Your ride today....

[ianbarton]

After yesterday's very windy Market Drayton loop, which I only did to bring my
weekly total to 160km, I was planning to have a rest day. I have been trying to
cycle at least 100 imperial miles per week, but in an indecisive mood had decided
to record everything in metric units. However, it was sunny with only a slight
breeze. I decided to do my Wem loop going clockwise. There were a few other
people out cycling and a fair amount of traffic on the A49.

Since it was a Sunday the cafe in the library was closed, so I bought a
sandwich and some Mr Kipling's almond slices from the Coop. I set off towards
Whixall with the breeze blowing directly in my face. I reached the B road near
Quina Brook and followed it to the junction with Station Road. I got to the
railway crossing just as a train was pulling out of the station heading to
Whitchurch. Cycling into the centre of Prees I continued up the short hill of
Church Street. I pulled into the church yard and sat on the bench under the Yew
tree near to the entrance. I ate my egg and bacon sandwich and a couple of Mr
Kipling's almond slices. After a short rest I set off downhill along Church
Street before crossing the A49. After about a mile I turned left onto an unamed
minor road and headed into Ightfield. The next three kilometres are mostly down
hill before reaching the junction with Lodmore Lane where it's only a couple of
kilometres to home.

55km at 20.1 kph

The church at Prees.

Field full of wrapped bales just outside Ightfield.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Yesterday's ride:
Having to still catch up with rides for my Lunacy Challenge I ideally needed to get a second century in this month so took the chance while the weather is dry. I was woken a few minutes before my alarm was due to go off by the dulcet tones of the dog throwing up in the next room, which I could have done without.

I was on the road for seven which was just before sunrise for the first time this autumn season. It felt chillier than the 6c showing on the thermometer so I needed a stop within the first mile to put an a third fleece - another first for the season. (It did warm up enough for some layers to come off later on)

I'd hoped to do something different from the last couple of centuries, however with a north-westerly wind forecast to become a northerly and strengthen through the day it made sense to do a loop round the north of the county again and have a tailwind helping later on. Traffic was nice and quiet as I'd have hoped for as I headed through Condover for Ryton, Gonsal and Stapleton to add a bit of distance before rejoining the usual roads to Plealey, Minsterley, Westbury, and Melverley.

Some of you might recall that I accidentally dropped the saddle during my last century ride and I was finding it a struggle to get comfortable at the start of this trip. After a bit of trial and error I found it was still a little low and got on better with it after adjustment.

A snack stop was taken at Melverley then I headed on into the headwind which can't have been too strong at this point as I was still able to maintain between 14 and 16 mph on the flat. I took the alternative route that bypasses Maesbrook again and headed past Waen Wen to Morton where a motorist decided to pull out in front of me from a side road giving a cheery wave of thanks as I came to a sudden halt. My response wasn't especially cheery.

From Ball I rejoined roads that are usually busy, but weren't today, to ride through a surprisingly quiet Oswestry and past the hill fort on my way to Gobowen. The short, sharp climbs showed up that my legs were already feeling tired at only 33 miles which was slightly concerning. The undulating section to Ellesmere was taken slowly which helped. I had a slight moment turning into a junction at Hindford as I'd taken a hand off the bar to idly scratch my nose only to find a large vehicle coming out of the junction and I couldn't reach the brake quickly. Collision avoided but that could have been really embarrasing.

Being slower than last time, my elevenses stop was taken before Ellesmere rather than after. I headed through Coptiviney as usual but decided to avoid Welshampton for a change so went through Breaden Heath and Bettisfield instead. Apart from a sharp dip into a little valley and the consequent steep climb out the other side, this was a pleasant way to go which I may use again. I was getting the benefit of the tailwind for the first time so was getting along quite nicely despite the tired legs. The traffic lights were working properly at Northwood and although I turned here and had a crosswind for a while I was still getting along fairly well through Dobson's Bridge and Whixall. I even caught and overtook a van along here (I think they were trying to find an address and were only doing about 10mph ). Reaching Prees I paused for a drink before the climb out of town and a passer-by, having noticed my reflectives, thought that he'd let me know his feelings about cyclists clad in black lycra. Ho hum.

Ightfield and Calverhall were next up before I took the road for Longslow and picked up the tailwind again which helped on the way, then as usual I took the lane to Longford which allows me to cross under the A53 rather than having to mix with the traffic on this busy road. Having enough miles in hand I went for the shorter way through Market Drayton and am pleased to note that some very overdue surfacing work is about to be done on Quarry Bank Road.

The climbs on the way past the Golf Club were an effort as always but after passing Sutton the road starts to turn southwards and the speed improved on the flat roads. From Stoke-on-Tern I got the proper tailwind I'd been hoping for and was seeing 18 to 20 mph cruising speeds even with tired legs. I was lucky to catch a lull in the traffic for the short stretch on the A442 then took the lane to Cold Hatton as I headed towards Walton.

During a snack stop I was seriously contemplating heading to High Ercall and seeing if the closed bridge (flood damage earlier in the year) is accessable to cyclists. I decided against it and went the longer way through Poynton Green and Roden, but on reaching Roden thought I'd go slightly out of my way and see what things looked like from this side of the closure. I'd followed two motorists down who both had to turn back (just foolish really as there are signs warning them about the closure all the way back to Shrewsbury) and reaching the bridge myself I found my earlier choice was a good one as there appears to be no pedestrian access at all. A right turn by the bridge took me back towards Rodington Heath, Withington, Upton Magna and Atcham.

I was flagging a little bit but the tailwind was still helping which saved some energy for the climb at Cronkhill and even though it became a crosswind on the way to Condover I was still going alright. I did finally have to turn back into the wind which made the last couple of miles very slow. My legs had had enough by the end but I'd got on better with the saddle after the tweak early on so could have gone further on that if need be.

Nice to see plenty of other cyclists out and about enjoying the sunshine (if not the warmth). There seemed to be more in the afternoon than the morning.

Exactly 106 miles (I'd arrived home with it reading 105.99 so just had to keep moving until that clicked over) at 13.8 mph average. Total time including stops was 9 hours 32 minutes. Four more more centuries required in three months to complete the challenge - that feels doable.

Setting out onto a quiet A49.

Looking towards Coedwy and into Wales as I approach Prince's Oak.

Crossing a tributary of the River Vyrnwy near Llwyntidmon Hall.

The Wilfred Owen memorial in Cae Glas Park, Oswestry.

Brook House on the way to Breaden Heath.

Friendly boaters as I cross the canal at Dobson's Bridge.

Ightfield

St Peter's church at Stoke on Tern.

The Wrekin viewed from near Heath Lanes.

 

[colly]

Another lovely sunny afternoon and it seemed a shame to waste it. So on the bike and a nifty spin out.
Not a lot of traffic, no grief, no nobbers, no nuffink. So all is right with the world. (virus or not)
29.5 miles and 2220ft of upness.

View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56876750

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Late start so no time to think. A standard Ashleworth would do. Not much to report other than a heron and a bunch of mallards on the Hams. The odd Buzzard and an unusual sighting of a Hare. Lovely. Quite brisk today too. 47 smiles

 

[AndreaJ]

Bright but cold this morning with what looked suspiciously like frost on the lawn first thing. After waiting to make sure the school traffic would have gone( I have to get through them going to work the rest of the week so avoid them on my day off)I headed into Whixall and through to Hollinswood, Fenns Bank, Fenns Wood, Alkington down the narrow lane to Tilstock where I turn back down the next lane to Stanley Green, Coton, Coton Wood past the old windmill to Prees which seems to have been a popular destination over the weekend, taking a new route out to Edstaston, Creamore, Horton onto the Ellesmere road to Loppington, Lyneal, Newton, Welshampton, Northwood, Wolverley and home. 34.78miles @15.8mph. Some huge tractors and trailers around today luckily the ones I met were on the wider lanes and lots of mud on the roads.

 

[Donger]

What a glorious sunny morning in Gloucestershire today. Got out fairly early and waited for a moment exactly where @Dark46 wasn't. Never mind. He said not to wait if he didn't show, so I didn't. I imagine he was on a little fluffy cloud somewhere, counting sheep.

I needed a handful of miles to hit my minimum monthly target of 250 miles, and 14.2 to hit my original end of year target of 3,000 miles. Ended up ambling my way around for 18.4 miles on gloriously quiet lanes in near perfect cycling weather. The only dodgy moment was a bit of a skid and a wobble when aquaplaning on wet cow muck in Elmore. I managed to stay upright but don't quite know how. Bumped into Pauline from the cycling club on my way home. Not many other cyclists were out there though.

My new target is a yearly average of 10 miles per day ..... 3,660 miles, remembering that it is a leap year. I'm well on target now, averaging about 28 miles per ride. You only have to miss a couple of rides for it to suddenly look much more tricky, but I'm going very steadily so far, never doing less than 250 miles per month. Going to give it my best shot.

Cheers, Donger.

 

[Old jon]

My new target is a yearly average of 10 miles per day ..... 3,660 miles, remembering that it is a leap year. I'm well on target now, averaging about 28 miles per ride. You only have to miss a couple of rides for it to suddenly look much more tricky, but I'm going very steadily so far, never doing less than 250 miles per month. Going to give it my best shot.

Cheers, Donger.

A fellow club member suggested this a few weeks ago, so I plugged the calculation into my spreadsheet and the result surprised me, A lot

	Miles		Number	Average	Longest
2020	Elevation	of Rides	Distance	Ride
Spa	274.44	4079	6	45.74	60.25
Bob Jackson	1663.59	26841	46	36.17	66.59
Fixed	1577.06	22116	54	29.20	57.41
Year to Date	3515.09	53036	106	33.16
		Average per Day 2020	12.92​

excuse the poor labelling, One of these days I may correct it all

 

[Old jon]

An encouraging amount of blue sky this morning, and a very good idea for a ride midpoint. A former pub, now a café, And I wanted to check out the slightly altered riding position on the Spa.

Pedal away north, reach the meeting point just in time to start off, good timing! Through Shadwell, cross the A58 and into Thorner. Traditional way out, up Church Hill and keep riding on that road to Bramham, turn right. And I was shown a cycle path I had not seen before. Along this, more or less south, to Bramham Crossroads. Keep on south, Aberford is next.

And the almost inevitable left turn to the gates at Lotherton Hall. Followed quickly by a right turn, this road meanders nicely, up and down as well as sideways, to Sherburn in Elmet and the B1222. Cowbell Corner is where we turned right onto that famous road, more three dimensional meandering, under the railway bridge and there is the café.

After the natter, carry on towards the A63 and the minor road to Micklefield. And another byway I cannot remember using before. Pit Lane is the left turn just before another railway bridge. Very interesting riding, not all on tarmac, all the way via Sturton Grange to Garforth and a brief interlude of traffic.

Followed by yet more new to me riding. Along Barrowby Lane, which parallels the railway line for a fair distance, then take the right fork when the lane turns left. This bit crosses above the M1 and then, I was told, the oldest railway bridge still crossing a working railway line. Which also had some interesting masonry features, partly obscured by recent steel work.

Crossgates next, and more urban pedalling, broken briefly by riding along Wyke Beck as far as St John’s by Roundhay Park. From here, the usual mooch past the Oakwood Clock and over the river takes me home. Home with a big grin, after forty four miles and 2000 plus feet upwards, a cracking good ride with the bonus that the handlebar tweak seems to have worked as well.

Word of the day seems to be, more meandering

 

[Archie_tect]

22 miles, out to Matfen for coffee and cake with Mrs A_T on the Orbit tandem... 1500ft of up, 11.5mph out and 19.5mph back downhill with the wind! Lovely day!

 

[colly]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHJicGr2Qic

Great clip of the run down.
My very first forum ride took in Holme moss. It was I think the end of November and it was bloody freezing. I have vivid memories of a group of us sheltering behind a car in the car park atop Holme Moss to avoid the sleet and wicked wind.

 

[colly]

Yet another sunny September afternoon and yet another opportunity to take advantage.
Out after lunch and a relaxed ride out to Bramham via Shadwell and Thorner on to Tadcaster. Back into Leeds by way of Abreford, Barwick-in-Elmete and Killingbeck.
All in it was 31.9 miles and 1750 ft.

View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56925407

 

[DCBassman]

As back in Brentor, teeny tiny loop of the village. Still quite hard work considering the distance. Two observations: creaking still apparent. After some thought while grinding up through the village, with the noise most apparent, I tried alternate extra pressure on each pedal. Silence. So I'll be looking at crank bolt tightness tomorrow...
Despite an early step up to the big ring, and lots of effort with no wind, failed to break 30mph down the Lydford road. Must try harder...
The map/stats:

 

[All uphill]

41 mile loop today to visit the wonderful Heron Farm Vineyard cafe near Honiton.

Hilly (3500ft) with glorious views and little traffic.

What more could you ask for?

 

[Mike_P]

What a lovely day and I had to work Then discovered a couple of local work related visits needing doing so out on the Ebike this afternoon, battery rather low so none or only limited assist used except on the steep bits and ultimately that orange glow from the control unit of a too low battery. Had a wobbly moment on a roadside cycletrack when the driver of a car parked partly on it unexpectedly walked to its rear and, having grabbed the fence alongside actually separating the cycleway from the footway, as soon as let go the Ebike toppled the other way. Just managed to rebalance it before it completely tumbled
Then just after 5 with the battery recharged nipped to the local Co-Op, the cold northerly was back
A smidge under 8 3/4 miles on all

 

[footloose crow]

29 September. Evening light

Bikes are like horses, they need regular exercise. Thats my excuse for a tea time ride.

Have you read 'The Third Policeman' by Flan O' Brien? One of the sub plots concerns bicycle mad policemen who spend so much time riding that molecules of the bike and molecules of themselves exchange places. Who is to say which is half man and half bike or half bike and half man? A warning to us all.

I have done 263 miles this month or fifteen hours. I am not near to exchanging molecules yet.

After a stiff talking to, the bike has stopped groaning, clicking and creaking. Maybe not stopped but down to the point of near inaudibility. Thats what happens when you tell your bike you are thinking of buying a new one. Maybe the bike just needed more exercise. Like a horse. I fed my bike grease and new parts and its happy now.

Evening rush hour in Cornwall starts around 3pm and finishes at 5pm. Its pretty laid back here. The only rush is to get to the beach for some sundown surfing. The shadows are already lengthening when I leave, mixing it with the vans and cars on the A390 using the long downhill to keep up with traffic. A noisy ten minutes and then a lane beckons on my left, a tree-hung, undulating, twisting ribbon of what may have been tarmac once. Teeth-rattling broken but quiet and there are long views across to the china clay mined hills once I reach the high lane that follows a long, rambling ridge before plunging down into the aptly named village of Coombe.

This is secret Cornwall that rarely sees tourists fo there is little for tourists to see but green. Patchy hedges, moss stained granite walls, smears of woodland. And a viaduct that carries the main line from London to Penzance but at no more than 50mph once past Plymouth. Modernity has yet to reach the far south west corner of Britain. It is hard to see the viaduct now for trees.

The weather forecast promised sunshine but the clouds haven't heard the news and gather in ever thicker layers occasionally sending a fine mist of drizzle my way. But yesterday rain was promised and the sun came out. We don't really follow forecasts in Cornwall . Independent minded people in an independently minded landscape. Or a mined landscape, engine houses and their chimneys punctuate my ride like fifty foot exclamation marks. They were cutting edge technology in the 19th century. The Cornish invented steam trains and steam engines for mining. Now we go surfing.

There are more hills than I remember and the bike is quiet, happy to listen to my suffering as my joints creak and I groan, breath acid in my throat. I haven't seen a car for half an hour. Or anyone. Just me and the cows, the magpies and the crows that follow me everywhere.

That peace ends as I hit the main road into St Stephen and join a line of traffic up the hill. It is not a wide main road and I quickly become the reason for the line of traffic but I can see my right turn ahead so continue doggedly turning the pedals and then right past the old church, its green stained ancient stones incongruous against the new building growth all round it, gravestone leaning out, the yew tree threatening to take over.

More up and up and up but at a sustainable 3-4% and soon I am high in the clay hills, scarred with huge spoil heaps of white decayed granite flour. I could be in the Rhondda now, or the slate villages of North Wales. I pass a sign for Bryngwynant Farm - Welsh and Cornish are not far apart linguistically. China clay is still mined here and ten wheel tipper trucks rumble up behind me and then disappear into gated quarries.

To the west the sun is heading across the Atlantic making silhouettes of the wind turbines and sending long shadows along the darkening valley floors. I stop to consider the idea that it is me spinning further away from the sun and not the sun leaving me. Actually I need a rest. Twenty miles down and I should think about heading for home.

A fast downhill now: what other types of downhill are there other than 'fast'? Terrifying? Bumpy? Dangerous? So maybe a semi fast downhill, braking hard for the blind bends, worrying about potholes, opening up for the straights until I hit Goss Moor, a huge area of uncultivated open land, sedge lined ponds and streams, dwarf oaks and gorse, long brambles poking into the road. This is where the River Fal begins its journey to Falmouth. Where else could it go? The light drizzle I had up on the clay hills has gone and more blue has appeared to the west and thats the direction I need to go.

Past Gnome World, past the Screech Owl Centre, over the lines of traffic on the A30 and on to Indian Queens where I can speculate, as can you, on the origin of its place name. The tourists stay on the A30 and the village slumbers on, barely aware of the 21st Century passing it by. More deep lanes to come, twisting lanes, short steep hills.

The sun is definitely leaving but I will be home before its dark. Another month of light evenings and then I will be on a 5pm curfew.

The last eight miles feel very long. Steep little ramps keep appearing and then equally steep drops on the other side. The last hill into Truro is 10% and I stand all the way to the top picking up a Strava Top Ten as long as I discount anyone who is younger than me. Sixty five sexagenarians have tackled this hill, says Strava.

I put the bike back in its shed, muddy with a dirty chain and promise it a clean in the morning. It doesn't know that tomorrow I am flirting with a titanium Croix de Fer. It would only get upset. Can you have a titanium Iron Cross? Don't get upset little Cube... I am only flirting.