Your ride today....

[C R]

Not really a ride, but some pedalling. I am away for work, so no chance of cycling this week.

My legs were feeling restless this evening, and took me to the hotel gym, which by lucky coincidence has a somewhat sophisticated static bike. Played a bit with the controls and ended doing 10 "km" in 20 minutes over some simulated profile. Quite boring compared to a proper ride, but got some pedaling in today.

 

[Old jon]

Not really a ride, but some pedalling. I am away for work, so no chance of cycling this week.

My legs were feeling restless this evening, and took me to the hotel gym, which by lucky coincidence has a somewhat sophisticated static bike. Played a bit with the controls and ended doing 10 "km" in 20 minutes over some simulated profile. Quite boring compared to a proper ride, but got some pedaling in today.

Similar, we had thunderstorms here this morning, I ain't riding in them!

Gym on the ground floor has an exercycle so off I went and produced puddles of sweat . . .

 

[cosmicbike]

I managed a whole 0.5 mile ride yesterday. No sleep after a night shift so a post dinner estate lap to maintain the 'ride every day' challenge

 

[Donger]

Not really a ride, but some pedalling. I am away for work, so no chance of cycling this week.

My legs were feeling restless this evening, and took me to the hotel gym, which by lucky coincidence has a somewhat sophisticated static bike. Played a bit with the controls and ended doing 10 "km" in 20 minutes over some simulated profile. Quite boring compared to a proper ride, but got some pedaling in today.

Similar, we had thunderstorms here this morning, I ain't riding in them!

Gym on the ground floor has an exercycle so off I went and produced puddles of sweat . . .

I've not been on an exercise bike in a gym for years ..... but I do remember finding it remarkably instructive. When you set it on a really tough hill profile, you can experiment with different breathing techniques and different levels of tension in your arms, and learn an awful lot about how your heart performs. I discovered that if I try to keep my arms as relaxed as possible and my back as straight as possible, taking in double intakes of breath in a rhythmic, metronomic fashion, my heart rate slows right down. Armed with that knowledge, I've applied it on steep hills and it works in real cycling too. I might sound a bit like a steam engine, but it has saved me from the walk of shame many times.

 

[colly]

I discovered that if I try to keep my arms as relaxed as possible and my back as straight as possible, taking in double intakes of breath in a rhythmic, metronomic fashion,

I find that too. If I'm on a steep gradient especially if I am out of the saddle my breathing will somehow get in sync with my pedal strokes. It does the same sat down but to a lesser extent.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Well, undeterred by Sunday's punctures and subsequent long walk home, I headed out again today. The Marathon Pluses haven't arrived yet so I swapped the front wheel over to a 32c Gatorskin, packed a pump and set off to do the wee loop I failed at previously. What a wonderful day for it too, if a bit weird getting stuck behind a gritter at work on a sunny day!

Here's the customary bike in front of a bench in front of a motorway in front of a medieval castle pic -

Loads of info on the handlebars with my new phone holder

And the final score -

Not far but the first pedal strokes to fitness I hope.

 

[Old jon]

A rain free morning dawned! Have to ride, of course, and the only way away is down . . .

I have no idea just how steep that hill is, both you and I can see just how many different surfaces have to be ridden over and it is no secret that I have not yet ridden the bike up this grotty gradient. There is a joiner’s workshop close to the bottom, sort of bespoke IKEA but in Portuguese is the best way I can describe the work they do. Anyway, the boss recognises me from last year’s attempts at going up the hill, he had a good laugh with me this morning.

There follows a long stretch of level riding. This is along Beira Mar again ‘cos looking at maps last evening did not show me much at all. In England the ordnance survey really is a blessing. And I am not complaining about the ride. The scenery is rather amazing, the bike track is better than owt else I have seen, and it’s the beach as well. One of the many beaches, that is.

Pass yesterday’s turning point and the bike track ends. So far drivers around here are pretty good, I suspect my biggest problem is becoming familiar with riding on the right. Along to the next junction with the unusual traffic lights that decorate the roadsides here, and turn left onto R. Silva Jardim, which I did not realise heads towards and through the town centre. With a pretty poor road surface. Ah well, the only way to discover these things is to ride them. Back to Beira Mar and the confusion of crossing four lots of traffic travelling across where I wanted to go. Rough roads and fun as well! Eventually turn right on the cycle track to head towards home, realise I wanted to ride more so cross one of the dual carriageways again to head more or less south to an area I sort of know. There is a park there with resident alligators. But I had forgotten, bikes are not allowed. The alligators might be allergic to us or something. So about turn again and head home. Fourteen and a half miles, not counting pushing the bike up that hill. And reaching the top lit the smile anyway.

The map, I will be looking at more for myself. Oh! I had a ride arranged with the local Audax rider for tomorrow evening. Unfortunately we have a prior. The Audax man did a 300 kilometre one last Saturday. Cross the bridge to the mainland ( west ), turn south and ride the one and only road, turn around and complete the 300 k back to the island. I have travelled that road, in a car. I think the scenery would be more visible on a bike.

 

[Mike_P]

Ever had one of those days when the bike is more of a problem than you could envisage. As the ebike started creaking again on the way home from work yesterday a diversion via Tool Station was required this morning for a can of lithium grease as the problem I concluded must be a dry motor bearing. In the process of purchasing the can I managed to lose the key to the ebikes battery and then felt something in my shoe.How on earth had it got there?
Arrival at work and my timesheet indicated that I seriously needed to take half a days flexi-leave (due to heading beyond the maximum allowed accrued time for such puposes) so headed home at lunchtime and promptly whipped the crank and chainring off and sprayed the motor bearings. Came to refit everything and the chain had formed itself into two knots which did not seem to want to unravel and as the brake cable trick on the quick link failed to work it was off to LBS for the requisite tool. Somehow one half of the quick link vanished thereafter so after looking desperately around the yard and much head scratching a lot of rummaging took place for a spare. With the chain back on went for a test ride but the creaking was worse and then the back of bike felt like it had dropped down a pot hole - failed spokes and the bike unrideable So purchase needed of a new wheel. What will tomorrow bring....

 

[skudupnorth]

Well the week has been fantastic so far with this amazing weather ! Let’s hope it lasts

 

[Nomadski]

As I'm tying to teach my legs what cycling up a hill is again, as that Velo Birmingham thing is coming up quicker than I'd like, I did my Peaks loop again taking in nearly 3,000 ft climbing in 46 miles which is a massive upgrade from the "so flat it could be Norfolk" rides I've been doing over the winter.

Obviously hitting 18 degrees was a nice incentive too!

Garmin told me to rest for 4 days after this ride...apparently I'm even less fit than I thought.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2177304366

 

[iancity]

Some training for work means I am at the office 5.5 miles away for the next 2 weeks - time to get the bike out then I think

On the way in...

And on the way home....

 

[ColinJ]

I wanted to get my February metric century ride in today. I lost a lot of riding time this month due to a stinking cold which has only just (95%) cleared up.

The weather was so perfect for cycling! I actually preferred it today to a typical sunny summer day because the sunshine was pleasantly warm but not hot enough to be fatiguing, and not fierce enough to need to mess about with sunblock. It was a bit chilly in the Calder Valley when I set off but within 90 minutes I had to stop and take my armwarmers off. There were beautiful blue skies all day!

I have lost a lot of fitness due to a lazy winter and the recent illness so I decided to do an 'easy' route. These things are relative, of course ... It would be considered a hard route by anyone who likes to dodge hills. A typical hilly 100 km route round here has 2,000+ metres of ascent. It isn't possible to avoid the hills altogether unless one just trudges up and down the busy valley A-roads all day. I settled on a compromise - I used the A646 to get from Todmorden to Rose Grove but then took to the excellent Padiham Greenway for a quieter ride into the town (village?).

I was headed for the lovely Ribble Valley. I used to use the nasty A671 to get there from Padiham but some years ago I noticed 'The Old Roman Road' from the back of Padiham through Read and Portfield, so that is the way that I go these days. Scenically, it is great; the road surface is a disgrace! It is especially bad heading out from Padiham because the worst bits are then on a steep descent with an s-bend. Coming back, one is going very slowly so there is plenty of time to avoid the gravel and potholes.

I've got a question for you ... It is one that has been on my mind since a small van overtook me on that stretch of road today. Are 'Safe House Ferrets' ferrets which are provided to keep people amused while cloistered to avoid Russian mafia hitmen, counter-espionage operatives, abusive ex-partners etc.? Or are they ferrets which have been rendered better for the domestic environment by fitting them with cute little muzzles and mitts to prevent them biting or clawing the occupants of the home? It is an important question, and we need to know the answer!

(PS If you are the owner of Safe House Ferrets, you need to work on your publicity. The van looked very nice but I can't find your business online, which is quite some achievement in 2019!)

Back to the ride ... I had a quick pitstop (as usual) at the Spring Wood picnic centre above Whalley, and then dropped down into the town (village?) to begin the glorious mid-section of the ride.

I rode out through Great Mitton and for a change turned left onto the B6243 towards Longridge rather than my usual route which is to go off towards Waddington or Cow Ark. NB DON'T TRUST THE SIGN - some clever dick has rotated the sign on the post by 180 degrees so it now points towards Clitheroe rather than Longridge!

I didn't stay on the B-road for long though - I soon turned right to climb up to Longridge Fell past Stonyhurst College, a posh Jesuit college. When I say posh, I mean ... full boarding fees for UK children of £34,800 per annum! (If you live in the area and prefer to ferry your little darlings there and back each day, it only costs £19,950 p.a. ...)

I thought I'd stop further up the climb and take a few photos for you ...

If it were not for the bare trees and bushes, you'd swear it was summer!

Up the hill

View down the hill, with bike!

I was tempted to stop again at a viewpoint on Longridge Fell but I wanted to make reasonable progress today to time my arrival back on the valley roads slightly after the main school rush but before the rush hour proper. No more pictures today...

The Fell road was as bad in places as the Old Roman Rd had been. I never thought that I would say this in the UK in February, but the dappled shadows from the bright sunshine were doing an excellent job of camouflaging the potholes, ruts, and gravel! Still, apart from that it is a really nice road to cycle along. Great views, not much traffic, and enough ups and downs to add interest.

I did a cautious descent of a steep lane on the other side of the Fell and then headed off towards Chipping on a 'Quiet Lane'. It struck me that a QL sign is an official version of the private sign currently being debated in the 'noisy cyclists' thread. That is, it is a sign with no legal force, indicating that it would be nice for drivers to drive considerately, try not to kill pedestrians and cyclists, and not make too much noise. As opposed to there not being a sign, and drivers just obeying the rules of the road i.e. driving considerately, trying not to kill pedestrians and cyclists, and not making too much noise!

I must have seen 50+ cyclists out enjoying the sunny lanes of the Ribble Valley today. One guy riding towards me took both hands off the bars, made an expansive gesture towards the scenery, the blue sky, and the warm sun. He had a huge grin on his face as he called out "Well, what do you make of THIS then!" I was a bit taken by surprise, and just replied "BRILLIANT!" which was pretty apt, because it WAS!

Up along the descendant of another local Roman road to the quaintly named Cow Ark, and then a nice easy descent back towards Whalley. I was finally starting to feel some fatigue from my exertions. I could feel that I haven't done much riding recently. The tired legs didn't surprise me, but the tired neck DID! I wear a lightweight helmet but even that was starting to feel too heavy.

Soon I was in Whalley, then Padiham, and a nice easy ride back up the Greenway. The ride from Rose Grove to Todmorden wasn't much fun though. The traffic levels had really picked up. The last 16 km were to be endured rather than enjoyed.

And then I was home. Despite over 30 minutes of stops, I got back ten minutes within my vague 6 hour ride target - out for 5 hrs 50 mins, riding for less than 5 hrs 20 mins. 103 km, with 1,450 metres of ascent. (If you insist on imperial units - 64 miles/4,760 ft.)

That's my metric century done for February. I don't intend to wait long into March before tackling the next one.

PS

Q: What is better than having 4 shortbread fingers to eat with your post-ride coffee?

A: Having miscounted, and actually having 6 shortbread fingers to eat with your post-ride coffee!

 

[gavgav]

I’m up in The Lake District, with @Rickshaw Phil and enjoying the quite astonishing weather, which is more like May, than February. We don’t have bikes with us, this time, mainly walks being undertaken, but today we hired some Gravel bikes, from Grizedale Visitor Centre.

It was a little chilly, first thing and so we’d got layers on, as we set off along the forest trails into Grizedale. There was a lot of climbing, to start with, as we followed the Green route, up to the highest point in the forest. We’d been going about 10 minutes, before we both needed to stop and take 2 layers off, so down to just t-shirts on our upper bodies!

There was a muddy section, where some forestry work was taking place, but the views were astounding.

We arrived at High Cross, joined the road, down Hawkshead Hill, to Atkinson Ground and then along the east shore of Coniston lake. There were plenty of stops for photos in the sunshine.

We continued through High Nibthwaite, then began more climbing up to Spark Bridge, before pausing for lunch and unzipping our trouser legs to enable us both to be in shorts! I’ve never worn shorts, in February, before. To follow was the long steep climb up to Black Beck Mire, where I got overtaken by a chap jogging!! The descent the other side, was great and we arrived at Newby Bridge, where a much needed pint of Loweswater Gold was sampled, sat out in the sunshine at The Swan Hotel.

The legs were a bit reluctant, as we joined the busier main road to Lakeside, pausing to take a couple of pictures up Lake Windermere

After leaving Lakeside, we encountered our only idiot of the ride, with a chap who overtook us, giving us room, but around a blind bend and almost wiped out a car coming the other way

It’s quite a long slog up to Graythwaite, where we turned towards Rusland and another long steep climb up, before a fabulous descent where we reached 36mph.

We passed through Force Forge and then climbed up to Satterthwaite and on back to Grizedale visitor centre, to dispense with the bikes and enjoy a coffee in the sun.

We both quite liked the Genesis CDA20 bikes, we had, despite a few issues with gears and Phil didn’t like the saddle!

32.4 miles, 3065 ft of climbing at a very slow 9.6mph avg speed. The Lakes is never the place for fast speeds!

Great fun

 

[EltonFrog]

@Nomadski & @gavgav nice photos chaps.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Pass yesterday’s turning point and the bike track ends. So far drivers around here are pretty good, I suspect my biggest problem is becoming familiar with riding on the right.

From experience you get used to it pretty fast, but beware of unmarked roads and if you are turning left out of a one way street: that threw me a couple of times.