Your ride today....

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Nice sunny pootle with the better half today .

Nice gentle 30k loop via The track along the New Bedford River to Mepal(+friendly cat) and back through Coveney.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7971239506


Cathedral view

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Pumping station;

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Sandy gravel;

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Arty shot by the better half;

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The Stayer;

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Giant haystacks;

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Fen drain/ditch;

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Friendly Mepal cat;


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cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Usual club ride today .
We were due to have 4 of us with another joining about halfway to the cafe as he lives that way , had an extra one turn up and another pull out before we started as he had a non fixable mechanical on the way to the meeting point.
The plan was to ride a loop to the sweet little cafe in Sudbury courtyard then back to Moira via Hanbury Hill for a total planned mileage of 55 from there so a bit more for me .Sunny but a chilly start that kept us in longs all the way around although at the end it was getting warm .
A total of 67 miles for me today and i can finally say my fitness i pretty close to where i was before my accident 11 months ago !
Finally got my ride leaders arm band even though i have been leading for over 4 years !
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Spiderweb

Not So Special One
Location
North Yorkshire
A beautiful Autumn day in North Yorkshire for a ride out to the centre of York for Coffee with friends Martin & Gaynor.
We met a couple in Naburn both riding MiRIDER fold up e-bikes. They were in a motorhome and had brought their bikes with them.
This was their second outing and they loved them. We were suitably impressed too.
If anyone is interested they were purchased from Team Cycles in Wigan (link below).
We rode back home via the Sustrans cycle route to Riccall which was opened by Beryl Burton in 1987.

So 37.67 miles with an average of 14.5 mph, great ride.

https://www.teamcycles.com/bikes/el...i4UHzAUwlqwtKCGJoAEDOWvevozsbF-oaAi1kEALw_wcB


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Mike_P

Guru
Location
Harrogate
A south westerly of decaying strength as the day went on so just after 1 headed north; the usual queue at Killinghall to join the A61 turned out to be a tail back from a set of TTLs. Overtook most of the queue but still ended up getting caught by the lights. Followed the A road pass Ripon as far as the top of Hutton Bank, turning off through Hutton Conyers to Wath where I paused for a snack.
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Onto narrow single track roads to reach the northern limit of the ride at the second word Q of Middleton Quernhow.
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South east through Melmerby and after a pause to cross the A61 for an easterly crossing of the A1(M) – a long wait at the single track bridge over the motorway – it took three minutes for the lights to change. Through Rainton the bridge closed signs were still there that confused me on my previous visit there and beyond the village I found a road closed !
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Regaining a south easterly direction pass Asenby, and through Cundall until turning south west at Thornton Bridge. Stopped at Milby for a snack and took the opportunity to water the land adjacent a field gate – obviously authorised as the road name was Tinkler Lane.
Through Boroughbridge and Minskip I decided to stay on the A6055, initially I was going to turn off at Ferrensby but traffic was light and wide spaces and waits for doing so were the good order of from motorists so I stayed on the A road, largely a twisty affair with few straight or level stretches which heads upwards from Ferrensby but finally rewarding with sharp decent of up to 12.4%. Into Knaresborough and for the third week caught by the same set of TTLs – at least some progress is being made as the dug up carriageway has changed sides. Beyond the old car of the day – unfortunately the sportcam failed to make a clean capture of it to read the registration.
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42.2 miles 1827ft climbed 14.2mph avg
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gavgav

Legendary Member
A beautiful sunny day in Shropshire, so I binned off my usual Monday supermarket shopping trip and went for a ride instead. Shopping can wait until Wednesday when it rains!

It was still quite mild when I set out into the evening sun, heading initially to Meole, through Bayston Hill and up Lyth Hill. I’ve already lost my KOM on this Strava segment, clearly the chap I nicked it off wasn’t keen on that and so has shaved 4 minutes off it again last week, the swine 🤣! There is no way I have 4 minutes in me, but remarkably I matched my best time again to the second, at 23 mins and 28 seconds, couldn’t have done that if I’d tried!

There were lots of people on Lyth Hill, walking dogs, running and cycling, basically enjoying the beautiful sun, that was very bright and low in the sky, meaning lights were now needed.

I descended to Exfords Green and then continued on to Stapleton, before calling at dads for a chat. The sun had set whilst I was there and that meant the temperature had also dipped considerably for my return journey.

I crossed the A49 without a car in sight, which is very rare, then pressed on to Gonsal, Condover and along Lyons Lane. Final section was via Betton Abbots and home with 14.93 miles on the clock at 12.0mph avg speed.
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Yet more crackers on this thread - seems autumn's been very kind to us so far :smile:

By contrast, my contribution has somewhat less sun..

Today has been crap for various reasons, with the cabin fever mounting as the evening brought more unpalatable events.. I needed to go to the shops and this seemed like a good opportunity to make myself feel marginally better than totally useless.

Once the decision was made the appropriate gear was cobbled together pretty efficiently - the one sticking point being the bike mount for my torch (which appears to have evaporated) so I set aside my reservations about head torch battery life / brightness, scooped all of the house's AAAs into the rucksack just to be safe and set out on the Fuji.

It's been ages since I've ridden in the dark, and typically I've only done so regularly in urban areas. This time it was straight out onto the unlit country roads; the mild air saturated with the rich, comforting aroma of earth and the beginnings of gentle autumn decay.

I decided to take the scenic route as the traffic's typically lighter and half the point was to get out of the house. The head torch gave ample light, its 200ish lumens focused into a tightish spot far enough ahead to press on comfortably, but angled down so as to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. This seemed to work well as I got no complaints and the numerous drivers who failed to dip their headlight in a timely manner soon obliged after a quick sweep of my beam across their windscreens.

The route took me through a few local villages on B-roads and bridleways. It was generally pretty peaceful and quiet, with highlights of the journey out including dodging an unconcerned toad and hearing an owl pretty close.

Upon arrival at the supermarket it took around three minutes of mincing to get the bike sorted (lock and cable out of pannier, looped through various bits, easily-detachable thievables pocketed, bags off and into trolley). Once inside I didn't want a lot, knew what I needed and smashed my way up and down the relevant aisles at a purposeful pace.

Reassured by the bike remaining visibly unstolen through the window at the far end of the shop I made my way back to the self-service checkouts.. to be held up by some ignorant / oblivious woman statically browsing the tat in the narrow lead into the checkout area. Once she'd finally deciphered the meaning of my trolley being 2" away from her and slowly closing everything was efficiently banged through the till (with the exception of the apples, which unfathomably have to be rung up individually).

Before I could pay I waited for an apparent eternity while the vacuous 12yr old "managing" the area was attempting to pork his co-worker... after being bluntly reminded of my presence my vodka-eligibility was confirmed and the transaction continued, however I still had to remind him to remove the security cap :rolleyes:

Once paid for everything was hurled into the bags and it was out to the bike - progress hampered for a third time; this time thanks to the situationally-unware three-a-breast familty in front of me. Once outside I chose to re-pack the bags as I'd done a crap job, and in future I think I'll just fill the trolley post-payment and take my time packing once I'm outside. That was thirteen minutes inside with maybe another five outside. I stopped again before leaving the car park to stuff some more air in the rear tyre and tweak the friction shifter for the RD, then it was homeward bound.

Having had time to cool down in the shop I was a bit chilly once back on the bike, and I stopped again a few miles in to don my gloves - which instantly made everything much nicer. I'd gone prepared but fairly lightly dressed in thin walking trousers (black) and a long sleeved merino base layer (orange). While putting on the gloves (green) I was struck by how well it all co-ordinated and echoed the bike's colour scheme :becool:

Not a lot to report for most of the journey home; I was pleased to get up a short 9% stretch fairly comfortably without leaving the middle ring despite the additional 10% of mass I was now lugging. I did start to feel the tiredness setting in and my attention wavering a bit, but I managed to keep out of the hedge.

Maybe halfway back I stopped for a leak near one of the many local airbases and snaffled a quick pic (of the bike). Pressing on there was a fair bit of elevation change and it was interesting to note the very obvious drop in temperature when descending into the cooler, damp air hanging in the low points.

Coming to a narrow uphill bit I signalled and nipped into the mouth of a driveway to let a car behind me pass - my reward being their swift passage past so I didn't even need to slow down before re-joining the road behind them; their appreciation shown by a flick of the hazards. If only all intereactions on the road could be that pleasant for all concerned.

A bit more climbing saw me back on the road along the ridgeline that runs into the village, and then home :smile:

This has been another good learning experience. The (propriatory Li-ion) battery in the head torch performed well, suggesting that the rechargeable AAAs of similar quoted capacity I had been using might be past their best so they can live out their days in less demanding household roles. Similarly I got home to find the rear light dead, confirming my suspicions about the pair of cells in that too, so it looks like some new, higher-spec AAAs are on the cards.

Having got my "First big utility run" badge a week or so ago I've now done the same journey in the dark which feels like another milestone reached / mental barrier passed, while this time my yield came to around 9kg with no obvious ill effects, and as always I feel a lot better for just having got out.

The ride came to about 18.5 miles at probably about 13mph with another three quid saved in fuel.. which nicely filled the void between the available, promo Smirnoff and the non-existant fifteen quid own-brand stuff rampant inflation has typically reduced me to.

Anyway, time for bed - I suspect the world will seem less rosey in seven hours when I have to drag my creaking frame out of bed for work.

Bonus points to those who made it all the way through this latest bout of semi-coherent, needlessly detailed rambling..

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wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
If there's an Ick Ear nearby, their LADDA rechargeables are, these days, rebranded Eneloops, and good value.

Thanks - I'll probably plump for some of the tarty 930mAh Eneloops for the lights, but those look like a good bet for less demanding applications :smile:

As predicted I'm utterly ruined today; still don't regret getting out last night though...
 
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gavgav

Legendary Member
Second after work ride of the week and I’d arranged for my mate Paul to join me. I cycled the mile or so over to Meole school, our meeting point and we both arrived at exactly the same moment! A bit tricky in places on the cycle paths, due to damp leaves making it slippy.

We then headed along the main road to Hook a Gate and Annscroft, before turning to Exfords Green and Stapleton. Traffic was very busy on both roads for some reason.

Darkness had now fallen and Paul was a bit uncertain due to not having ridden in the dark much. He did fine, but needs better lights and he was impressed with my Cateye Volt700, so is aiming to get something along those lines now.

We crossed the A49 and onto Gonsal, then Condover. Lyons Lane was quiet and not a single car passed us on the Betton Abbots road, which made up for the earlier busy roads.

We parted ways near mine and despite it feeling a leisurely ride with plenty of chatting, we averaged 12.4mph over the 15 miles, which was quicker than I expected.
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
Tuesday: It was a pretty perfect autumn day for riding but I wasn't free until later than I'd hoped so opted to go for a quick run round the longer version of my Acton Burnell route using a lightly loaded Raleigh.

The wind was light and it was sunny and fairly mild for October so I enjoyed getting along well to Condover, Ryton and Longnor. I was reasonably quick up the climb to Frodesley and the long gentle descent to Acton Burnell is always good. The long straight after Cound Moor was directly into what wind there was this time, but what slowed me down more was having to pull in to allow a couple of cars past. I had to look up the flag that was up at Cound (not enough wind to say it was flying) and it was that of Huntingdonshire.

I thought I'd head up to the A458 this time and it wasn't particularly busy so I stayed on it to Cross Houses then turned towards Berrington, Kingstreet and back towards Condover. I'd hoped that the easterly wind would give a bit of a boost on the way back to the A49 but it was from the wrong angle to help really.

23.9 miles at 15.5 mph average. Quite happy with that. I was enjoying myself so didn't take any photos on this one.

Yesterday: My plan was to get out for a ride with my brother but unfortunately a misty morning turned into a damp and drizzly day which wasn't really enticing. By the time the rain did stop I'd missed the chance to get Doug out. I did drag myself out though to take the Hawk for a quick blast round the shorter version of the Acton Burnell loop.

Setting out the A49 was quite busy. A lorry driver waited patiently for a safe gap then gave lots of room when they overtook - always appreciated.:thumbsup: With a light headwind and the wet roads swishing under my wheels I tried to press on like I had with the Raleigh, but with this being a heavier bike my legs felt strained so I had to take it a little easier as I don't want to do myself a mischief.

The tyres swished along the lanes too but here it was a film of mud, which I'll have to get used to now we are getting into the wetter months. The climb to Frodesley was a good couple of mph slower this time and the descent to Acton Burnell quite similar, especially as I was being a bit more cautious cornering in the wet. This time I headed for Pitchford and Cantlop on a road that I thought surprisingly busy - most likely students from Concord College heading for home.

After Condover, the run to the A49 was similar to Tuesday - I thought I'd have been going a bit faster than I actually managed. Plenty of traffic on the main road then an erratically driven white Mercedes were minor irritations that didn't spoil the ride.

17.3 miles at 14.3 mph average. That's the fastest average I've managed on this bike for a while but the legs shouldn't have felt as strained as they were - I shall try another small adjustment for the next ride..

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The Lawley and Caer Caradoc looming out of the mist.

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The cloud is breaking a bit as I head past Cantlop.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Club ride today , opted to go out this morning as its forecast dire tomorrow .4 groups including a new gravel ride !
67 miles in total for me door to door in muddy conditions even though it was a sunny day there is so much standing water about from the last few days rain.I wish i had took the bike with gaurds but opted for the bum stripe look instead

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