Your ride today....

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colly

Re member eR
Location
Leeds
First day of lockdown and I'm on my bike.
11am ish and having finally broken the bonds with the house I'm on my way. All set for parts east, a quick breeze through Cross Gates and Colton and a very quiet A63 stretches off into the distance. So naturally I turn right and south. On a whim I decided to explore a little and after skimming Swillington I dropped down to the river and canal at Woodlesford where I picked up the canal path going east.

I have never ridden along here before even though I had spotted it was possible on the map and always said I would one day. Well today was that day. I took the north side of the canal and I pedaled slowly along enjoying the sunshine and the wam fresh air. There were a few people about but it really was only a few. The path was wide and well surfaced which was just as well because I was on skinny tyres:

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After a couple of miles I came to Lemonroyd Lock where the canal drops and lets boats and barges out into the River Aire. Presumably lets others back into the canal as well.

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I crossed over to the south side here and turned left and east in the direction of Castleford (or Cas Vegas as it's sometimes called locally)
More wide well surfaced paths took me slightly away from the river, but always close, with nary a soul about anyone would think the plague had arrived.
A mile or so further on a wide bridge took the path back over the river but I carried on and as the path ran out I found myself on a grass embankment. River to my left and a huge flooded area to my right:
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It's an area that normally has some large ponds/small lakes but to me it looks like in the recent rainy spell the area flooded completely. Maybe the river overflowed the embankment?
There are temporary pumps still in place to drain the area.
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The path had petered out and I could get no further along the river edge I knew where I was in the general scheme of things but wasn't so sure on the specifics so I took a rough track off to one side and after a false turn or two found the main road which took me into Cas.
Castleford wasn't actually closed. But it might as well have been. Not quite but almost a ghost town. It's usually a busy busy place, not today.

After passing the old Allinsons Flour Mill I hooked left back over the river and canal and I was back onto the canal path going back the way I came.
Just here is the confluence of the Rivers Calder and Aire:

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There are even traffic lights from the Aire into the Aire and Calder Navigation Canal:

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So it was back west and upstream again alongside the Aire. I passed Allerton Bywater which was opposite the spot with the water pumps. A couple of miles further on after tracks, paths and grassy fields I passed by a designated wildlife area and came back across the river on the wide bridge I mentioned earlier. On once more, passing Lemonroyd Lock again and now, back alongside the canal, I skirted Lemonroyd Marina and made it back towards Leeds passing Woodlesford Lock and Fishpond Lock. I can't get any more photos attached but Woodlesford Lock was a pretty sight, flowers everywhere.
A few people about now walking and cycling but it was never busy. At Fishpond Lock I crossed over again and also crossed the Aire once more and I found myself going under the A1M which skirts the east of Leeds.
The obvious route seemed to have melted away and I found I was going over old industrial roads. It turned out the be the old Knosdrop Water Treatment Plant (as was) and also the site of the old Skelton Grange power station. Concrete roads strewn with rubble from a bygone era. Once majestic buildings and structures pulled down and the area left empty. Nature claims it back as if nothing had happened.
Places like that have a magic all their own. Silent save for birdsong and deserted but for animals and insects. ( and the occasional bloke on a bike )
I wasn't too sure where I would end up precisely but knew I wouldn't get lost so I pressed on regardless and after some toing and froing crossing and recrossing the river and canal again I passed Thwaites Mill and came around the arse end of Cross Green Industrial Area and to the south of Leeds.
Collecting the main road at Hunslet I left the solitude and quiet of the canal and rode back home through East End Park and Harehills. Normally both very busy but today like a quiet Sunday.
So it was a slow ride what with all getting off and walking over lock gates and stopping for photos but very enjoyable anyway.

All in just a tad under 30 miles and pretty flat at 1000ft

View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/46142589
 
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Old jon

Guru
Location
Leeds
Heck of a write up @colly , and some cracking photography. Almost five years since I was last around that way, hope the towpath is better surfaced now.
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Given deteriorating conditions inside my head as well as improving conditions outside it, a ride had to be done today.

I'd initially hoped to collect some tyres following a generous offer from another forum member (thanks @figbat!), however I didn't want to commit to the 16 mile return trip with tyres hanging round my neck so that's been postponed for the time being.

Sleep's not been so good in recent days and the past two have seen a fair bit of walking, so my legs weren't up to too much. I set out with the intention of a slow recovery ride of modest length. The country roads with their diminished (if still present) traffic were a more pleasant place to be with a lot more freedom to use all of the road.

Took it steady up my benchmark hill with the wind maybe even assisting this time, unlike the last. I was slower coming over the top but didn't feel like I was going to die, so there was that. The trip down the long, shallowish hill on the other side was far more pleasant in the absence of last time's crosswind-sponsored fear of death; tucking down to gain some speed while just keeping the legs spinning at a gentle rate with little effort.

Passing down the the next undulating section as it cut through woods on both sides I couldn't resist a quick detour onto a pretty well-surfaced track into the serene woodland as sunlight streamed through the trees. Sadly about 300yds was enough to confirm that my 25c slicks had no fondness for off-camber tracks coated in slippy moss, or their patches of rough and jagged stone; so after five static minutes of soaking up the glorious ambience we were back on the road.

I took a bit of a detour to prolong the route before coming back into the city on cycle tracks and tow paths, before passing through the centre and home.

I particularly enjoyed a recently resurfaced cycle path; it's a bit downhill and with the wind behind me I enjoyed carving a quick line through the slightly twisty bits near its end; it's smaller scale than roads offering the opportunity to chuck the bike around a lot more than usual.

The city centre was pretty deserted; unsurprisingly really as literally everyone seemed to be out walking their dogs, running or cycling. A surprising and frustrating amount of them also seemed to be of an age where they should have been at home; pretty irresponsible IMO as the high-risk are obviously going to be the ones who require the most care and resources if infected.

On the whole the significant amount of people (combined with some who looked like they had questionable reason to be out) seemed somewhat incongruous with the government's stern warnings; I guess most of them could "justify" their actions somehow; rightly or wrongly. People's attitudes seemed pretty lax though (I did see few if any static "gatherings" however) and I wonder if we won't see even more stringent stipulations before this is all over if people still aren't seen to be taking it seriously enough.

The ride ended up a shade under 30 miles at around 14.5mph; taking it steady mostly in HR zones 2&3 but with the odd blast in places. I was surprised to see I'd got 9th on one Strava segment (I've never been "placed" before!) largely I think because few people have done it (about 250 or so), a fair section of it has fairly recently been resurfaced (it was gash before) and I think the wind was behind me. Still, I'm used to my times occupying maybe the bottom third of the leaderboards generally, so it's nice to get a surprise placing near the top :smile:

Legs ache now but again I'm feeling good for having got out on a generally pleasant ride. That said the sheer amount of people out and my associated concerns about exposure still haunt me and drive home the point that my rides should be as rural as possible..
 
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Jenkins

Legendary Member
Location
Felixstowe
I'm fairly lucky that most of the roads round here are not in high population areas, while the vast majority of the other cyclists & walkers using the roads are going the other way to me so it's fairly easy to follow the distancing guidelines.

As I'd taken the day off work to go to a (cancelled) event in Norwich, I took the opportunity to get out for a few hours this afternoon on another glorious sunny day, but with a bit of a cold easterly breeze. Out via Levington & Nacton to Ipswich where the lack of people & traffic was really noticable. I then headed for Wherstead and a loop of Alton Water and down to Shotley but unusually doing it in the anti-clockwise diretion. Other than the continued lack of traffic, at Stutton the biggest sign of the efect of the Government's shutdown was the complete closure of Alton Water park with the gates being locked shut - on any other day like this, the place would have been packed.
Alton Water, Stutton.jpg

Continuing on through Holbrook, Harkstead and enjoying the view at Erwarton down the River Stour towards the River Orwell & Felixstowe
From Erwarton (2).jpg

I got to Shotley and then headed back towards Ipswich through the villages of Chelmondiston, Wolverstone and then down the Freston hill to one of my favourite sights, which I make no apology for posting yet again, especially on a day like this
Orwell Bridge (2).jpg

Again avoiding the busiest areas of Ipswich, I went round the top of the town and home via Rushmere St. Andrew & Bucklesham for a most welcome 50 miles of fresh air.
Another sign of the changing seasons - we've had the whites of snowdrops, the yellows of daffodils and now the blues of bluebells are starting to make themselves evident
Bluebells.jpg

https://www.strava.com/activities/3213060759
Screenshot_2020-03-24 Boris says it's OK Ride Strava.png
Screenshot_2020-03-24 Boris says it's OK Ride Strava(1).png
 

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
A roundabout trip to the shops and exercise two birds/stone/interface. 12.69 miles not a lot of traffic but two entitled twunts trying to bully me off the road. A stunning day, bright sunshine, warmer and hardly any wind, it’s such a shame we all can’t enjoy it a bit more. Not many cars in the supermarket car park, but then there’s wasn’t much stuff on the supermarket shelves.

No photos today, I didn’t want to hang around. Here’s a test card and a map.
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510381
 

Arjimlad

Tights of Cydonia
Location
South Glos
I really enjoyed my isolation essential exercise ride yesterday evening.

I went out at dusk - start was fast & fun on quiet roads, up to Wickwar when I watched jackdaws in large groups behaving more like starlings as they went to roost. Then a blat home along the lanes with the pool of my front light in front and a star or planet to guide me. 16 miles in 56 minutes.



510382
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
I really enjoyed my isolation essential exercise ride yesterday evening.

I went out at dusk - start was fast & fun on quiet roads, up to Wickwar when I watched jackdaws in large groups behaving more like starlings as they went to roost. Then a blat home along the lanes with the pool of my front light in front and a star or planet to guide me. 16 miles in 56 minutes.



View attachment 510382

Looks like a nice ride and raises another great point that in these times of plague, night rides have to be a fantastic idea for avoiding other people - it's still a bit chilly at night for my tastes though!
 

Arjimlad

Tights of Cydonia
Location
South Glos
Looks like a nice ride and raises another great point that in these times of plague night rides have to be a fantastic idea for avoiding other people - it's still a bit chilly at night for my tastes though!
It was blissful, there were a few boy racers out burning about on the quiet roads though.
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
It was blissful, there were a few boy racers out burning about on the quiet roads though.
I bet - I love the peace and solitide of riding at night; although for some reason never seem to do much. Also rightly or wrongly I feel less comfortable about riding far from home / covering a lot of distance at night.
 
I'm fairly lucky that most of the roads round here are not in high population areas, while the vast majority of the other cyclists & walkers using the roads are going the other way to me so it's fairly easy to follow the distancing guidelines.

As I'd taken the day off work to go to a (cancelled) event in Norwich, I took the opportunity to get out for a few hours this afternoon on another glorious sunny day, but with a bit of a cold easterly breeze. Out via Levington & Nacton to Ipswich where the lack of people & traffic was really noticable. I then headed for Wherstead and a loop of Alton Water and down to Shotley but unusually doing it in the anti-clockwise diretion. Other than the continued lack of traffic, at Stutton the biggest sign of the efect of the Government's shutdown was the complete closure of Alton Water park with the gates being locked shut - on any other day like this, the place would have been packed.
View attachment 510300
Continuing on through Holbrook, Harkstead and enjoying the view at Erwarton down the River Stour towards the River Orwell & Felixstowe
View attachment 510301
I got to Shotley and then headed back towards Ipswich through the villages of Chelmondiston, Wolverstone and then down the Freston hill to one of my favourite sights, which I make no apology for posting yet again, especially on a day like this
View attachment 510302
Again avoiding the busiest areas of Ipswich, I went round the top of the town and home via Rushmere St. Andrew & Bucklesham for a most welcome 50 miles of fresh air.
Another sign of the changing seasons - we've had the whites of snowdrops, the yellows of daffodils and now the blues of bluebells are starting to make themselves evident
View attachment 510305
https://www.strava.com/activities/3213060759
View attachment 510306 View attachment 510307
Good right up again. I know most of those places. On a day with blue skies the Orwell Bridge almost looks majestic.
By the way the blue flowers are grape hyacinth (Muscari). I have been caught out with those too.
 
It was blissful, there were a few boy racers out burning about on the quiet roads though.
I saw them out as well yesterday, it makes me so b.... angry they think it is a holiday. There are a lot of youngsters who are helping out at the supermarkets etc and I was served by a delightful lad yesterday who would have been at university but said he wanted to earn some extra cash. Good for him.
 

Kryton521

Über Member
Almost the same route as yesterday, except stopped off at my Sisters, [yes, I know we're not meant to/allowed.] but kept isolation, distance for coffee stop since everything is closed.
Came across a man struggling on an e-bike. Turns out it was neither switched on, nor battery charged. He brought it to exercise on whilst off work. Didn't ask what he did for a living but he had some nice cycling type attire and a flash e-bike but clearly no idea.
I smiled all the way home! :becool:
 
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