clearly party central on a Saturday night as there were 6 "Gordons and Tonic" cans in the bin. Rock on Ulleskelf!
Straight on from there past Leeds East Airport and into Church Fenton, then the long straight run to Barkston Ash, a wiggle on the A162 and the scenic route into Saxton. Leaving the village I was caught up by another roadie and we had a chat as far as Copley Lane, where he pushed on.
Past Lotherton Gates, right for Aberford and then onto Cattle Lane for the ups and downs to Cock Beck and the climb up to Barwick, then Scholes and the drop down Leeds Road and onto local roads to home.

33.78 miles (54.36km) in 2h 31m at an average of 13.4mph with 1,594 ft of climbing and an average temperature of 8.3 degrees

Pleased with that, my first clipless ride and apart from a few minor problems clipping back in it passed without incident. Also another ride banked in the half century challenge - April is the first month this year where I've been able to get at least one qualifying ride in each weekend, plus it pushed me over 300 miles for the month which is virtually double the mileage of my next best month this year.

Lots of other cyclists out, not a single close pass all ride and the sun shone for pretty much the entire ride. What's not to love?

To end, the map:

 

[Mike_P]

Double figure for the first time this year and managed it between . 18.46 miles and 1005ft upgrade. Strange wind direction resulted in 6 PRs in normally unexpected places including this annoying climb in Harrogate. Not that steep but the road surface away from the smooth tarmac in the foreground is ridges of hard, originally loose, chippings making for some unnecessary mini climbs every foot.

Could be an historic picture;

Todays near miss - for those who believe colour of jersey is irrelevant they could have a point as I had a bright yellow one on

Using the hybrid again I took advantage of new cycle track but the signage is slightly odd

The view west from the high point on the ride - a bit cloudy!

Amusing incident with the sheep in this field. That close to wall on the far side of the field suddenly sprinted (as best as a sheep can sprint) towards the road side wall and its two lambs followed only for them to be scared by me cycling past. Wondered if the sheep spotted me and decided the lambs needed to get use to cyclists

Normally this occurrence is annoying but it did give me someone to keep an eye on as I ventured along a Penny Pot Lane with more than its far share of potholes - actually east bound turned out not to be too bad in decent light but the other carriageway was in places. Did see one brave sole heading along it.

Dog of the day was not picked up by the GoPro - a poodle like animal that decided to chase me through the local country park.

 

[Mr Celine]

Still only 10C at 2 pm with lots of big threatening shower clouds around. I didn't want to risk repeating Wednesday night's drenching so fitted a race blade to the back. This worked some sort of voodoo magic and ensured a dry ride. There was a cold north easterly wind blowing, so that seemed the best way to go although I did nearly turn back after a couple of miles as my fingers were frozen. However, the further I went the smaller the clouds and the bigger the gaps between them. After 12 miles I even managed to shed the windstopper jacket.

Looking north towards the Lammermuir, with Dirrington Great Law on the extreme right.

I couldn't find the 'your bike in front of a decorative arch being attacked by a gorilla' thread so I'll just post this here.

There's a small play park over the wall to the right, which the gorilla is presumably part of.

At this point I was still heading east into a biting wind, but on turning south and passing through Westruther it became more of a cross / tail wind and what's more it was still getting sunnier. I continued south and made a small detour to Smailholm Tower.

This was an almost reiverproof border stonghold, which has a fantastic view south looking towards the border. There is still some snow on the Cheviot.

The clear skies had spread inland, this view looking south west -

I attempted a photo of the sun glittering on the Tweed from the Dryburgh suspension bridge but the camera phone can't handle the contrast. So here's another photo of the bike instead.

According to the trip computer I'd done just over 46 miles. I'd forgotten it had been cutting out at the start of the ride, probably because it was so cold. Strava says I did 49 miles at 14.5 mph. If I'd known that I would have gone round the block to make the 50.

The map -

 

[cosmicbike]

A somewhat unimaginitive commute home from wrk this morning, it was at least dry which is more than can be said for the day before. A solid week of commuting, all work and no play
On the plus side, this morning saw 2437 miles for the year, which has kind of set my target at 600 miles a month. That might be tough...