Your ride today....

[Mike_P]

Turned out the feared metalwork lesson re the ebike was not needed; the extra wide derailleur mount I had got hold of, to counter the projection of the motor and consequential offset of the chainrings, was indeed too wide but then I realised if the shim was altered so that the mount was hard up against the seat tube the problem would be resolved
So derailleur fitted, but not yet cabled up, ebike put away and the Defy retrieved with short everything on for the first time this year, and no baselayer. Sort of direct to Knaresborough along Bilton Lane with its climb up from the Gardeners Arms for once, and oddly for these parts, being the steepest encountered

Diverted onto the A59 as the narrow Beryl Burton Way looked well occupied by pedestrians.

Slightly misjudged the speed (or rather the sudden lack of it) of traffic queueing at the double mini roundabouts and made a brief detour onto an access pavement crossing. North to Farnham, east up the bank and then down to Staveley (bench now devoid of the recycling box), through Minskip and over the A1(M) into Boroughbridge.

I was intending to stop at the riverside park but from the bridge over the River Ure it was obvious all benches had been claimed so onwards through Milby

and over the River Swale at Thornton Bridge into the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire

Passing through Helperby the poor road surface turned out to be too typical of the roads hereabouts

Headed on, slightly wary of where I was going having only been in this neck of the woods once before, and missing a turning did a U turn which I later discovered was unnecessary as I could have simply taken either of the next two turnings. More concern crept in in Aldwarke where a sign directing to the bridge seemed very oddly located and I wondered if it had been turned through 180 degrees (on the extreme right of the photo).

Carried on anyway and eventually the bridge appeared across the fields and I gratefully crossed the River Ure (the Swale having merged into it upstream) knowing generally better roads lay beyond. Had to stop mid crossing to retrieve the puncture kit that the vibrations caused by the timber boarding had jumped it out of the top tube bag

Thence through Great Ouseburn, Grafton and Arkendale to Ferrensby where I stopped by the village duck pond, which was well occupied with active ducklings and wary ducks. Continuing westwards I was suddenly puzzled why the Garmin was giving a reading of 0.1 mph. Then I heard a voice behind me and a lady cyclist pulled alongside who confirmed the actual speed. Turned out she had been further east to Easingwold and said the roads their were awful as well. She then accelerated away leaving me in her wake and then the Garmin started working again so I presume something on her bike was disturbing the signal from axle mounted sensor. Down the bank into Farnham and through Scotton and onto the A61 briefly before taking Nidderdale Greenway back to Bilton Lane

45.51 miles 1946ft climbed avg 14.1 mph 72% of BC 7 hour challenge completed.

 

[AndreaJ]

Just another short tour of the local lanes today in the beautiful sunshine, shorts and short sleeves definitely needed today. Headed into Whixall then towards Fenns Bank back over the canal to Alkington which involves crossing a bridge which people on the canal boats have to wind up to lift it so they can pass which takes a bit of time and effort so not every one bothers to put it back down so detour is needed to cross,

 

[Jenkins]

Probably the last chance this month for a non-commute ride and time for the April 100k ride, but firstly there was a quick trip into Felixstowe to get the 1/2 price coffee Lidl have on their weekend offer. As it was still quite chilly & breezy first thing, even in normal trousers & fleece top, I was a bit hesitant to go out in just a short sleeved top & shorts later in the morning, so I stuck arm & knee warmers in my jersey pockets just in case, but they weren't needed thanks to wall to wall sunshine

I took the Spa Elan and headed out the long way up one side of th River Deben to Wodbridge and then out to Melton, past Sutton Hoo and down into Alderton on the other side of the Deben. Then it was up towards Tunstall via Hollesley and Butley - 10 miles with a constant head or front 3/4 wind in open countryside! Thankfully, the rest of the ride was mosty side or tail winds going across from Tunstall to Wickham Market, back down to Woodbridge and a regular run up Beacon Hill to Rushmere and Bucklesham before home to get the necessary mileage in for the 100k.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2301779049

 

[Littgull]

Another glorious sunny day. For the second time in a fortnight I rode another excellent imperial century route devised by @ColinJ. Its just a pity that he has been suffering with a headcold virus otherwise I'm sure he would have ridden these with me. The route took me from Littleborough to Crosby (72 Miles) and Return leg from Crosby to Wgan Wallgate station (25 miles). In anticipation of the '3 mile shortfall' I rode a quick local loop before I started the actual route. It turned out I needn't have ridden it as I put the extra 3 miles in by riding further along the Crosby seafront road than the route included. My total was 103 miles.

It was an amazingly flat route averaging just 24 ft of ascent per mile! I would have suggested it would be a great route for a single speed but there is quite a long climb at about the 94 miles point before reaching Wigan. It's not very steep but quite long. Not really what you would want on a singlespeed bike after riding all day but fine on my geared bike.

The tracks and lanes were very quiet and it was only the daytripper 'honeypots' that were very busy and crowded - Great Barn, Rivington, Martin Mere etc. The route included some very pleasant chunks of the TransPennine trail (NCN62) and quite a lot of NCN91.The off road surfaces were excellent. I was lucky that for the outward leg of 75 miles I had either a tailwind or tail/cross wind.
It was a moderate easterly wind and that was the key factor in me choosing this route. It wouldn't be so enjoyable if the more common westerly prevailing wind had been blowing.

A great day out.

 

[ColinJ]

He's doing all my routes without me!

I knew about the one climb on the route. It looked just about doable on my singlespeed so I will have a go when I do the ride.

I should be back up to speed soon. I did a test ride today and after a slight wobble on Cross Stone Rd Todmorden (700 m at 14%, and later a stretch which is 660 m at 15%, slackening to 12% over 1.25 km, but still averaging 9.5% over 1.9 km) I started to feel ok.

I'll try to do a longer ride over the weekend. @Littgull and I hope to get a decent one in on Thursday so let's hope the great weather continues next week!

 

[JhnBssll]

I had an excellent day yesterday after deciding to go on a club ride. It had been organised at the last minute to take advantage of the lovely weather, a 42 mile jaunt out to the coast for fish and chips then 42 miles home again. The ride out was in to a slight headwind but nothing too brisk. This was eased by the gradual descent down to sea level as we edged nearer to the chippy I decided against the full fish and chips knowing I had 42 miles of gradual ascent to tackle shortly after and opted for just a small portion of average chips, the only disappointment of the day The ride leader decided to stop off at a pub on the way back with 60 miles on the clock in the very pretty village of Laxfield. Half a pint of coke and a stretch later and we were back on our way. We made it back to the start at around 5pm, 7 hours after we had left With 83 miles covered and my legs feeling relatively good I decided I would regret not taking the opportunity of grabbing my first imperial century so I set off on my own with the plan of cycling in a straight line for 9 miles, turning round and coming home again I got in shortly before 6pm having covered 101.4 miles @17.8mph I'm so pleased with the mileage, and to have done it at that speed is amazing I'm sure the average chips were the key

 

[Mr Celine]

Friday wasn't a holiday for me, but it was home as soon as possible. My front door thermometer was reading 21C so it was into shorts and short sleeves for the first time this year. I headed out into the gentle south easterly breeze to do a clockwise circuit which my memory (erroneously) suggested wasn't too hilly. I had one absurdly dangerous overtake on a semi-blind summit where I could see the oncoming car although the overtaker clearly couldn't. Fortunately I'd adjusted my road position to leave myself the necessary room to avoid the eejit swerving back in.

It was a bit hazy for photos. First one is looking south west up Teviotdale, with the local landmark of Ruberslaw on the horizon.

And from the same spot, looking the other way, Waterloo monument just visible on the horizon centre left.

Rather than turning straight for home at my most southerly point I crossed the Teviot into Denholm and did a lap of the village green first. After passing the drinkers sitting in the sun outside the pub I couldn't stop fantasising about beer.
This is the village green with the Leyden memorial in the centre and the pub, the Horse and Hound, the white building to its left.

From here I was heading towards home, but despite the tailwind I was beginning to flag. I don't take any food unless I'm planning on going over 40 miles but fortunately found an emergency packet of shot blocks in my saddle bag. Either that, or the realisation that I was now over the watershed and looking back down to the Tweed valley perked me up....

...which lead to what I thought was a really commendable time on a downhill strava segment. However, on checking strava this morning, I found that the first 35 or so were all professionals who did it on the same day as part of the TOB, so it was even better than I thought. (OK, it did involve drafting a post office van for longer than the commissaires would have approved of.)

The map -

37.2 miles onwards, 736m upwards. 14.7mph average.

 

[welsh dragon]

Started out today a bit cool and overcast but it soon warmed up and turned into another hot morning. My usual small loop of 16 miles. Lots of holiday makers on the roads of course.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Well done on your first imperial century @JhnBssll and for the average speed you set.

I also set out to do an imperial century yesterday to get my challenge qualifier for April in. I had a ride to Bewdley in mind so got up and about for a little after seven and set out on the Raleigh into a chilly and misty morning.

For starters I needed to add some mileage, knowing that just going there and back is about 10 miles too short, so headed through Condover to Atcham and through Attingham Park where, going up the drive, one of the visitors did a very pointless close overtake just a couple of hundred yards from the carpark which spoiled my mood slightly. On a morning like this I couldn't stay annoyed for long though as the sun was out, the sky was blue and the mist was burning off as I headed past Upton Forge, Wroxeter and on for my first pass through Cressage. Shortly after the village I had a pause for a bite to eat and it had warmed up just enough to dispense with the two fleeces I'd started out with (and allowed me to show off the CycleChat jersey).

I'd been passed by a couple of other riders while stopped and a few miles down the road near Kenley Common I encountered them again as they'd obviously been round a different way. Progress was good to Longville where I tackled the climb over Wenlock Edge past Wilderhope Manor (this is the easiest pass over the edge heading south IMO) and dropped down to Broadstone where there was a lot of Good Friday traffic on the B4368 and freshly resurfaced lanes after that almost the whole way to Tugford where I turned off to climb up the hill to wards Ditton Priors. This road is new to me and I found it a longer but less steep alternative to the way I'd tried previously through Stanford Long.

From Ditton Priors the route to Cleobury North and Stottesdon consists of long, flowing descents interspersed with short climbs so I made some really good progress here. Another food stop was taken at Stottesdon, where I also converted my trousers to shorts, then there was more of the same kind of riding through Bagginswood, Upper Bardley, Buttonbridge, and through the Wyre Forest into Bewdley. I knew this road would be busy with it being a bank holiday and there were a couple of passes that were less than courteous but the fun of the last few steep descents into Bewdley made up for that and I hit my top speed of the trip (37.8mph) round here. The town itself was very busy and filtering wasn't easy on the narrow streets so I had to wait my turn with everyone else. Finally I made it to the Severn Valley Railway station where I had a coffee, ended up chatting to a couple of other cyclists for quite a while (they were visiting from the east midlands and enjoy riding trails along old trackbeds so I recommended the Mawddach Trail if they are ever over that way).

After having my lunch at the station I had to get moving again and headed out of town following NCN route 45 into the Wyre Forest and along the old Bewdley-Tenbury railway. I caught the couple I'd been chatting to earlier but needed to press on. The path was popular today which is always good to see but there were fewer people on the section that climbs up to Button Oak where I rejoined the tarmac heading for Arley. I had a stop at the station here as well, as there was a train due, and was on hand to witness the signalman making a cockup; He was on the platform ready to exchange tokens with the driver but had forgotten to change the signal just outside the station so the train was stopped waiting there for permission to enter and the fireman had to walk down the line to find out what was up.

From Arley there is a long drag up the hill towards Nash End then a descent back down to river level via the Severn Valley Country Park at Alveley and across the river again to follow the path alongside the railway to Hampton Loade station. I could see a train waiting so stopped at a good viewpoint near the station hoping to see a couple of trains pass but it took a while due to the earlier mentioned mistake at Arley having thrown the schedule out of kilter.

Another long climb follows as I headed for Bridgnorth and I needed to get a move on as I'd got a fair way still to go and had wasted too much time watching the trains. I avoided the signed path past Chelmarsh Reservoir by sticking to the road up to Chelmarsh village, didn't visit the station in Bridgnorth and skirted round the town centre on the way to the path along the old railway to Coalport and Ironbridge. This could be a wonderful path but the surface is horrendously rough. Some of it has had some patching work done but it seems to have made it worse. I did stop to check on a group sorting out a puncture but they were nearly done so I wasn't needed.

I was quite glad when I got to the end of this path. I crossed the river using the Iron Bridge, made my way through the throngs of tourists and headed onto another road I knew would be busy on the way to Leighton and my second pass through Cressage. This road isn't one I'm particularly fond of but is necessary. It was busy but fortunately most drivers behaved, though I did have a couple of passes I wasn't keen on and while descending into Leighton doing almost the 30mph speed limit a couple of cars overtook me doing at least 50.

I finished off my water at Cressage and was surprised to find that despite 90 miles in the legs the climb up Shore Lane felt fairly easy. The new saddle did feel somewhat firm towards the end of the trip but as this is only the fifth ride on it I suppose that's not really surprising.

I had enough miles racked up not to need to add anything extra, which was quite a relief, so I headed back the most direct way through Acton Burnell, Pitchford and Condover. It was only in the last 3 miles that the legs really started to warn that they didn't want to play any more by which time the riding was fairly flat and I could take it easy.

102.13 miles at 12.7 mph moving average which I'm fairly happy with for a very undulating century. I was actually out for 11 hours 20 minutes due to stops en-route and all the time spent round the railway.

Heading through Attingham Park early on.

Between Tugford and Ditton Priors, looking back across Corvedale to Wenlock Edge.

At Ditton Priors.

Stottesdon.

Bewdley.

2857 brings its train into Arley.....finally.

The visitor centre at the Severn Valley Country Park.

Visiting "large prairie" 4144 departs Hampton Loade.

The famous Iron Bridge.

Excellent conditions for a balloon flight between Pitchford and Cantlop.

 

[Dave 123]

Out on the tandem this morning. Nice and warm, but a supposed 5mph NE wind seemed stronger and from all directions.

Down to Toft and along by the glider airfield, then we took the back road into Gamlingay. Here we saw a Red Kite fly lazily over the village.

A stop at Waresley GC. Had a nice chat with an old couple who were interested in the bike.

Home via Caxton and Bourn, Buzzards and Kestrels about.

26 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2304444418

 

[gavgav]

I’m up in Wales, at the caravan, enjoying what must be the best weather in the 6 years we’ve been coming up here (normally I time my visits just wrong, to miss out on any heatwaves!) Hot and sunny, no wind and not a cloud in the sky.

I set out on a ride, this morning, avoiding any main roads, as they are absolutely clogged with cars, caravans, motorbikes, etc, many being driven by maniacs, so it was up up and up into the hills.

I began by heading out of Dyffryn and up the long steep climb to Pen Yr Allt Fawr. I was sweating buckets, by the time I’d reached the beginning of the mountain pass, but legs were feeling pretty strong and a quick water stop, before traversing the pass to the top, at 900ft. I’d set out from sea level, climbing the 900 feet in about 2 miles. The views were splendid.

I then retraced my steps, downhill to the junction for the pass and then followed the gated lanes to Coed Artro, with the steep descent to Pentre Gwynfryn. Next was the slightly more steady climbing, up the Artro valley, to Llyn Cwm Bychan.

The scenery is stunning and especially shown off in the sunshine. Half way up the climb, I came face to face with a herd of cattle being shepherded along, luckily timed perfectly, as they were going through the gateway I’d initially pulled into. I really don’t trust cows!

Continued on, to the gateway where the Llyn comes into view, to find chaos. A car, that I’d pulled in to let past a few minutes back, had met 3 boy racer cars at the gateway, on a narrow section. This was compounded by 2 lads who were wild camping, and who’d parked their motorbike and car in the nearest passing place! I watched for a minute, as they tried to negotiate, before the chap decided he’d be better off reversing, what must have been a good half a mile to the previous passing place. I was able to squeeze past and settle myself down for lunch, sat on a rock, next to the lake.

A couple, who were walking, and I’d passed a mile or so back, stopped and had a chat. The lady was impressed with my bike setup, half cross bike and half tourer.

I then retraced my steps back down to the bottom of the valley, and half way down was stopped by a chap in a car, who was lost and looking for the Cwm Nantcol Waterfall. He was 1 valley over from where he should have been. I set him straight with directions and then began the steepest climb of the ride, couple of gradient arrows, back up through Coed Artro. I managed to snag my shin on my mudguard stay, whilst negotiating one of the gates on the road, which drew blood!

The descent back to Dyffryn is fantastic, with one long straight section that enabled me to hit 33mph.

Fabulous ride in fabulous weather.

20.9 miles with 1723 ft of climbing, snail pace!

 

[Billy Wizz]

https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3495852514
Well looks like I am back in the swing early ride out this morning on the old Orbea I was looking at getting a new bike but this bike is a far better bike than I will ever be a rider even though it is 15 or so years old I think I will have a complete overhaul at the end of the summer..
wearing the thermals this morning was a mistake old habits

 

[NorthernDave]

Weather like this is too good to waste, so it was out on the Giant with considerably less layers than yesterday.
For the first time this year, bib shorts and a short sleeved top, although I did have arm and knee warmers on to start with. No overshoes either.

Local roads down with a slight diversion to avoid road works that seem to be everywhere this weekend and on to Barwick Road.
Down the hill to the bridge over Cock Beck and the long drag into Scholes, keeping right for the short sharp climb and then the long steady descent into Barwick, past the maypole and more down to cross Cock Beck again and the climb up Cattle Lane.
Ups and downs followed all the way to Aberford, getting passed by a small group of riders along the way.
Right at the T-junction, passing the same group of riders who were clearly meeting up with others before moving off again.

The Garmin had been a pain already and having already dropped the HRM and intermittently ignoring the cadence sensor then decided to end Live Track after just over 5 miles, so I stopped to sort that out. Before heading under the A1(M) bridge and climbing to Lotherton Gates.
Left at the junction and after a short rise past the farm it's another long steady drop all the way to the Crooked Billet pub. I do like a bit of downhill.
However you have to pay for all that fun and before long it was right for the sharp hill up into Saxton.
A wiggle through the village and out on Headwell Lane, which always reminds me of being in France with it's tree lined verges and open vistas.

I was soon at the London Road where a right then left took me into Barkston Ash, through the village and the long straight run along Common Lane all the way to the railway bridge at Church Fenton, where the group from earlier in Aberford caught up and passed me again.
Through the village and another right onto Bracken hill Lane to pass along the southern fringes of the airport before heading out into more of the flattest countryside Yorkshire has to offer.
The road then becomes Moor Lane and climbs to cross the bridge over a busy East Coast Main Line, with three trains passing in short succession.
From there it's a simple run into Ryther, although the poor road surface wasn't half making the rear mudguard vibrate.
I almost stopped for a pic by the river in Ryther, but decided to push on, recrossing the railway line and then into Ozendyke, soon reaching the fringes of Ulleskelf where I got the only motorised muppet of the day where an Aygo driver passed far too close, then almost immediately virtually stopped on a clear road to turn right into the village...

Shaking my head, I carried on to the bus stop where I halted for a couple of pics and an energy bar:

I was just about to set off when a nice elderly couple arrived to wait for the bus (apparently there are a couple on a Saturday!) and started asking loads of questions about the bike and how far I'd ridden.
Anyhow, after a short chat and with the bus approaching I got underway again heading south now to pass the airport entrance and head back into Church Fenton. from there I retraced my route back to Barkston Ash with the faintest hint of a tailwind, before heading the long way round into Saxton.
Through there again and up to Linda's Bench, where it was now so warm that I had to stop and shed a layer and take another couple of pics:

Resaddled and on my way, passing a farmer getting ready to plant his spuds, I was soon dropping down onto Copley Lane for the steady rise up to Lotherton Gates. A quick shimmy through the junction and on to Aberford, with the drop down under the A1(M) bridge where all the northbound traffic was at a standstill again.

From Aberford it's a straightforward reversal of the outbound route, although that long drag up through Barwick didn't seem too bad today despite the mounting heat. From Barwick to Scholes on the route of this years TdY Day 2 (although I'd like to think at a more gentlemanly pace), before the drop down Leeds Road and then local roads to home.

32.1 miles (51.65 km) in 2h 30m at an average of 12.8 mph with just 1,362 ft climbed and a balmy average temperature of 16.9°C

More than happy with that. It's another point in the Half Century Challenge pot and it's my first back to back half centuries this year, so things are starting to head in the right direction. It's all looking good for another ride tomorrow too, so fingers crossed.
Garmin appears to have behaved itself for the rest of the ride, although it's still refusing to find the HRM - I'll change the battery and see if that helps.
The temperature topped out at 25.0°C on the second half of the ride which is a welcome change after how cold it has been recently.
Loads of cyclists out today, at times it was like the height of summer.
And after yesterday it was lovely to only encounter one motorised muppet all day.

And to end, the map also showing today's lack of elevation:

 

[postman]

44 miles this morning and of course afternoon.Superb weather so off to Knaresborough.Now if my memory serves me right,this is the longest ride in two years Prostate problems and depression due to the pills,this robbed me of my drive.So Otley has been my friend because it's so near 12 miles out and of course 12 miles back.So today it was like knocking down a wall of fear,i know it sounds daft,but it has seemed like that.So 8-20 off i set.Ride out was brilliant,a nice stop for two lattes,a walk around,photos then a couple of sarnies and home at 12-00.Well miles 1-37 were brilliant,but oh dear 38,39,40 were hell.At Linton just outside of Wetherby i blew up.So i got o to Harewood Avenue a long flat but busy road.This tip had been offered to me by an old chap who i spoke with in Knareborough Market square,i turned off at Wike after stopping twice in laybys.The heat,Once hitting Wike it got easier and hardly any traffic.So slowly to Shadwell Leeds 17,where i found a shop and purchased a Lucozade orange,and i had ten mins.Energy back i set off for a stop at Costa Leeds 17,where all was restored.My legs ache my head is hot,i feel tired but great.Pictures later.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

My favourite recovery ride by far. A wee expedition with my littlest who has just graduated onto a 24”, 10 year old Isla Bike. 11km along the Wellow Valley in Somerset. Woody glades, steep railway cuts, ice cream and best of all the famous 2 Tunnels. I love getting my cheap MTB out for a bimble like this. Such a pleasant change from my posh Audax bike.