Your ride today....

[gbb]

Innit wet out there ?
Just an hour meandering around the river at different locations. Roads, paths everything is soaked. The trees I rode alongside have more moss growing up the trunks than I ever saw before. River, while not as high as it has been is plowing through, fields, gold courses, ditches, paths are flooded.
Good ride, enjoyed it....but innit wet eh ?

 

[Archie_tect]

6.5 miles in the wet- got turned back by a local farmer as he said the back road was 3 foot underwater, so cut down a track to have a look- the wetland sanctuary certainly was today!

 

[geocycle]

A 25 mile local loop up Littledale and Conder valley. Cold and drizzly most of the time so no photos. Probably wouldn’t have gone out except for the forecast ice next week. Any hesitation went when I got out up the lanes. Had a close encounter with a buzzard who had found lunch near the Caton moor wind farm. Climb up Littledale is pretty steep but I only got up to 240 altitude with 600 m of total climbing. Despite the weather views across the Bay to the Lakes were good. Every pull in and car park was full! Great to see people getting outdoors.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Chill north wind greeted me as I headed out around the northern reaches of the Malverns. In the lanes and heading south wasn't too bad but the upslopes seemed hard. I paused at the top of Winthill to snap some wonderful snowdrops and to let some horse riders get to a bit of safety. I opted to go by Coddington where the crocus is up and flowering but the petals were closed against a grey sky. The banks of snowdrops at the top of Wellington Heath were amazing. Down through the ford at Clencher's Mill is always a pleasant run. From Bromsberrow it was back into that nagging chill northerly for the final miles. With the traffic flows apparent locally it would seem that the Severn is still flooding. Certainly plenty of water lying around. 42 smiles

 

[philtalksbx]

I tried a short loop to shake down the Orbea having converted it back to a Shimano group set. Sadly my first puncture for several years forced a rethink having used my spare tube so I stayed a bit closer to home and diverted through Forest Hill, Beckley and Elsfield. The views across Otmoor from Buckley are great, especially today with much of the water meadows flooded.

Almost 20km in an hour and the bike feels great. Time to warm up with rugby and a beer...

 

[Jon George]

Not My Ride Today (at least, not yet), but my wife has just reported that someone has cycled past our house (there's snow everywhere) ... on a Penny-Farthing.

 

[Old jon]

Well, I was fooled by the birdbath this morning. The first time for a while it has not been frozen over, I could see the ripples the wind was making . . .

So I took the Spa out for a ride and it was, politely, freezing. But this year I have ridden so little and feel that I need to ride more. So I kept on pedalling. Start off along Jack Lane into the depths of Holbeck. Not literally, though the beck itself is very high, only a couple of feet below the road surface along Water Lane. The last five rides have been very local loops, and short repetitive ones at that. Today was going to be a bit different.

Given the temperature, I wanted options, so away from Water Lane and through Hunslet on the way to John o’ Gaunts. If my hands had not warmed up by then it is only five or six miles back home. Warm hands, carry on down the hill to Oulton. And lose the warmth. Turn right, the road rises just enough to warm up again, through Rothwell and Carlton on the way to Robin Hood. Straight across the A61 there, and the road goes up to Thorpe on the Hill. Up far enough for there still to be snow at the side of the road. Up far enough for the easterly wind to be a bit painful.

So, head for Middleton. Down the Ring Road to Tommy Wass, either the houses at the side of the road took the edge off the wind or things had warmed up a bit. A right turn at the pub, ride past the park and decide to turn left. To ride up to Beeston, and then down again to Top Moor Side. Proper Holbeck. And then, via Water Lane again, to home. Eighteen miles, with a grin when I reached there, ‘cos I know the shower will thaw me out. Good to ride again.

The map,

 

[Dave 123]

Just a quick loop through Plymstock and out to Jennycliff, up Staddon Heights and home.
I left Dilys in her crate while out. Poor old girl!

8 little miles.

 

[gavgav]

I’d arranged to meet up with Paul H for a ride and he sent me a message, first thing, to say he was still up for it, despite the freezing cold temperatures. We met at 11:45, after I’d done my on call stint, by the traffic lights, with light snow falling and a biting North Easterly wind, with us both deciding we were utterly mad to be out, but that’s what lockdown does to you!!

We went South, so had the wind mostly behind us through Betton Abbots, Condover, Gonsal, Stapleton and Exfords Green. It felt cold, but bearable.....At Annscroft we then turned North, into the wind, to Hook a Gate and Nobold, where we parted ways and I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold on a bike, despite multiple layers and thermals. My feet weren’t too bad, thanks to my Neoprene overshoes, but Paul had lost much of the feeling in his feet.

My final stint was through Meole village and home with 14.79 miles on the clock. Nice to catch up with Paul, but we both remarked about wishing warmer Spring days on as quick as possible. Lots of people out walking and on bikes, so we weren’t the only ones. Unfortunately very busy with traffic as well.

 

[ianbarton]

Very cold today. The temperature was around 4C, but there was a very cold Easterly wind. I did my Market Drayton loop in reverse. I had taken a flask of hot chocolate with me and intended to stop in Audlem to drink it and eat my sandwich. When I go there I decided it made sense to cycle the last three miles to a nice warm kitchen. Much too cold to remove my gloves and take a photo. There were quite a few flurries of snow, but not enough to stick to the road.

 

[ianbarton]

Today’s ride, 2/2/21
Yesterday was the day when I should have gone out, but I had things to sort out. The sun shone, the air was mild, but that was yesterday.

Nice to hear about your Winsford rides. I used to live there until I was about 18 and left for Uni (1973). Members of my family have lived there for at least 200 years. It has changed out of all recognition since those days.

 

[derrick]

My birthday ride, Have been doing birthday rides for a few years now, Normally we would have up to a dozen come along, but with this lock down i could only do it with one mate, also i would have gone to Calpe for our normal training camp, but that will not happen this year, so not done many proper rides of late. Anyway we set of 8-30am to do the 69 birthday miles, first 30miles no problem but then started to feel it in the legs, we carried on for the rest of the ride, found a coffee shop when we got to Hertford about 60 miles, Had a nice coffee and sausage roll, then carried on to the end, finished up doing 74 miles, No big celebration as we would have normally done if the pubs had been open, But we did have a sneaky beer Assanga did have a ride on my new bike at the end of the ride.

A good day out although a bit damp. https://www.strava.com/activities/4744465172

 

[Jenkins]

Only just over 10 miles today, but it was in sub-zero temepratures and high 20mph winds and heavy snow on the 29er!
The road conditions were quite good as it had rained for most of yesterday & overnight and stayed above freezing, so no ice, but there were some places where the ruts were starting to freeze over and drifts off the fields were building up.

I took the main road into Felixstowe and then turned onto the road that runs along the seafront and straight into the bitterly cold north-easterly. I followed this all the way into Old Felixstowe except for the bit where I cut onto the prom rather than try to use Bent Hill as a number of children were sledging on it. Suffice to say it was a bit blowy and grey with rough seas...

Down & up through the Dip towards the golf club it would have probably been quicker walking, but after that it was my regular commuting road of Gulphur Road -and a tail wind for almost all of it. Due to it being through open countryside I was expecting some problems, but the hedges and trees lining most of it appeared to have acted as snow barriers keeping the roads mostly clear

although there was a nasty section near the old golf driving range where a bit of a drift had built up

Wrapped up in 2 pairs of socks, walking boots, trousers with Altura waterproof trousers over the top, 3 layers plus jacket up top and liner gloves inside the split finger padded gloves it wasn't too bad, but the headwinds were an absolute bugger - especially with the snow being blown into my eyes (even a cap didn't help).

 

[AndreaJ]

Cold and breezy here too with a few snow showers. Started out into the wind to Whixall, through to Hollinswood, Fenns Bank over the swing bridge to Alkington, back into Whixall, Coton, Foxholes, Horton forgetting that the road has been closed all week for drainage works to stop the house at the end of the lane flooding whenever it rains- it looked like work had stopped for the weekend and the road was open. Carried on to the Ellesmere Road then turned towards Loppington turning by the village duck pond to Lyneal finding quite a few flooded bits down this lane, down another wet lane to Welshampton where it’s now snowing quite a bit so back to Northwood and home. Only saw a couple of walkers and not much traffic. Glad I bought a warm winter jacket so most of me stayed warm.
26.2 miles. Lots of snowdrops out now so took a photo to remind me it is getting closer to spring.

 

[cosmicbike]

I missed my commute rides Sat/Sun due to the weather forecast, rather frustratingly the forecast was nothing like the real thing so I could have cycled. Popped out for a brief pedal this morning just to see how cold it was. -2.5C, so a wee bit nippy and rather dull on main roads to avoid the ice. Still, felt better for making the effort.