Dave 123
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire alps
My longest ride in ages. Almost 38 miles in the sunshine!
Lots of cows.
Your ride today....
- Thread starter gbb
- Start date
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My longest ride in ages. Almost 38 miles in the sunshine!
Lots of cows.
An opportunity arose for a Saturday ride so headed to Malham. Great views from Mewith Lane then across the A65 to Austwick. Upwards through Wharf to Ribblesdale and crossed the river at Stainforth falls. Then the long climb up to Malham Tarn. The weather took on the dour national vibe and clouds gathered with some light rain on the top. Steep descent on the cove road to Malham village which was fairly busy. Then a big climb over the moor to Settle where I enjoyed the company of the Naked Man. Was feeling it a bit today after walking in the lakes yesterday so decided to get the train home. 69 km or 43 miles with 1100m of climbing.
pictures of Malham cove and the roads on the tops.
pictures of Malham cove and the roads on the tops.
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cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
cut the ride short as ride mate had a mechanical where the right crank arm sheared off , a known issue with 4 arm shimano cranks i think? He only had it about a month bought 2 nd hand from fleabay and fitted by the LBS.
He didnt have a phone or anyone at home to pick him up so i rode maybe 7 miles home and got the car to rescue him so our planned metric century turned into a 56 miler for me .At least it was close to home !
He didnt have a phone or anyone at home to pick him up so i rode maybe 7 miles home and got the car to rescue him so our planned metric century turned into a 56 miler for me .At least it was close to home !
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Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
Out of the door around 06:15 to ride to Lower Quinton (thanks to @Willd for the tip) as part of the A-Z village photo thread. if you don't know about it head over here (https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/abc-towns-and-villages.244314/) it is a great way to get you to ride to different places.
Anyway, back on topic, it is very misty so I pop back inside and grab a couple of cloth wipes used for cleaning glasses, luckily I had charged the front light last week. After a mile I had to stop and wipe my glasses. This is going to be a long day.
Nothing much happened for the first 35 miles or so and then I heard a ping from the front wheel. It looked like it was in shape so I carried on, after a couple of miles the disc brake is rubbing and the wheel is a bit wobbly. So I pull over and give the front wheel a once over. One snapped spoke, check the others and they all seem okay, do I turn back? Do I call the team car? It's still a bit early and the DS will be getting ready for the gym to do a spin class. Or do I plough on? I'm only 20 miles away from Lower Quinton so I just plough on.
I'm now going up or down, it's a bit lumpy out that way, (I was west of Warwick and heading around the west of Stratford-upon-Avon to get to Lower Quinton) and with the bust spoke I was trying to stay in the saddle as I didn't want to put any unnecessary weight on the front wheel, of which at the moment I have an excess of!
Get to Lower Quinton, take the snap and I notice at last the mist has finally lifted, I was riding through it for a good 50-55 miles. I then ride the 7 or so miles up to Stratford-upon-Avon and to McDonald's for breakfast. I normally use McDonald's as it is cheap, is quick, they are always open and you can normally lock your bike up and keep an eye on it. Though as they do more and more uber eats or whoever they use, the service is getting worse and worse.
All fuelled up and I head up the A3400 to get Hatton Rock, that was a busy road, and then it is back to Warwick and retrace my steps to get home.
As i went through Ryton on Dunsmore there are a group of cyclists coming towards me and as we are passing each other a car decides to come over to my side of the road to overtake. I gave him a friendly greeting, which he responding to by cutting back in, at which point the other cyclists gave him even friendlier greetings, shortly after I had an horrendous close pass by a car towing a caravan, the car must have given me three foot of room, the caravan probably not a foot, I caught a wind gust from it, I have no idea how it didn't pull me into the caravan. Straight after it, another caravan, luckily that one went right over the line and gave me loads of room.
As I'm nearing home I decide to ride around the block to tick over the miles to 113, a future Eddington number bagged.
Absolutely cream crackered, as I tire I like to get out of the saddle now and again but with the spoke I wasn't keen on doing it. I think I did at least 75 miles with the broken spoke.
https://www.strava.com/activities/7790669094
Anyway, back on topic, it is very misty so I pop back inside and grab a couple of cloth wipes used for cleaning glasses, luckily I had charged the front light last week. After a mile I had to stop and wipe my glasses. This is going to be a long day.
Nothing much happened for the first 35 miles or so and then I heard a ping from the front wheel. It looked like it was in shape so I carried on, after a couple of miles the disc brake is rubbing and the wheel is a bit wobbly. So I pull over and give the front wheel a once over. One snapped spoke, check the others and they all seem okay, do I turn back? Do I call the team car? It's still a bit early and the DS will be getting ready for the gym to do a spin class. Or do I plough on? I'm only 20 miles away from Lower Quinton so I just plough on.
I'm now going up or down, it's a bit lumpy out that way, (I was west of Warwick and heading around the west of Stratford-upon-Avon to get to Lower Quinton) and with the bust spoke I was trying to stay in the saddle as I didn't want to put any unnecessary weight on the front wheel, of which at the moment I have an excess of!
Get to Lower Quinton, take the snap and I notice at last the mist has finally lifted, I was riding through it for a good 50-55 miles. I then ride the 7 or so miles up to Stratford-upon-Avon and to McDonald's for breakfast. I normally use McDonald's as it is cheap, is quick, they are always open and you can normally lock your bike up and keep an eye on it. Though as they do more and more uber eats or whoever they use, the service is getting worse and worse.
All fuelled up and I head up the A3400 to get Hatton Rock, that was a busy road, and then it is back to Warwick and retrace my steps to get home.
As i went through Ryton on Dunsmore there are a group of cyclists coming towards me and as we are passing each other a car decides to come over to my side of the road to overtake. I gave him a friendly greeting, which he responding to by cutting back in, at which point the other cyclists gave him even friendlier greetings, shortly after I had an horrendous close pass by a car towing a caravan, the car must have given me three foot of room, the caravan probably not a foot, I caught a wind gust from it, I have no idea how it didn't pull me into the caravan. Straight after it, another caravan, luckily that one went right over the line and gave me loads of room.
As I'm nearing home I decide to ride around the block to tick over the miles to 113, a future Eddington number bagged.
Absolutely cream crackered, as I tire I like to get out of the saddle now and again but with the spoke I wasn't keen on doing it. I think I did at least 75 miles with the broken spoke.
https://www.strava.com/activities/7790669094
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
I was in Cornwall last week for a bit of a holiday with @gavgav. After the driest summer for many years, trust us to pick the week when the weather turns.
Despite that we did manage to get some cycling in.
Sunday 4th: The morning was dry so we got ourselves up and about earlyish and set out to do a 20 mile loop to ease ourselves into it. We were staying near St Neot (not far from Liskeard) on the edge of Bodmin Moor and started off towards the moor to explore round Colliford Lake and Bolventor. The climbing at the start was taken gently but to be honest isn't that different to Shropshire hills so we got on alright. We headed up the western side of Colliford Lake to the car park and view point then retraced our steps a bit to ride up the eastern side to Bolventor. Something that struck me in these early miles is how good the roads are - I won't claim they are perfect by any means but they are noticably smoother and better looked after than at home.
Reaching Bolventor we paused for photos at the famous Jamaica Inn before riding alongside the River Fowey to head back towards St Neot. This gave a long stretch of mostly downhill riding through nice scenery before we found the steeper hills we needed to climb over. A little detour was taken to find out where the local cricket club resides before dropping into the village and tackling the final climb to where we were staying.
21.7 miles at 10.2 mph average and a nice start to the week.
Heading onto Bodmin Moor.
Colliford Lake. The effects of the recent drought are plain to see here - the lake level appears to be at least 20 feet below normal.
At Jamaica Inn - it was a bit early for a pint on this ride but we did try the place for a meal later in the week. Good beer, good food, it's very obviously geared towards tourists because of the literary connections but that was okay.
Heading away from Bolventor. The sign isn't one I'm used to seeing at home. The River Fowey is hidden in the undergrowth on the left of the road at this point.
About to cross the Fowey at Treverbyn Bridge.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday 4th: We had another dry morning forecast but after that it looked like being pretty wet for the rest of the week, so we determined to make the most of what we'd got. Gav plotted a route to take us to the end of the Camel Trail so that we could suss that out if we did get the opportunity to ride it later in the week. This one was going to be hilly as we were crossing valleys rather than riding along them.
To start with we took the road that led to Mount then Millpool - the downs were fast and fun, the ups were slow and steady - long drags rather than being too steep. We crossed the A30 on a bridge that must be fairly new as it didn't appear on Gav's map but did on my slightly newer edition. We then had a long descent to Poley's Bridge where we joined the Camel Trail. Since this was just a recce for later on we headed up the trail for the short distance to the Snail's Pace cafe which is where the old railway line ends. We were quite early still so they hadn't opened just yet.
Headed back along the trail we'd had to ride in single file to pass a fallen tree and I was just accelerating to get back alongside Gav when he pulled up and when I tried to do the same my front wheel locked up on the slippy concrete surface and once it started sliding there was nothing I could do to recover. The bike hit the deck while somehow I managed to step off and trotted to a stand - don't ask me how, it was all instinctive.
Fortunately no damage done except to my pride - I just had to wipe the mud off the bike.
Rejoining the road at Poley's Bridge we headed up the lane through Merry Meeting (I was slightly disappointed that there was no sign that we could photograph the bikes against) headed for Blisland. This climb was quite long and fairly steep so low range was wanted. The pub at Blisland looked very inviting and we had it in mind to come over for one of the evenings - plans changed and we didn't manage it in the end so it's one to try and come back to. A longish descent was followed by a long climb to take a different new bridge across the A30 and past the entrance to Bodmin Airfield. After another descent there was a long drag through Cardinham to get back to Mount. A large tractor was met on a narrow bit of the next climb and we were thankful we had just reached a gateway where we could let it by.
20.5 miles for this one at 8.7 mph average. While none of the hills were huge, there are so many to ride over that the climbing mounted up to 2,340 feet over that distance according to Gav's Strava and we certainly felt it in the legs by the end.
A bit of a drizzly morning as we climb up to cross the A30.
Joining the Camel Trail at Poley's Bridge.
The Blisland Inn looks tempting. One for another time.
Ancient Celtic cross and it appears that all roads lead to Bodmin.
Up on the moor. Not too far to go now.
Despite that we did manage to get some cycling in.Sunday 4th: The morning was dry so we got ourselves up and about earlyish and set out to do a 20 mile loop to ease ourselves into it. We were staying near St Neot (not far from Liskeard) on the edge of Bodmin Moor and started off towards the moor to explore round Colliford Lake and Bolventor. The climbing at the start was taken gently but to be honest isn't that different to Shropshire hills so we got on alright. We headed up the western side of Colliford Lake to the car park and view point then retraced our steps a bit to ride up the eastern side to Bolventor. Something that struck me in these early miles is how good the roads are - I won't claim they are perfect by any means but they are noticably smoother and better looked after than at home.
Reaching Bolventor we paused for photos at the famous Jamaica Inn before riding alongside the River Fowey to head back towards St Neot. This gave a long stretch of mostly downhill riding through nice scenery before we found the steeper hills we needed to climb over. A little detour was taken to find out where the local cricket club resides before dropping into the village and tackling the final climb to where we were staying.
21.7 miles at 10.2 mph average and a nice start to the week.
Heading onto Bodmin Moor.
Colliford Lake. The effects of the recent drought are plain to see here - the lake level appears to be at least 20 feet below normal.
At Jamaica Inn - it was a bit early for a pint on this ride but we did try the place for a meal later in the week. Good beer, good food, it's very obviously geared towards tourists because of the literary connections but that was okay.
Heading away from Bolventor. The sign isn't one I'm used to seeing at home. The River Fowey is hidden in the undergrowth on the left of the road at this point.
About to cross the Fowey at Treverbyn Bridge.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday 4th: We had another dry morning forecast but after that it looked like being pretty wet for the rest of the week, so we determined to make the most of what we'd got. Gav plotted a route to take us to the end of the Camel Trail so that we could suss that out if we did get the opportunity to ride it later in the week. This one was going to be hilly as we were crossing valleys rather than riding along them.
To start with we took the road that led to Mount then Millpool - the downs were fast and fun, the ups were slow and steady - long drags rather than being too steep. We crossed the A30 on a bridge that must be fairly new as it didn't appear on Gav's map but did on my slightly newer edition. We then had a long descent to Poley's Bridge where we joined the Camel Trail. Since this was just a recce for later on we headed up the trail for the short distance to the Snail's Pace cafe which is where the old railway line ends. We were quite early still so they hadn't opened just yet.
Headed back along the trail we'd had to ride in single file to pass a fallen tree and I was just accelerating to get back alongside Gav when he pulled up and when I tried to do the same my front wheel locked up on the slippy concrete surface and once it started sliding there was nothing I could do to recover. The bike hit the deck while somehow I managed to step off and trotted to a stand - don't ask me how, it was all instinctive.
Fortunately no damage done except to my pride - I just had to wipe the mud off the bike.Rejoining the road at Poley's Bridge we headed up the lane through Merry Meeting (I was slightly disappointed that there was no sign that we could photograph the bikes against) headed for Blisland. This climb was quite long and fairly steep so low range was wanted. The pub at Blisland looked very inviting and we had it in mind to come over for one of the evenings - plans changed and we didn't manage it in the end so it's one to try and come back to. A longish descent was followed by a long climb to take a different new bridge across the A30 and past the entrance to Bodmin Airfield. After another descent there was a long drag through Cardinham to get back to Mount. A large tractor was met on a narrow bit of the next climb and we were thankful we had just reached a gateway where we could let it by.
20.5 miles for this one at 8.7 mph average. While none of the hills were huge, there are so many to ride over that the climbing mounted up to 2,340 feet over that distance according to Gav's Strava and we certainly felt it in the legs by the end.
A bit of a drizzly morning as we climb up to cross the A30.
Joining the Camel Trail at Poley's Bridge.
The Blisland Inn looks tempting. One for another time.
Ancient Celtic cross and it appears that all roads lead to Bodmin.
Up on the moor. Not too far to go now.
Currently in Cornwall and can confirmed it's hillyI was in Cornwall last week for a bit of a holiday with @gavgav. After the driest summer for many years, trust us to pick the week when the weather turns.
Sunday 4th: The morning was dry so we got ourselves up and about earlyish and set out to do a 20 mile loop to ease ourselves into it. We were staying near St Neot (not far from Liskeard) on the edge of Bodmin Moor and started off towards the moor to explore round Colliford Lake and Bolventor. The climbing at the start was taken gently but to be honest isn't that different to Shropshire hills so we got on alright. We headed up the western side of Colliford Lake to the car park and view point then retraced our steps a bit to ride up the eastern side to Bolventor. Something that struck me in these early miles is how good the roads are - I won't claim they are perfect by any means but they are noticably smoother and better looked after than at home.
Reaching Bolventor we paused for photos at the famous Jamaica Inn before riding alongside the River Fowey to head back towards St Neot. This gave a long stretch of mostly downhill riding through nice scenery before we found the steeper hills we needed to climb over. A little detour was taken to find out where the local cricket club resides before dropping into the village and tackling the final climb to where we were staying.
21.7 miles at 10.2 mph average and a nice start to the week.
View attachment 660819
Heading onto Bodmin Moor.
View attachment 660820
Colliford Lake. The effects of the recent drought are plain to see here - the lake level appears to be at least 20 feet below normal.
View attachment 660821
At Jamaica Inn - it was a bit early for a pint on this ride but we did try the place for a meal later in the week. Good beer, good food, it's very obviously geared towards tourists because of the literary connections but that was okay.
View attachment 660822
Heading away from Bolventor. The sign isn't one I'm used to seeing at home. The River Fowey is hidden in the undergrowth on the left of the road at this point.
View attachment 660823
About to cross the Fowey at Treverbyn Bridge.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday 4th: We had another dry morning forecast but after that it looked like being pretty wet for the rest of the week, so we determined to make the most of what we'd got. Gav plotted a route to take us to the end of the Camel Trail so that we could suss that out if we did get the opportunity to ride it later in the week. This one was going to be hilly as we were crossing valleys rather than riding along them.
To start with we took the road that led to Mount then Millpool - the downs were fast and fun, the ups were slow and steady - long drags rather than being too steep. We crossed the A30 on a bridge that must be fairly new as it didn't appear on Gav's map but did on my slightly newer edition. We then had a long descent to Poley's Bridge where we joined the Camel Trail. Since this was just a recce for later on we headed up the trail for the short distance to the Snail's Pace cafe which is where the old railway line ends. We were quite early still so they hadn't opened just yet.
Headed back along the trail we'd had to ride in single file to pass a fallen tree and I was just accelerating to get back alongside Gav when he pulled up and when I tried to do the same my front wheel locked up on the slippy concrete surface and once it started sliding there was nothing I could do to recover. The bike hit the deck while somehow I managed to step off and trotted to a stand - don't ask me how, it was all instinctive.
Rejoining the road at Poley's Bridge we headed up the lane through Merry Meeting (I was slightly disappointed that there was no sign that we could photograph the bikes against) headed for Blisland. This climb was quite long and fairly steep so low range was wanted. The pub at Blisland looked very inviting and we had it in mind to come over for one of the evenings - plans changed and we didn't manage it in the end so it's one to try and come back to. A longish descent was followed by a long climb to take a different new bridge across the A30 and past the entrance to Bodmin Airfield. After another descent there was a long drag through Cardinham to get back to Mount. A large tractor was met on a narrow bit of the next climb and we were thankful we had just reached a gateway where we could let it by.
20.5 miles for this one at 8.7 mph average. While none of the hills were huge, there are so many to ride over that the climbing mounted up to 2,340 feet over that distance according to Gav's Strava and we certainly felt it in the legs by the end.
View attachment 660826
A bit of a drizzly morning as we climb up to cross the A30.
View attachment 660827
Joining the Camel Trail at Poley's Bridge.
View attachment 660828
The Blisland Inn looks tempting. One for another time.
View attachment 660829
Ancient Celtic cross and it appears that all roads lead to Bodmin.
View attachment 660830
Up on the moor. Not too far to go now.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Friday 9th: The weather hadn't been quite as bad as the forecasts had been suggesting but bad enough to keep us off the bikes in the middle of the week. Friday looked promising though so we planned to ride the Camel Trail properly as that had been the one ride we really wanted to get done.
Waterproofs were packed and we headed out the same way that we had done on Monday to Mount, Millpool and Poley's Bridge. The weather wasn't letting us off that easy and spots of rain were falling within the first half mile then a deluge came at the bottom of the first valley. We dived under a tree to put waterproofs on and the rain promptly stopped - typical! We kept the waterproofs on for a while but by the time we crossed the A30 it was getting too warm so we took them off and thankfully didn't need them again for the rest of the ride.
Joining the trail I was a bit wary of the surfaces but they were all gravel or tarmac headed down towards Bodmin. At first we mostly saw people out walking their dogs but by Bodmin there were cyclists about and the number just grew on the way to Wadebridge with most appearing to be on hire bikes. Something I hadn't anticipated was the number of bird watchers about - they seemed to be everywhere that there was a good view over the river. At Wadebridge the route takes you onto roads for a short while but it was fine even though the traffic was quite busy, then you rejoin the old trackbed and even more walkers and cyclists. Our host had warned us about the trail being horrendously busy and I can quite see how it would be packed on a nicer day.
The wind was picking up a bit and was quite hard to work against on the exposed run into Padstow so our pace was fairly sedate. The town was pretty busy so we ended up walking the bikes into the centre of town where Gav went off to get couple of pasties while I looked after the bikes. You know that the place is popular for cycling when there are "no parking" signs for bikes.
Having had our lunch and a little bit of a look round we headed back through the chaos towards the Camel Trail. This time we had the wind helping and the riding was a lot easier. Even taking it at a pretty leisurely pace we were overtaking other riders. We passed a lot of faces we recognized from the journey down as we headed to Wadebridge and more still as we returned towards Bodmin. A tea garden not far from Boscarne Junction (the end of the Bodmin and Wenford Railway) looked tempting but it wasn't very long since lunch. I recognized a family group as we passed Bodmin but was sure there had been four of them earlier - the fourth member of the group was trailing well behind and looked like they really weren't enjoying it.
As before, there were fewer people on the path after Bodmin. For some reason the section back to Poley's Bridge seems a lot further going in this direction. We had a snack stop when we did finally reach it then tackled the climb back to the A30 and over to Millpool. This wasn't too bad, being a long steady climb without being too steep and the climb to Mount was slow but steady as well. No tractors to worry us on the final big climb of the day but there was a van that wasn't overly polite on overtaking us - I grinned when it came back down the hill very shortly afterwards as they were clearly lost.
48.3 miles at 9.7 mph average according to my speedometer. That does include all the walking around Padstow so I think it's not bad. Strava says 2,231 feet of climbing.
At the highest point of this ride with the A30 snaking its way through the countryside in the background.
On the Camel Trail near Bodmin.
The view of Padstow as we approach.
Plenty of people about on the trail as we pause for the view.
We've reached Padstow, got a pasty each and are enjoying the view.
Heading back along the trail now. The view to Rock is the backdrop.
Headed for Wadebridge - the quite imposing bridge is carrying the A39 across the River Camel.
Back at Boscarne Junction. We're about an hour early to see a train here.
On our way back to Mount. The sign is lying but the photo does illustrate how rolling the road is - it comes back up the hill by the house in the distance.
Waterproofs were packed and we headed out the same way that we had done on Monday to Mount, Millpool and Poley's Bridge. The weather wasn't letting us off that easy and spots of rain were falling within the first half mile then a deluge came at the bottom of the first valley. We dived under a tree to put waterproofs on and the rain promptly stopped - typical! We kept the waterproofs on for a while but by the time we crossed the A30 it was getting too warm so we took them off and thankfully didn't need them again for the rest of the ride.
Joining the trail I was a bit wary of the surfaces but they were all gravel or tarmac headed down towards Bodmin. At first we mostly saw people out walking their dogs but by Bodmin there were cyclists about and the number just grew on the way to Wadebridge with most appearing to be on hire bikes. Something I hadn't anticipated was the number of bird watchers about - they seemed to be everywhere that there was a good view over the river. At Wadebridge the route takes you onto roads for a short while but it was fine even though the traffic was quite busy, then you rejoin the old trackbed and even more walkers and cyclists. Our host had warned us about the trail being horrendously busy and I can quite see how it would be packed on a nicer day.
The wind was picking up a bit and was quite hard to work against on the exposed run into Padstow so our pace was fairly sedate. The town was pretty busy so we ended up walking the bikes into the centre of town where Gav went off to get couple of pasties while I looked after the bikes. You know that the place is popular for cycling when there are "no parking" signs for bikes.
Having had our lunch and a little bit of a look round we headed back through the chaos towards the Camel Trail. This time we had the wind helping and the riding was a lot easier. Even taking it at a pretty leisurely pace we were overtaking other riders. We passed a lot of faces we recognized from the journey down as we headed to Wadebridge and more still as we returned towards Bodmin. A tea garden not far from Boscarne Junction (the end of the Bodmin and Wenford Railway) looked tempting but it wasn't very long since lunch. I recognized a family group as we passed Bodmin but was sure there had been four of them earlier - the fourth member of the group was trailing well behind and looked like they really weren't enjoying it.
As before, there were fewer people on the path after Bodmin. For some reason the section back to Poley's Bridge seems a lot further going in this direction. We had a snack stop when we did finally reach it then tackled the climb back to the A30 and over to Millpool. This wasn't too bad, being a long steady climb without being too steep and the climb to Mount was slow but steady as well. No tractors to worry us on the final big climb of the day but there was a van that wasn't overly polite on overtaking us - I grinned when it came back down the hill very shortly afterwards as they were clearly lost.
48.3 miles at 9.7 mph average according to my speedometer. That does include all the walking around Padstow so I think it's not bad. Strava says 2,231 feet of climbing.
At the highest point of this ride with the A30 snaking its way through the countryside in the background.
On the Camel Trail near Bodmin.
The view of Padstow as we approach.
Plenty of people about on the trail as we pause for the view.
We've reached Padstow, got a pasty each and are enjoying the view.
Heading back along the trail now. The view to Rock is the backdrop.
Headed for Wadebridge - the quite imposing bridge is carrying the A39 across the River Camel.
Back at Boscarne Junction. We're about an hour early to see a train here.
On our way back to Mount. The sign is lying but the photo does illustrate how rolling the road is - it comes back up the hill by the house in the distance.
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As @Rickshaw Phil has mentioned above, we’ve been away in Cornwall for the week, with Bikes. The weather was pretty wet for most of the week, but we managed 3 rides that Phil has covered nicely.
I’ll just add some photo’s that hopefully complement Phil’s reports. Good enjoyable cycling and those hills are certainly plentiful!
I’ll just add some photo’s that hopefully complement Phil’s reports. Good enjoyable cycling and those hills are certainly plentiful!
Spiderweb
Not So Special One
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Sunday’s ride, Out at 1pm on the Spesh Roubaix for a change. Riding with David & Suzanne from our village we went to Birkin cafe for coffee. Unfortunately it was closed so we sat on one of the benches for half an hour and had a good chin wag.
We managed to find a cafe in South Milford which was open👍
A lovely bright day, 30.98 miles with an average of 17.0 mph.
We managed to find a cafe in South Milford which was open👍
A lovely bright day, 30.98 miles with an average of 17.0 mph.
Spiderweb
Not So Special One
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Out on the Tricross from work. Took the route out to Askham Bryan then on to Acaster Malbis, Naburn and hopped on to the Sustrans route to Riccall and then home via Kelfield, Cawood and Ulleskelf.
Fab evening to ride, sunny and 19°.
6 weeks post Covid and I’m finally beginning to feel my cycle fitness has returned.
28 miles with an average of 18.6 mph.
Fab evening to ride, sunny and 19°.
6 weeks post Covid and I’m finally beginning to feel my cycle fitness has returned.
28 miles with an average of 18.6 mph.
Dave 123
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire alps
Aravis
Putrid Donut
- Location
- Gloucester
My last day for now in County Durham (returning home tomorrow), so I made a jumbo effort to get out reasonably early. This was the result:
Just 24 miles, but rising, seemingly, to the top of the world. My picture doesn't come close to doing it justice:
Apart from the views and the gorgeous early autumn air, the highlight was a merlin chasing a small bird - probably a meadow pipit - in a life and death moment of drama.
Then back to base, followed by a leisurely afternoon with my wife in Durham. This is not a cycling trip per se.
Just 24 miles, but rising, seemingly, to the top of the world. My picture doesn't come close to doing it justice:
Apart from the views and the gorgeous early autumn air, the highlight was a merlin chasing a small bird - probably a meadow pipit - in a life and death moment of drama.
Then back to base, followed by a leisurely afternoon with my wife in Durham. This is not a cycling trip per se.
Not a ride from today, but back in July.
Every three years CTC (now Cycling UK) run the Tri Annual Veterans ride for us folks over the age of 50. Its an easy going day of riding, doing 4 loops making 100 miles in total.
With me also riding to the start, it was a 120 mile day ride.
Once completed you get a nice little date bar (which turned up today) to add to the others you earnt in previous years.
I'm aiming for 10 bars at least 😄
Map of the days riding.
Roll on 2025 for my next bar.
Every three years CTC (now Cycling UK) run the Tri Annual Veterans ride for us folks over the age of 50. Its an easy going day of riding, doing 4 loops making 100 miles in total.
With me also riding to the start, it was a 120 mile day ride.
Once completed you get a nice little date bar (which turned up today) to add to the others you earnt in previous years.
I'm aiming for 10 bars at least 😄
Map of the days riding.
Roll on 2025 for my next bar.
The Second week of my holidays and I’m up at the caravan in Wales, for a few days. I awoke to a cool and cloudy Autumnal morning, with a very blustery Northerly wind blowing, that meant trousers and jacket were needed. At times I could almost have done with a third layer on top 🥶
The wind was behind me for the trip down to Barmouth, so a decent pace was set on the main road, but I knew I would face a tough trip back up there later. Barmouth promenade was much quieter than the Summer chaos of last time, before I left town and crossed the bridge, which is now closed again to trains for more restoration work.
The change in tourist from the Summer was very evident, as the family beach goers had been replaced by walkers and cyclists, so the bridge was much busier than when the August hordes were in town and indeed the first section of the Mawddach trail was the same. It was a bit of an obstacle course at the beginning of the trail, with some tree felling going on, meaning I had a short wait at their barrier for a safe slot to allow me through. I then had a school biking group marauding all over the path, to navigate, followed by a Power company van coming up the trail towards me! Thankfully it thinned out after that and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery up to Penmaenpool.
I reached Dolgellau and paused for a snack in my usual spot by the Cricket pitch, before looping around the Town and then beginning the long 800ft climb up to Cregennan Lakes. There was an annoying amount of traffic heading up there as well, to begin with, before it quietened down after the Cader Idris car parks and I wound my way up to the Lake, where I had some lunch.
I had a chat with a couple of friendly ladies who were out walking and thought I might know the roads in the area well, wanting some guidance on the best route to Tywyn. I obliged with some thoughts before beginning the exhilarating descent.
I’m heading for that bridge again.
There was a short section on the main road, before I rejoined the Mawddach Trail and disturbed the tree fellers again, before bumping my way back across the bridge and down into Barmouth again. It had got a bit busier, but still a dream compared to the last couple of visits. What was noticeable, now I was heading North, was the strength of that wind and it was a real battle and cold. I did manage to actually cycle all the way up the steep path from the prom to Llanaber, for the first time in a while, so the Cornish hills must have strengthened the legs a bit.
I then rejoined the main road and as I left the 40mph speed limit, experienced some absolutely idiotic driving. Firstly a motorbike that flew past doing a speed that I can only guess must have been above 3 figures. Then probably the worst close pass I have ever had on a bike. A tosspot in a Blue Honda Jazz flew past me, with cars coming in the opposite direction, hardly moving over at all, not crossing the white line missing me by inches and the vacuum sucked me even closer to him. I was absolutely fuming, only for another dick in a White mini to do the same, albeit at a slightly slower speed. They either must have been in convoy or there were 2 of the biggest w*****s in the human race in the same place at once.
I was so angry for a few minutes but eventually calmed down after joining the shared use path for the rest of the main road section and told myself not let it spoil the ride. I am more and more getting the thought that a camera is needed to record these idiots and provide footage to police though.
I arrived back at the van with 32.98 miles on the clock at 10.3mph avg speed
The wind was behind me for the trip down to Barmouth, so a decent pace was set on the main road, but I knew I would face a tough trip back up there later. Barmouth promenade was much quieter than the Summer chaos of last time, before I left town and crossed the bridge, which is now closed again to trains for more restoration work.
The change in tourist from the Summer was very evident, as the family beach goers had been replaced by walkers and cyclists, so the bridge was much busier than when the August hordes were in town and indeed the first section of the Mawddach trail was the same. It was a bit of an obstacle course at the beginning of the trail, with some tree felling going on, meaning I had a short wait at their barrier for a safe slot to allow me through. I then had a school biking group marauding all over the path, to navigate, followed by a Power company van coming up the trail towards me! Thankfully it thinned out after that and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery up to Penmaenpool.
I reached Dolgellau and paused for a snack in my usual spot by the Cricket pitch, before looping around the Town and then beginning the long 800ft climb up to Cregennan Lakes. There was an annoying amount of traffic heading up there as well, to begin with, before it quietened down after the Cader Idris car parks and I wound my way up to the Lake, where I had some lunch.
I had a chat with a couple of friendly ladies who were out walking and thought I might know the roads in the area well, wanting some guidance on the best route to Tywyn. I obliged with some thoughts before beginning the exhilarating descent.
I’m heading for that bridge again.
There was a short section on the main road, before I rejoined the Mawddach Trail and disturbed the tree fellers again, before bumping my way back across the bridge and down into Barmouth again. It had got a bit busier, but still a dream compared to the last couple of visits. What was noticeable, now I was heading North, was the strength of that wind and it was a real battle and cold. I did manage to actually cycle all the way up the steep path from the prom to Llanaber, for the first time in a while, so the Cornish hills must have strengthened the legs a bit.
I then rejoined the main road and as I left the 40mph speed limit, experienced some absolutely idiotic driving. Firstly a motorbike that flew past doing a speed that I can only guess must have been above 3 figures. Then probably the worst close pass I have ever had on a bike. A tosspot in a Blue Honda Jazz flew past me, with cars coming in the opposite direction, hardly moving over at all, not crossing the white line missing me by inches and the vacuum sucked me even closer to him. I was absolutely fuming, only for another dick in a White mini to do the same, albeit at a slightly slower speed. They either must have been in convoy or there were 2 of the biggest w*****s in the human race in the same place at once.
I was so angry for a few minutes but eventually calmed down after joining the shared use path for the rest of the main road section and told myself not let it spoil the ride. I am more and more getting the thought that a camera is needed to record these idiots and provide footage to police though.
I arrived back at the van with 32.98 miles on the clock at 10.3mph avg speed
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- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
I ought to have got a couple of rides in this week at least but haven't managed to get out until today. Just a quick one to stretch the legs on a regular route into the town centre, along the canal path to Uffington then Upton Magna, Atcham, Cross Houses and back via Condover and Lyth Hill.
Autumn is making itself felt now and the brisk wind made it feel cool despite some nice sunshine so although I opted for shorts, a fleece was needed on top. The ride into the town centre was fairly run of the mill but when I got into The Quarry park there seemed to be an event on which proved to be the self-styled Coracle World Championship. I paused to watch for a short while before continuing along the riverside to the weir and along Sydney Avenue.
With the exception of two cyclists and three walkers at the start, I had the old canal path to myself right the way through to Uffington. The wind I'd been working against earlier in the ride became a helpful crosswind on the way to Upton Magna then more of a tailwind on the way to Atcham. At Berwick Wharf I came out onto the road to Atcham behind another rider. With the wind properly behind me at this point and a downhill grade it was fairly easy to overtake them but they passed me again when I decided not to be too daring with my filtering past the queue at the end of the road. Catching up again on the way to Cross Houses I decided to stay behind them as I knew there was a hill coming up and that was the right choice as they climbed it a lot easier than I did with their electric assistance.
I took the usual dog-leg through Berrington to Kingstreet and headed along Lyons Lane to Condover. The short way via the main road didn't appeal as it was right into the wind, which was quite blustery now, and the Friday afternoon traffic is always fairly busy. Instead I headed over Lyth Hill.
21.2 miles at 12.7 mph average. Nice to be out.
The Coracle World Championship at Pengwern Boat Club.
They're off for the start of heat two.
The blue team has had a slow changeover then the new paddler has capsized it straight away.
Heading along an autumnal looking Victoria Avenue.
The English Bridge.
Headed along the old canal path to Uffington.
The view from Lyth Hill. Despite recent rain it still looks really dry up here.
Autumn is making itself felt now and the brisk wind made it feel cool despite some nice sunshine so although I opted for shorts, a fleece was needed on top. The ride into the town centre was fairly run of the mill but when I got into The Quarry park there seemed to be an event on which proved to be the self-styled Coracle World Championship. I paused to watch for a short while before continuing along the riverside to the weir and along Sydney Avenue.
With the exception of two cyclists and three walkers at the start, I had the old canal path to myself right the way through to Uffington. The wind I'd been working against earlier in the ride became a helpful crosswind on the way to Upton Magna then more of a tailwind on the way to Atcham. At Berwick Wharf I came out onto the road to Atcham behind another rider. With the wind properly behind me at this point and a downhill grade it was fairly easy to overtake them but they passed me again when I decided not to be too daring with my filtering past the queue at the end of the road. Catching up again on the way to Cross Houses I decided to stay behind them as I knew there was a hill coming up and that was the right choice as they climbed it a lot easier than I did with their electric assistance.
I took the usual dog-leg through Berrington to Kingstreet and headed along Lyons Lane to Condover. The short way via the main road didn't appeal as it was right into the wind, which was quite blustery now, and the Friday afternoon traffic is always fairly busy. Instead I headed over Lyth Hill.
21.2 miles at 12.7 mph average. Nice to be out.
The Coracle World Championship at Pengwern Boat Club.
They're off for the start of heat two.
The blue team has had a slow changeover then the new paddler has capsized it straight away.
Heading along an autumnal looking Victoria Avenue.
The English Bridge.
Headed along the old canal path to Uffington.
The view from Lyth Hill. Despite recent rain it still looks really dry up here.
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