Your ride today....

[13 rider]

So I'm away for a few days near Oswestry and the bike has come along . Today's first ride didn't go to plan. The route was 50 km crossing the Welsh boarder collecting a couple of climbs on Simon Warren's Midlands climbs list . Out early is 0630 first obstacle of crossing the A5 proved easier than expected. 5 miles in and the cranks appear to be making a strange noise and the pedal feels a bit wonky, the noise went away but the pedal was not right . Stopped gave everything a once pedals, cleat etc couldn't find anything wrong .So pressed on but something is a miss ,hit the first climb as it hit 16% I got out of the saddle which made things a lot worse ,not stopping on the climb,got to the top and discovered a 1cm crack in my right hand crank spider shimano ultegra ,That's not good ,quick reroute and I'm 9 miles from my accommodation. Taking very easy I headed home thinking I get to somewhere where I can talk my rescue to me Im out in the wilds .With a combination of freewheeling and spinning in bottom gear the miles being to tick down . Hit a steep hill which I decided to walk . A man in his garden asked why I was walking ,explained the bike was broken nd he kindly offered me a lift back ,I politely turned down the offer as once up this hill it was a big downhill back .1mile from home I had to resort to 1 legged pedalling A cyclist stopped to offer help I said I think it's a bit more than a roadside repair . He told me of the nearest bike shop . Anyway I made it home

The aftermath of riding a splitting crank !!!!
Once back I phoned the bike shop in the vain hope I wasn't out of action for the week .The guy at the shop said no chance of a new replacement for weeks ,but offered a 2nd hand old 105 replacement . After another couple of calls confirmed the supply shortage . Soon I'm at the bike works in Oswestry having the 2nd hand part fitted did it while we wondered around town all for £35 so a massive shout out to the bike works getting me back on the road .I can now can arrange a replacement hopefully via warranty from local lbs .Just got to ignore my cycling ocd black left crank silver chain rings and crank

 

[Mark Grant]

I had my right hip replaced 5 weeks ago tomorrow and have been getting bored indoors, so Sunday I went out on my Brompton, just a flat 14 miles.
Monday I went to see a couple of mates, 16 flat miles. And today I went to Richmond Park, 25 miles.
Hip feels fine!.

 

[Gunk]

I have heard tales of Ultegra 6700 and 6800 hollotech cranks failing, that’s a pretty dramatic failure, I would contact Shimano for a good will gesture

 

[13 rider]

I have heard tales of Ultegra 6700 and 6800 hollotech cranks failing, that’s a pretty dramatic failure, I would contact Shimano for a good will gesture

Yes I had heard stories of hollowtech failures as had the bike shop but he hadn't seen one . The photo makes it looks like a dramatic failure but that was after nine miles of making the crack worse

 

[JonT005]

I had good weather near where I am living so decided to try and make the most of the sun.
I was originally planning to do 160km but my route planning isn't the greatest and I got a little sidetracked
There was a fair bit of climbing and around 2ish it was boiling hot and I thought I was going to explode ://///

In one of the towns by the lake I cycled round I found an elderly lady who had fallen off her bike, I ended up having to help her out can call an ambulance so I hope she is now ok.

Overall it was a great ride if not a bit too hot lol.

 

[gavgav]

Towards the end of last year my mojo well and truly disappeared. Today I decided to get some much needed fresh air and sunshine. Just 10 miles, and my derriere is a bit numb but all in all a very pleasant ride with little traffic.


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Good to see you out again

 

[welsh dragon]

Good to see you out again

Thanks Gav. I must admit, it was good to get out again.

 

[Littgull]

I had a terrific ride yesterday. It was a beautiful summer day so I took full advantage and caught the early am train from Rochdale direct to Chester. From there I cycled 12 miles to Hooton - a very pretty route. Hooton is a small village located right on the very impressive Wirral Way which I rode in a clockwise direction around the whole 35 mile coastline of the Wirral. It is very flat and an excellent surface. Apart from small parts of the last 14 miles it is entirely off road and an excellent surface with splendid coastal views.
On arrival back at Hooton with 47 miles completed I rode 62 miles back to Littleborough on quiet roads, tracks and trails via Ellesmere Port (outskirts), Frodsham, Woolston, Culceth, Tydesley, Bolton, Bury and Rochdale. It was 109 miles in total and a whopping 40% was on traffic free trails.
Here are a few Pics.

Shrophire Union Canal, Chester

Wirral Way near West Kirby

Promenade New Brighton

Hoylake Beach

Looking across the Mersey near Wallasey

 

[PaulB]

My morning ride couldn't really have been more boring because it was 100 kilometres on the Steven Burke track so that meant going round and round and round and round and round and round and round until I'd done the 100 kilometres. Real mind-over-matter stuff but I did want a FAST 100 kilometres so without traffic, stop/starts junctions etc, you can get your head down and blast distances out. My bike-mounted Garmin informs me I did 100k at an average of 17.8mph while my Garmin Forerunner watch tells me I did more than the required distance at an average of 17.5mph!

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/6967277794

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Monday's ride:

What with lockdowns and weather and various demands on my time I hadn't started my attempt at the Lunacy Challenge for this year yet. I've resigned myself to the fact that I haven't been riding enough to enjoyably manage getting in enough imperial centuries, so will set a metric century target this time and build back up.

Monday was available and the weather looked good so I aimed to get on the road in the morning to rack up the miles. I was actually awake much earlier than planned when the dog decided that daylight = time to get up and prodded me in the face with a paw at 5am. Even after a relatively leisurely get up I was out on the road not long after seven and heading to do loop round the north of the county.

The forecast had changed overnight and didn't look quite as good so I made sure I had my waterproofs and decided to use the Raleigh rather than the Galaxy as I'd originally thought. The A49 was completely clear as I approached so I didn't even need to slow down at the junction, then there was a long stream of traffic headed the other way so I was really lucky to get that gap.

Heading through Condover I aimed for Ryton then Stapleton where there is an easier crossing back over the A49, which I was glad of as it was quite busy at this point. I then carried on to Exford's Green, Plealey and Pontesbury against a light wind. There was a bit of a moment with an Audiot who squeezed between me and an oncoming car headed into PontesburyThe driver following was more nervous and missed a couple of good opportunities to go past. i was glad to slip onto the cycle path and get away from this traffic.

Approaching Minsterley the headwind brought a strong smell of cooking beef from the corned beef factory there. The road through Horsebridge was fairly quiet and although it was still the tail-end of rush hour on the way to Westbury the traffic wasn't too bad. At Halfway House there wasn't a car to be seen as I crossed the Welshpool road, which is unusual. After Prince's Oak and Crew Green I crossed the Severn and onto the lanes through Melverley. I'd had it in mind to stop here for a snack but had somehow managed to forget to put any in my panniers. That's annoying but I wasn't going to be out all day so I decided to press on without.

The flat roads after Melverley make for easy riding to Maesbrook, The Wood and Woolston where I turned off towards West Felton (this lane was busier than expected), Grimpo and Rednal. Signs warning me about road closures and long delays turned out to be a bit over the top for the single vehicle being used for a bit of patching.

Darker cloud had been rolling in for some time and nearing Ellesmere it started to drizzle. Reaching the town centre it was enough to make me reach for the waterproofs and decide not to detour to look at The Mere. It stayed damp through Coptiviney, Welshampton, Lyneal and most of the way to Loppington, reminding me of a previous metric century round this area where I got absolutely drenched. Fortunately this time it did ease but the air went cool after the rain so I swapped the rain jacket for a fleece.

At Loppington it was clear that I had enough miles in hand to shorten the route home. With the wind having shifted round to a northerly I had a fairly quick run to Burlton and Baschurch then headed to Little Ness, Montford Bridge and the most direct way round the edge of Shrewsbury. Approaching Shelton I got overtaken by a lad on a mountain bike who made it look like I was stood still. I looked for the motor but there wasn't one - it was just me flagging on the gentle climb. On the descent to the traffic lights I had the advantage though and left him behind.

65.2 miles at 13.8 mph average. My Lunacy Challenge has started.

Nice near Stapleton first thing.

Just outside Plealey.

View to the Breidden before descending to Prince's Oak.

Crossing the Severn on the way to Melverley. Where'd the sunshine go?

Near Woolston. It looks to be raining over the hills.

Approaching West Felton.

The canal at Ellesmere.

The grand arch over a little lane near Welshampton.

The church at Welshampton.

At Loppington.

 

[Grant Fondo]

18 mile utility ride the day before AZ no.2 made me ineligible to ride under doping rules. Anyone else miss winter riding when it's this hot and sticky?

 

[theloafer]

just a short one today .. called in to see the boss as she is working from home and looking after her mum (Dementia) and sounded down last night. Aycliffe-Great Stainton-Redmarshall-over the A177 at Thorpe Thewles-Wolviston-Billingham.
retraced my route back to just before Thorpe Thewles and picked up the Wynyard cycle path al the way till it meets the A689 which has then part of the NCN1 route along side it all the way to Sedgefield, out past the racecourse back to Great Stainton through the industrial estate then home. then had to make a detour as i looked at e-bike controller and i was 2 mile short of 3000 miles so round the houses i did go
trip to see boss | Ride | Strava 43.miles

 

[Mark Grant]

More hip physio today.
I went to Platts Eyot in the Thames at Hampton to look at the remains of the WW2 Motor Torpedo Boat sheds that recently burnt down, MTBs were built here during the war.

Some boats were rescued from the flames, not sure if this was one but it looks like a MTB.

Then on to Bushy Park, deer, swans and lots of good size carp cruising about in the ponds.

From the park into Kingston for a mooch around then along the river to Hampton Court and home via Bushy Park. 24 miles.

 

[Donger]

A nice timeless ride with @Dark46 today, out in a loop to Arlingham and back in hot sunshine. One of those days when it was better to keep going, producing your own air conditioning, than to stop. That didn't stop us from dismounting and downing pints of cold cider at the Passage Inn in Arlingham. On the way back we stopped for a moment on the banks of the Severn at Stonebench .... my one mile from home mark. @Dark46 took a candid picture as I had one last swig before heading home.

Another great ride in good company. Another 31.8 miles ridden.
Cheers, Donger.

 

[PaulB]

More hip physio today.
I went to Platts Eyot in the Thames at Hampton to look at the remains of the WW2 Motor Torpedo Boat sheds that recently burnt down, MTBs were built here during the war.
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Some boats were rescued from the flames, not sure if this was one but it looks like a MTB.
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Then on to Bushy Park, deer, swans and lots of good size carp cruising about in the ponds.
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From the park into Kingston for a mooch around then along the river to Hampton Court and home via Bushy Park. 24 miles.
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It's a good job your Brompton was there to hold the last phone booth up, wasn't it?