Your ride today....

[wafter]

Woke early after a reasonable kip and with the prospect of no riding for at least four days due to weather and other commitments I decided to squeeze one in before a mate was scheduled to call me from lands afar at 11.

After yesterday's negativity and conflict-tainted thrash I aimed for a more positive meander and was off to a good start stepping out into the morning sun with the CdF by my side and a nice Psybient mix in my ears, at an uncharacteristically early 8:30

Off through town and NCN5 to Abingdon, Culham, and a bit more cycle path to long Wittenham:

I wanted to continue on NCN5 to Little Wittenham but aware I was pressed for time headed back towards Clifton Hampden as the open blue sky slowly turned to cloud. Again, eager to both get back and avoid a bit of road of which I'm no fan ventured down an unexplored bridleway signposted to Toot Baldon, taking me through some nice woodland and emerging on a familiar bit of bridleway in the village; the slick Conti's just about managing to propel me over the damp earth beneath. Will definitely be taking that route again; tyres permitting

I continued through town and got home just in time to have a shower ready for the pre-arranged phone call... which as predicted didn't come as said mate is notoriously flakey Sadly like so many he's not in a great place mentally so I'll drop him an undemanding message a bit later...

A welcome, largely conflict-and-terror-free 28 miles and 400ft at 14.1mph and 119bpm for a pre-breakfast burn of a little under 1000kcal. Glad I got out as I'm now stuck inside as the rain comes down and I face the prospect of four days ride free..

 

[Archie_tect]

13 miles on the new tandem- in the rain- still smiling!

 

[AndreaJ]

Another ride in the rain and as I seem to be riding in the rain a lot I have bought a decent waterproof jacket so I thought I would test it today. Continuing my idea to find new lanes I planned a route and set off to Northwood and through to Welshampton before turning back to Lyneal by the church, a couple of lost dog walkers stopped me to ask for directions and after pointing them in the right direction carried on to Loppington, Burlton over the main road to Marton, Myddlewood, up the hill in Myddle then down Lower Road , Merrington then checking my directions turned to Bomere Heath, through the village and turned down some really narrow lanes to Preston Gubbals , Pim Hill crossing another main road just past Harmer Hill, back on familiar lanes to Hadnall, Sansaw Heath where I met the only other cyclist I saw today who had come from Bishops Castle, chatted to him as we were going the same way as far as Yorton Heath where I carried on up to Clive, back down towards Wem where I had a ridiculously close pass by a bin lorry on a long straight stretch of road followed by a lorry doing the same, both could see the oncoming traffic perfectly well but still wouldn’t wait! Fed up with people trying to flatten me I turned to Trench to go to Barkers Green along quiet lanes and on to Aston where a bright spark thought it would be clever to aim for a puddle to soak me, it was a bit pointless as I had done 30 miles in the rain by then so was already wet. Headed into Wem where the last idiot of the day cut across a junction I was stopped at only seeing me at the last minute and moving, he did apologise but it was far too close to driving over the front of my bike. Now thoroughly fed up with the idiots out today I headed to Creamore and back onto the lanes to Horton and home. Good news is the Goretex jacket is really good but I have never had to deal with that much bad driving on one ride. 34.27 miles @14.8mph. Surprisingly saw lots of walkers out in the rain. Lots of tree branches on the side of the lanes after the recent storms and a few flooded roads, doesn’t seem like August now.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

... was even wetter than Tuesday's.

So, 10 miles MTB, best bits on officially forbidden NT paths- not a soul to be seen of course.

 

[Colin Grigson]

Sneaked in 50km before work today at 18.6mph .. pleased following disastrous 60km the day before yesterday in horrendous winds ... it was a little parky though 13’C

 

[DCBassman]

First ride out on the Scott since new wheels fitted. They were great, insofar as I could tell the difference! It was one of those rides where the bike seemed content to go along by itself. When following other riders, I seemed to keep up with them almost without pedaling, a very nice situation to be in.
Very busy on the cycle route, lots of walkers, even more cyclists, and even 5 horses! So average would be complete toast if I'd not added a northern loop along the A386 first. Then back along NCN27 through Tavistock, NCN270 along the Viaduct Walk - very wet and muddy - then back on to 27 at the canal. Then out on the usual route via Grenofen tunnel, which awarded me several cold showers, and out to Horrabridge. Got up the Leg O'Mutton ramp without stopping too much. It IS getting easier, I tell you, it IS...
On through Yelverton and out to the car park above Clearbrook, then off down a side road to ensure over 20 miles.
Then return through the even greater throngs of cyclists.
Now to clean the bike, and boy, it needs it. I shall doubtless fiddle with the Revell mixte, too.
The stats...

EDIT: Forgot to update my totals in my little book of miles. This ride gets me over 400 miles this year, best for a long time, and over 1800 since I began bothering to keep records. Quite pleased with that. So I'll be very disappointed with myself if I dont' top 500 this year.

 

[geocycle]

Got out for a 45 mile route through the lanes around Kirby Lonsdale. No big climbs but still 1000m of up. Discovered so many small single track lanes sporting grass growing up them. Great views across to Lakes and Ingleborough. Felt very cold with a northerly wind, shorts were not a good call.

 

[Dave 123]

I’ve not been out for a couple of weeks due to a friend visiting, so today I did a short 22 mile ride.
I stuck to the usual quiet roads.

Passing a house out in the sticks I thought they’d stuck a plastic bird scaring sparrow hawk on their fence. It flew off when I was right next to it! Made me jump.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3982233328

 

[Arjimlad]

Popped three bikes on/in the car and headed down the M5 coming off at Weston Super Donkey today to try the Brean Down Way.

We parked on a residential street in Uphill and rode 4.5 miles along this shared path to Brean Down. There are plenty of ice cream opportunities and it was a great way to get to Brean without joining lots of drivers. OK, the last bit along the coast road had some cars but there were enough holidaymakers wobbling about on bikes to make the drivers cautious & considerate. There were some gates on the path but nothing too onerous for a normal bike. Some kissing gates might have proved difficult with a tagalong or similar, though.

Locking the bikes to NT Sheffield stands, we ascended Brean Down on foot and had amazing views up & down the North Somerset coast, a perfect picnic spot. The fort at the end of the Down is worth exploring.

http://www.breandownway.uk/

 

[AndreaJ]

Yesterday was another ride in the rain, I don’t mind riding in the rain but it’s getting a bit repetitive now. I decided to go into Whixall and ride by the canal for the short bit of tow path with a gravel surface ( it’s better than some of the roads)which made a nice change, it’s often busy with dog walkers but no one there yesterday, had to cross the canal 3 times over 2 swing bridges and pushed the bike over the pedestrian bridge, rejoined the proper lanes by Whixall Moss and carried on to Hollinswood, over the canal again to Fenns Bank, Fenns Wood and back over the canal to Alkington, Tilstock, Whixall, Coton, Coton Wood, Abbeygreen, Edstaston, Ryebank, Horton then home. 26.8miles.
Finally it’s stopped raining and the sun was shining although it was a bit chilly in the wind and long sleeves were needed. Set off to Loppington, Burlton, English Frankton across to Colemere and round Colemere, between Newton Mere and Kettle Mere to Welshampton, turned by the church to Lyneal, Hampton Bank, down Rowe Lane to Bettisfield, straight through Northwood and Wolverley to Horton where there was a steam roller coming down the road which is not something you normally see on the road, and turned back for home. 22.3miles @15.7mph and home dry and not plastered in mud for a change.

Pictures of the canal in the rain.

 

[bruce1530]

Last night, my daughter and her pal were round, and they talked about going over to Arran, and climbing Goat Fell. So a plan was hatched.

Arran ferries are booking-only at the moment, even for foot passengers due to COVID restricted capacity, and they were all fully booked today. But they calculate the numbers based on “bad weather figures”, assuming nobody on the decks. If it’s a nice day, they can take deck passengers.

So we chanced our arm and went for the 8.20 ferry this morning. Arrived to be told it was full, but they could get us on the next one, an hour and a half later. They said maybe be able to squeeze us on the 8.20 a few mins before departure, if some people who had booked places did not show. Fortunately we got on - and also got reserved places on the 16:40 back!

Cold breezy morning, quite chilly on the boat.

Once we got to Arran, we didn’t hurry - let all the traffic, walkers and other bikes get ahead. As I was coming off the boat, other cyclists were asking everyone “Are you doing the 5 ferries?” - apparently the second ferry (Lochranza to Claonaig) is very restricted, and they’re only taking a dozen bikes - so if you arrive there 13th, you have a long wait. I think there was a bit of a race to Lochranza!

But I was going round the island.

Normally I’d do this “clockwise” - the prevailing winds are from south and west, and that means you have a tailwind on the more exposed west coast. But today, it was breezy, from the north. So I went anticlockwise. It shouldn’t matter, but it felt really strange!

We had a hot roll at Wooley’s bakers in Brodick before starting off - all the catering on boat was closed. Then daughter and pal headed for Goat Fell, and I got on the road, heading North.

Flat, deserted roads out past the castle, and on to Corrie and Sannox. Then the big slog up the bougallie - half way up I stopped (to admire the view of course, not because I was absolutely shattered!) and take off some layers of clothing -from then on it was short sleeves.

To put it in context, Box Hill (which seems to be the standard reference for these things) is 403ft of climbing over 1.6 miles, max 7% gradient. The stretch from Sannox (sea level) to the summit is 722 ft of climbing, with a dip in the middle, over about 3 miles, max gradient 15%.

Over the top, down to Lochranza. Normally a fantastic descent, but with the wind in my face it wasn’t the descent I had hoped for.

Quick stop at Lochranza for a coffee and flapjack, then on round the top of the island.

Made good time round the top, and when I hit the far coast the wind was behind me. So a good run down the coast thru Pirnmill, Machrie and Shiskine to Blackwaterfoot.

Stopped there for a few mins to txt daughter - she had just reached the Goat Fell summit.

I had forgotten just how hilly the south coast of Arran is. No huge hills, but constant up and down.

Stopped at the Velo Cafe in Lagg, nice bowl of soup. On round the island, stopped at Whiting Bay to stretch my legs (sounds daft, but I needed to move them a different way!), then the last two hills - up from Whiting Bay, down to Lamlash, then back up the hill and finally down to Brodick some time after 3. Those last 2 hills were sore. Just been looking at the stats, and each of them is another Box Hill...

Phoned daughter - they were heading back to town, near the castle. Sore knee, so would be touch and go whether they made the 4.40 ferry - so a taxi was summoned....

Had hoped to get a quick beer in Brodick before the ferry, but didn’t really have enough time. So a visit to the co-op for “supplies for the ferry home”.

102km with 1130m of climbing

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Yesterday's outing

I met Andy G at Rhayader. It was to be a favoured route through the Mid Welsh mountains. The ride starts off immediately with a climb out of town. That got us warmed up. It's then fairly good rolling ups and small downs to Llandiloes where we have a choice of three routes to Staylittle. Today we took the Hafren Forest route which takes a super run along a river valley before climbing away. Next is the Dylife Mountain road which,from the summit, provides superb views out over the Welsh Mountains to the north. The descent is long, steep and technical made far more difficult today due to a fairly strong wind from the north. Machynlleth provides some welcome refreshments before we must take to a main road southwards. Today we had some good assistance from that northerly so the 10 miles went by fairly quickly. Now we turned for the climb of the Nant-y-Moch. A lovely climb indeed. At the summit I heard and then saw a pair of Choughs. Now those birds are quite rare indeed. The road skirts around the reservoir giving some lovely views before we climbed away for a brief encounter with civilisation at Ponterwyd and Devil's Bridge. Then is was the climb up and over to Cwmystwydd for the climb over the Rhayader Mountain Road. We turned to take in the Elan valley and it's reservoirs. Recent heavy rain had filled the top two as the active spillways testified. A lot more rain will be needed to fill the much larger bottom reservoir. Finally with the computer acknowledging the expect 90 miles we arrived back in Rhayader. It had been a superb day out in the hills. What's not to like? 90 smiles and 8312 feet of climbs but no sign of @welsh dragon.

 

[welsh dragon]

Yesterday's outing

I met Andy G at Rhayader. It was to be a favoured route through the Mid Welsh mountains. The ride starts off immediately with a climb out of town. That got us warmed up. It's then fairly good rolling ups and small downs to Llandiloes where we have a choice of three routes to Staylittle. Today we took the Hafren Forest route which takes a super run along a river valley before climbing away. Next is the Dylife Mountain road which,from the summit, provides superb views out over the Welsh Mountains to the north. The descent is long, steep and technical made far more difficult today due to a fairly strong wind from the north. Machynlleth provides some welcome refreshments before we must take to a main road southwards. Today we had some good assistance from that northerly so the 10 miles went by fairly quickly. Now we turned for the climb of the Nant-y-Moch. A lovely climb indeed. At the summit I heard and then saw a pair of Choughs. Now those birds are quite rare indeed. The road skirts around the reservoir giving some lovely views before we climbed away for a brief encounter with civilisation at Ponterwyd and Devil's Bridge. Then is was the climb up and over to Cwmystwydd for the climb over the Rhayader Mountain Road. We turned to take in the Elan valley and it's reservoirs. Recent heavy rain had filled the top two as the active spillways testified. A lot more rain will be needed to fill the much larger bottom reservoir. Finally with the computer acknowledging the expect 90 miles we arrived back in Rhayader. It had been a superb day out in the hills. What's not to like? 90 smiles and 8312 feet of climbs but no sign of @welsh dragon.

View attachment 544341 View attachment 544342 View attachment 544343 View attachment 544344 View attachment 544345 View attachment 544347 View attachment 544348

You were in my backyard. Staylittle is only about 6 miles from where I live. Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[welsh dragon]

And this is my ride today. 12 miles on the local roads. Lots of traffic and a tad cool in the breeze but lovely in the sun. There is def an autumnal feel now.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

And this is my ride today. 12 miles on the local roads. Lots of traffic and a tad cool in the breeze but lovely in the sun. There is def an autumnal feel now.

View attachment 544349

View attachment 544350

View attachment 544351

View attachment 544352

View attachment 544353

View attachment 544354

View attachment 544355

Wonderful part of the world. Especially when the sun shines