Your ride today....

[TigerT]

Second ride this weekend. Was planning to head out early, but it was so misty that I couldn't even see the other side of the road. The weather forecast assured me it would clear by 10am so that's when I headed out. It was still a bit cool but forecast to warm up.

I decided to do my new favourite Sunday coffee and cake ride over to Winterthur. I headed out through Schwamendingen and out to Dubendorf, continuing on to Wangen and over the hill through the woods to Effretikon. The woods were truly beautiful today with the sun shining through the trees and all the autumn colours. Wish I had room for a proper cameras. The old phone I take on rides failed miserably. From Effretikon it's road all the way to Winterthur. A surprisingly strong headwind accompanied me the whole of the way in. I didn't mind this today, it mean't tailwind all the way back.

On arriving in Winterthur I rode around for a while looking for a parking space. There are loads of bike racks (100's) but they are always all full. Finally I saw someone leaving and grabbed the spot.

After a very pleasant Coffee and Vanilla Doughnut. I set off home. I choose the same rout all the way back to Dubendorf, then diverted over to Bassersdorf, just because I fancied a change.

By the time I got back the temperature had reached 22 degrees, unbelievable for October. 62km's today. I have visitors coming out in 12 days, no doubt we'll have rain and snow by then!


On the way out through Schwamendingen.

Heading into the woods

In the middle of a roundabout near Effretikon

and the map

 

[biggs682]

Out and clipped in before 5 am and 10 miles before the rain started so decided to keep it close to home in case i wanted to bail out and head home early no target in sight other than to get some miles in .
After 20 miles i started to get a very painful left eye that just wanted to close so thought i would head home , walked about a mile as could hardly see enough to ride the bike any more , it started to clear so rode the last mile only for it to flair up again just as i turned into the cul de sac , got the other half in a panic which is not a good thing at 7.30 am a quick inspection and nothing found so out came a warm flannel which eased the pain and allowed the eye to open again .
Bit scary at time's as no real reason why so not sure what to do

 

[colly]

Hope it settles down Biggsy.

 

[13 rider]

Out and clipped in before 5 am and 10 miles before the rain started so decided to keep it close to home in case i wanted to bail out and head home early no target in sight other than to get some miles in .
After 20 miles i started to get a very painful left eye that just wanted to close so thought i would head home , walked about a mile as could hardly see enough to ride the bike any more , it started to clear so rode the last mile only for it to flair up again just as i turned into the cul de sac , got the other half in a panic which is not a good thing at 7.30 am a quick inspection and nothing found so out came a warm flannel which eased the pain and allowed the eye to open again .
Bit scary at time's as no real reason why so not sure what to do

Sounds very odd hopefully a one off if it occurs again I would suggest you seek medical advice

 

[biggs682]

Sounds very odd hopefully a one off if it occurs again I would suggest you seek medical advice

I am hoping same and can't understand as you would hope my glasses would stop or filter out a lot of the rain , i would understand more if it was hot and sweaty

 

[Elysian_Roads]

Out and clipped in before 5 am and 10 miles before the rain started so decided to keep it close to home in case i wanted to bail out and head home early no target in sight other than to get some miles in .
After 20 miles i started to get a very painful left eye that just wanted to close so thought i would head home , walked about a mile as could hardly see enough to ride the bike any more , it started to clear so rode the last mile only for it to flair up again just as i turned into the cul de sac , got the other half in a panic which is not a good thing at 7.30 am a quick inspection and nothing found so out came a warm flannel which eased the pain and allowed the eye to open again .
Bit scary at time's as no real reason why so not sure what to do

Could understand if you weren't wearing glasses, but hopefully it will be a freak event. As @13 rider says, worth getting some advice if it reoccurs.

 

[iandg]

Sun shining today, took a short road spin

View: https://www.strava.com/activities/1903900686/embed/30757e88bf504ff655355e695849de0816547792

 

[13 rider]

Sun shining today, took a short road spin

View: https://www.strava.com/activities/1903900686/embed/30757e88bf504ff655355e695849de0816547792


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Having been out in the rain for 4 hours I can't believe those photos are from today . 400 miles difference can have different weathers I suppose

 

[colly]

Sun shining today, took a short road spin

View: https://www.strava.com/activities/1903900686/embed/30757e88bf504ff655355e695849de0816547792


View attachment 434040

View attachment 434041

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I bet rush hour is a mare for you.

 

[booze and cake]

@wicker man's winning with the weather today! We had similar yesterday but today was very different down south, grey and wet.

I've been promising to go on a bike ride with my niece Sofia for ages, so my bro, me and her went out today. Sofia has a cool new bike, and today I got to see her riding it for the first time.

Its a shame the weather was the the worst its been for weeks, but she was game for a short adventure from her house in Stoke Newington, through Springfield Park and out past the Walthamstow reservoirs, and I planned to show her some street art along the way.

First up we came to a Goshawk

And around the corner from there we saw a badger, fox and and some bees

Then we saw a load of birds together at the end of Coppermill Lane by artist ATM.

Sofia had some good bird and tree knowledge, and is a good rider, I was impressed. We crossed over the busy road for a picture with the Phlegm piece, this is my favourite picture. Sofia is standing to attention perfectly here, and mastering the art of 'the bike pose'.

I had seen those works before on rides for my street art thread, but just up the road there was a new work by Roa, so we went and grabbed that too.

So we got to see a good selection of animals, or as Sofia used to say when she was much younger, aminals, which I think sounds better. And on the way home a real heron flew over our heads which was cool after seeing a painted one 5 minutes before.

Sofia has recently discovered Harry Potter and is an expert already. She reeled off the names of all the books, she has read the first 3 of them, and tonight when she got home she watched the first of the films. And she is currently saving up for a wand.

I had a look back through all my old street art pics, and there is only one Harry Potter one, its been painted over already unfortunately, but it looks like its from an early film, or maybe even the first one. So here is a bonus picture for Sofia when she reads this.

It rained nearly all of our ride, we did 5.5 miles and she did it no problem. Sofia has part Welsh heritage so is genetically waterproof, so it takes more than a bit of rain to stop a bike ride happening . After a few more bike rides and Harry Potter films, I'm sure the world will seem an even more amazing and adventure filled place. I'm looking forward to our next bike ride together.

 

[Jenkins]

Today's ride was to drop off a bitrhday card for my sister in law & another for my dad. Ridiculously warm & humid with barely a breath of wind until the late afternoon when I left dad's, and another case of doing 4x the mileage required for the task

 

[Old jon]

An odd one today. The phone had forecast dry weather and I had a physiotherapy appointment at eight thirty. So I thought to ride a bike there.

Locking the geared bike outside was not a comfortable option so I took the fixed instead, wheeling it out just as the drizzle started. Traffic was a lot less than anticipated, down the road to the Holbeck wander and onto Water Lane. A little busier along Great Wilson Street and Crown Point Road, I did wonder if it was Sunday. Regent Street, Skinner Lane and a dodge round the roadworks onto Beckett Street. After the torture / physiotherapy it was Harehills Road followed by the climb up to the Oakwood Clock, which was a bit of an effort, so I turned left there onto Princes Avenue. No way are the legs up to Boot Hill on the fixed, all the way to Street Lane was hard enough. Turn right onto Harrogate Road and climb a little more past the school and take the left that leads to Eccup Reservoir and then on to the village of that name. I walked the bike across the cattle grid on the way there, I was not moving fast enough for the confidence to ride that. Calling it a village is a bit ambitious, half a dozen scattered houses, a pub and a couple of farms. Hmm, OK village it is, compared to Holbeck. Away from there on Eccup Lane.

Turn right onto King Lane and ride along to Kings Road, part of the 680 feet of climbing on this trip, and down the hill to Bramhope. Still quiet, one car only in that distance. The A 660 must have my own set of wheel ruts in it, I ride it so often. This is by no means a whinge, in the direction away from Leeds it takes you to some great places. OK it takes anybody else as well . . .

I was travelling in the opposite direction, homewards, and there was no reason to deviate from my habit of turning right in Headingley to descend to the river at Kirkstall. It occurred to me that Headingley Railway station must be at about the same height as the river. Its on the Harrogate line, call it a posh name. Maybe. Anyway, the towpath beckons for all the usual reasons. And it too was very quiet indeed. A lot of fallen leaves to be wary of, so take things a bit easy all the way back to Water Lane and that part of Hunslet that leads to the final climb of the ride and home. Twenty four peaceful miles put a smile on my face again.

A map, just the post physiotherapy miles

 

[cosmicbike]

Last nights commute was, to coin a Clarkson-ism, mildly moist. I was expecting big puddles on the way home this morning following the almost biblical rainfall overnight, and I wasn't disappointed. Roads flooded at the A30/Stanwell junction all up the path too, thankfully no wiseass drivers feeling the need to spray the cyclist.
A rather disconcerting bang from the bike a mile from home, so it's been on the stand this afternoon. I lost the little rubber boot from the rear caliper when I I replaced the cable in the Summer, and it's gotten grit in there. The bang was the cable pulling tight into the brifter. New bits on order, but freed up for now...

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

A shorter ride than I'd intended today. The route was Lyth Hill, Condover, Ryton, Longnor, Folly Bank, Yell Bank, Ruckley, Acton Burnell, Cantlop Bridge, Boreton, Allfield, Lyth Hill and back.

Rather dreary cool and damp weather out which didn't help with motivation so I pootled a bit. There are problems with traffic queueing for roadworks on the A49 so there were one or two impatient drivers trying for alternative routes - near Ryton I thought the one Audi was going to clip a Range Rover coming the other way, then he had to stand on the brakes for the bus that was behind the Rover.

After that it was a bit quieter for a while and the worst issue I encountered was a blockage from a couple of farmers with stock trailers. It got cold and misty in addition to the rain as I climbed up to Yell Bank which prompted the decision to shorten the ride.

At Allfield I found more rat-running drivers on the lane including an artic which I was fortunate to meet at a point I could duck out of the way. The queue on the main road was back past Hunger Hill at this point so I can see why they were looking for alternatives.

25.6 miles this time at 11.8 mph average. I wasn't impressed with the weather but it turned out to be the driest part of the day. Glad I didn't wash the knockabout bike yesterday as I had planned to as it's now plastered in mud.

Caer Caradoc hiding its head in the clouds.

Nearly at the top of Yell Bank and almost in the clouds myself.

View at the top.

Cantlop Bridge - one of Thomas Telford's few surviving cast iron bridges.

After a weekend of rain the ford at Boreton is deceptively deep and has been known to catch out the unwary. I used the footbridge just out of shot.

The Wrekin is also hiding in the mist. You can make out the line of stationary traffic on the A49.

 

[Katherine]

@wicker man's winning with the weather today! We had similar yesterday but today was very different down south, grey and wet.

I've been promising to go on a bike ride with my niece Sofia for ages, so my bro, me and her went out today. Sofia has a cool new bike, and today I got to see her riding it for the first time.

Its a shame the weather was the the worst its been for weeks, but she was game for a short adventure from her house in Stoke Newington, through Springfield Park and out past the Walthamstow reservoirs, and I planned to show her some street art along the way.

First up we came to a Goshawk
View attachment 434048
And around the corner from there we saw a badger, fox and and some bees
View attachment 434049
Then we saw a load of birds together at the end of Coppermill Lane by artist ATM.
View attachment 434050
Sofia had some good bird and tree knowledge, and is a good rider, I was impressed. We crossed over the busy road for a picture with the Phlegm piece, this is my favourite picture. Sofia is standing to attention perfectly here, and mastering the art of 'the bike pose'.
View attachment 434051
I had seen those works before on rides for my street art thread, but just up the road there was a new work by Roa, so we went and grabbed that too.
View attachment 434052
So we got to see a good selection of animals, or as Sofia used to say when she was much younger, aminals, which I think sounds better. And on the way home a real heron flew over our heads which was cool after seeing a painted one 5 minutes before.

Sofia has recently discovered Harry Potter and is an expert already. She reeled off the names of all the books, she has read the first 3 of them, and tonight when she got home she watched the first of the films. And she is currently saving up for a wand.

I had a look back through all my old street art pics, and there is only one Harry Potter one, its been painted over already unfortunately, but it looks like its from an early film, or maybe even the first one. So here is a bonus picture for Sofia when she reads this.
View attachment 434053
It rained nearly all of our ride, we did 5.5 miles and she did it no problem. Sofia has part Welsh heritage so is genetically waterproof, so it takes more than a bit of rain to stop a bike ride happening . After a few more bike rides and Harry Potter films, I'm sure the world will seem an even more amazing and adventure filled place. I'm looking forward to our next bike ride together.

How wonderful.