Your ride today....

[geocycle]

A distinctly marginal day weather wise but with various commitments and no big improvements in the weather forecast I decided to get out anyway. I came up with a plan to follow the Morecambe Bay Cycleway which has various train bail out options and has the distinct advantage of heading first north and then west. Given the cold easterly blowing I wanted to avoid heading that way! I picked up the route in Lancaster then immediately went off piste through the Silverdale and Arnside AONB. It was a very high tide and the estuaries were full. I continued northward to Levens befor picking up a tailwind that took me to Meathrop and the Grange. I looked to the skies and spotted buzzards who will get a shock when the ospreys show up in a couple of weeks. Had a bite to eat in Grange then over the fell to Cartmel before the undulating route to Ulverston. It had been more or less dry until then but the rain came on as I progressed west. Ulverston or wolf town in angloscandinavian, is a nice place but I would have had an hour before the next train so I pressed on. I paused in Urswick to admire the marl rich Tarn and then headed through the cold wet rain to Furness Abbey and Barrow. Northern rail brought me home along one of the most scenic lines in the country. In fact I would say the rail journey was more attractive than the ride since it really hugs the coast and has sone excellent viaducts across the mouths of Duddon and Kent. 89 km with 975 m of climbing.

pictures of Kent estuary, a gate looking toward Coniston, the view back toward Duddon and Furness Abbey.

 

[wafter]

Some beautiful photos on here - both in terms of subject and composition

 

[Saluki]

This is actually my ride yesterday. It’s been raining all day and I hate riding in the rain, so I did some gardening in the rain instead.
I have been offered a new job, in Ely. Only a 20 mile commute, which is better than my previous job with a 52 mile commute. That’s each way! Not combined. It was a long old day, so I left and then found something else.
I had the bright idea yesterday of putting the bike in the car and doing a dry run of the commute to the new job place, having not been there before (Teams is a wonderful thing). Easy commute, so happy with that.
I decided to park at Ely Tesco, with its free parking for 3 hours, and took the bike for a pootle across the fen from Ely to Burwell Lode and back. I took the E-bike as it was windy and I am lazy. Actually, my knee hurts and it was windy. An E-ride is better than no ride in my book. It wasn’t as muddy as I had feared, although I had to get off and walk through the hiking/horse riding gates, rather than just rolling over the cattle grids as there was a bit of flooding on the bike bit. It wasn’t difficult to walk 20 yards, I wasn’t about to risk getting stuck in the mud and falling in a massive puddle in March. Way too cold. Anyway, my car has fabric seats, I’d never have got the smell out.
I haven’t ridden my E-bike since mid January and had forgotten how much fun she is to ride, I’ve been riding my Genesis Croix de Fer since moving home, back to the fens.
So 18 and a bit miles done, dry run to the new offices done and also a grocery shop sorted. The fuel is a good price at Ely Tesco too, much better than King’s Lynn or Wisbech so I was pleased.
I love living back on the flat

 

[Ian H]

I dragged the fixed out this afternoon for its first outing for nearly a year. I rode an increasingly hilly route past Ottery to Otterton then through East Budleigh to climb to Four Firs and descend to Woodbury. I took the Farringdon Road towards the airport then went through Aylesbeare and climbed again to the Westhill ridge. Then a descent, past where I wiped out before Xmas, to Ottery, a shortish climb towards Gittisham and home for 60k just and the sun set.

 

[Donger]

Nipped out early this morning to catch the Severn Bore, as a good one was predicted. Well this has never happened before, but I just missed it. I only had 1 mile to ride to catch it at the nearest viewpoint, so I left it until about 15 minutes before the tide to amble round there. It was 8 or 9 minutes early! Just caught a glimpse of it through the trees before arriving at Riverside Farm to see the water racing past upstream at a rate of knots. I watched it for a while before taking the longer way home, then thought I might as well nip back to the river bank to see how the level was rising. It started coming on to the road, so I stood back to get a shot of another cyclist making a dash for it. In doing so, I left it about a minute too late, and I ended up with my feet going underwater a few times before hitting dry land. My shoes are now in front of the radiator, stuffed with newspaper.

Tomorrow there is a very rare "5 star" wave predicted, so I shall be heading off in good time to get to the best viewpoint at Epney. Hopefully I'll actually see the bore tomorrow. Just the 5.7 miles today.

 

[EltonFrog]

A collection of utility rides today. I had to go to the office in Reading, I drive to Tilehurst park and ride the Brompton the rest of the way. First, at Tilehurst, I had to do some mini bus admin, then got the bike out the car, out the car park and road along the Bath Road via the shared path, avoiding phone zombies and BEATS®️ headphone wearers, then slipped onto the bus lane down the hill to the underpass roundabout and into the outskirts of town. Then along the Kennet & Avon canal eventually turning right towards the Royal Berks hospital then to Erleigh Road where the office is.
Once concluding my visit there I had to pop into the other office, where I met a lady who had a very smart Mercian Mixte in British Racing Green. She took an interest in the Brompton, said she’d never ridden one, so I let have a ride round the block. I think she was rather taken by it.

I then rode back towards the car but this time via the Oxford Road, an unpleasant part of Reading, plagued it seems with illegal electric bikes ridden by masked delivery riders, ignoring traffic lights.

Once back at the Edge of Tilehurst I stopped at my favourite greasy spoon cafe for a cup of splosh and a bacon sandwich, ( ask for the secret HP sauce they keep under the counter not the pretend muck the have on the tables). Best bacon butty in Reading.

Suitably refreshed and nourished I continued my journey up the hill to the fabulously named Cockney Hill to retrieve the old jam jar and head back to me drum.

No photos but the route if you’re interested.

 

[FrankCrank]

A collection of utility rides today. I had to go to the office in Reading, I drive to Tilehurst park and ride the Brompton the rest of the way. First, at Tilehurst, I had to do some mini bus admin, then got the bike out the car, out the car park and road along the Bath Road via the shared path, avoiding phone zombies and BEATS®️ headphone wearers, then slipped onto the bus lane down the hill to the underpass roundabout and into the outskirts of town. Then along the Kennet & Avon canal eventually turning right towards the Royal Berks hospital then to Erleigh Road where the office is.
Once concluding my visit there I had to pop into the other office, where I met a lady who had a very smart Mercian Mixte in British Racing Green. She took an interest in the Brompton, said she’d never ridden one, so I let have a ride round the block. I think she was rather taken by it.

I then rode back towards the car but this time via the Oxford Road, an unpleasant part of Reading, plagued it seems with illegal electric bikes ridden by masked delivery riders, ignoring traffic lights.

Once back at the Edge of Tilehurst I stopped at my favourite greasy spoon cafe for a cup of splosh and a bacon sandwich, ( ask for the secret HP sauce they keep under the counter not the pretend muck the have on the tables). Best bacon butty in Reading.

Suitably refreshed and nourished I continued my journey up the hill to the fabulously named Cockney Hill to retrieve the old jam jar and head back to me drum.

No photos but the route if you’re interested.
View attachment 724199

Used to live near Oxford Rd when back there, it was known as the 'Golden Mile' among some of the lads, but certainly had a bit of a reputation.
Will be back in the Ding tomorrow, for 3 months or so - might see you on your travels

 

[Donger]

After missing the Severn Bore (but still managing to get my feet wet) yesterday, I made sure I got up and out early this morning to catch the first 5* wave since 2019. My alarm woke me up to Rick Edwards interviewing a surfer on Radio 5 Live, and when I turned on the telly, BBC News Channel were showing live pictures from the riverbank at Epney. Straight away I knew I was not going to be able to chase this one. Turned up in Epney in good time, only to be held up by 10 minutes by ridiculous levels of stationary traffic .... hundreds of cars hoping to get parked in a tiny village of 20-30 houses. When I arrived at the Anchor, there was a buzz of anticipation about the place.Cue obligatory bike shot:

Any shots you might have seen from Epney on the telly will be from this guy on the balcony:

The weather was a bit dank and drab, but the wave was a decent enough one. You can never predict how good the wave will be, as factors such as river level, wind direction and wind strength come into play. In the end, this bore didn't quite join up all the way across the river, but was a decent spectacle anyway, and with plenty of surfers.

Those surfers who chose the outside of the bend all came a cropper at Epney, while a decent sized group of about a dozen intrepid surfers on the inside line carried on around the bend towards Longney Sands.

I hung around for a few minutes, wondering how I was going to get out of there because of the traffic. Then had a chance meeting with the husband of one of my old work colleagues. Steve had waited around at Epney for the wave and then lasted only a few seconds, but he had always wanted to try to ride it. Bravo anyway.

I carried on down to Framilode Passage and Priding to watch the tide racing in at about 15mph. Whole trees and various other driftwood racing past. I watched as someone's wooden garden bench got lifted up and started its journey out into the river in the general direction of Gloucester.

These steps might have been under water, but the dyke wall was doing its job.

In that last shot, I was standing on the road with my feet probably about 2 feet below the water level. I do like watching the Severn. No two moments are ever the same. It can go from a glassy calm and reflective sliver of water between sandbanks to a raging, tsunami-like torrent in a matter of seconds. Well I might not have been able to follow the tide by bike today, but that was nice enough little ride with a few friendly chats and a bit of a natural spectacle thrown in. 19.3 miles today.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi everyone. It's been a while since I last posted anything. I'm back in Shropshire after the sojourn in The Lake District - it was good but things didn't work out quite the way we'd hoped. Maybe another try in the future.

Today's ride is my first one following a bout of Covid so I didn't do anything too adventurous - just a trip round my regular Acton Burnell loop. It's warmer than of late and a bit breezy with occasional drizzly showers rolling through. I was on the knockabout bike as it's still so wet & muddy out there that the good bikes haven't come out of winter hibernation just yet.

A guy blatantly micturating in public wasn't what I wanted to see on joining the A49 today. The fact that there was little traffic on the main road made up for that a bit. The fields on the way to Condover are so waterlogged that I doubt they'll be producing good crops this year.

The bike fell over when I thought it was propped up okay at a stop at Ryton then I had the muddy lanes to splash along to Longnor. A good tailwind was picked up after the village here and I got helped along nicely to Acton Burnell then to Cound Moor. Flag of the day at Cound was the French Tricolor.
The A458 was quite busy and I had someone shout something from a passing car (no idea what they said) so it was good to get off at the first opportunity and head to Berrington. The lanes after the village seemed unusually busy. I thought I'd head back via Weeping Cross this time - relatively busy as expected but not too bad really. The legs were complaining a bit in the last mile or so, which will be the after effects of Covid. I haven't ridden as much as I'd like over the last year and every time it feels like I'm making progress at building the fitness back up there seems to be an obstacle of some sort - quite frustrating.

Overall an enjoyable ride. It's good to be out again. 23.4 miles at 12.9 mph average. I'll take that. (Strava claims 1038 feet of climbing)

A couple from Ryton.

At the crossroads near Longnor. I'd hoped for a good display of daffodils but they mostly seem to have been trampled here.

At Cound.

 

[EltonFrog]

Hi everyone. It's been a while since I last posted anything. I'm back in Shropshire after the sojourn in The Lake District - it was good but things didn't work out quite the way we'd hoped. Maybe another try in the future.

Today's ride is my first one following a bout of Covid so I didn't do anything too adventurous - just a trip round my regular Acton Burnell loop. It's warmer than of late and a bit breezy with occasional drizzly showers rolling through. I was on the knockabout bike as it's still so wet & muddy out there that the good bikes haven't come out of winter hibernation just yet.

A guy blatantly micturating in public wasn't what I wanted to see on joining the A49 today. The fact that there was little traffic on the main road made up for that a bit. The fields on the way to Condover are so waterlogged that I doubt they'll be producing good crops this year.

The bike fell over when I thought it was propped up okay at a stop at Ryton then I had the muddy lanes to splash along to Longnor. A good tailwind was picked up after the village here and I got helped along nicely to Acton Burnell then to Cound Moor. Flag of the day at Cound was the French Tricolor.
The A458 was quite busy and I had someone shout something from a passing car (no idea what they said) so it was good to get off at the first opportunity and head to Berrington. The lanes after the village seemed unusually busy. I thought I'd head back via Weeping Cross this time - relatively busy as expected but not too bad really. The legs were complaining a bit in the last mile or so, which will be the after effects of Covid. I haven't ridden as much as I'd like over the last year and every time it feels like I'm making progress at building the fitness back up there seems to be an obstacle of some sort - quite frustrating.

Overall an enjoyable ride. It's good to be out again. 23.4 miles at 12.9 mph average. I'll take that. (Strava claims 1038 feet of climbing)

View attachment 724271

View attachment 724272
A couple from Ryton.

View attachment 724273
At the crossroads near Longnor. I'd hoped for a good display of daffodils but they mostly seem to have been trampled here.

View attachment 724274

View attachment 724275
At Cound.

Great to have you back.

 

[ianrauk]

Great to have you back.

Absolutely, welcome back @Rickshaw Phil

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Great to have you back.

Absolutely, welcome back @Rickshaw Phil

Thanks. It is good to be back.

 

[FrankCrank]

My ride today was over 13 hours aboard a plane, arriving back in Blighty in fine fettle, but a little jaded.
I'll be here for around 3 months, and with a shed full of old klunkers, will update here with a few jaunts

 

[EltonFrog]

The Fragrant MrsP want me to pop over to the Pop Up Bakery for a large sourdough. It’s only 1.5 miles away, I got the Brompton out and it started to shower, feck it, I thought, in fact I may have said it out loud, put the shower cap on the Brompton bag and set out anyway, it’s not far.
Got around the corner and the shower stopped, but by heck there was a strong cross wind trying to blow me into the field, powered through the wind to the bakery, purchased made, back on the bike.
I decided to take the longer way home, take advantage of the wind behind me, which was fab, until the the last mile and a half along the railway track.
Still, 6.4 windy miles, equals about 10 miles I reckon. 😉

I noticed from January to today last year I rode 85 miles on the Brompton, same time this year, 300 miles. Pleased about that.

 

[wafter]

Look to be some more crackers; although for now I'll probably have to content myself with just looking at the photos..

Yesterday was a horrible day for various reasons. I pushed out in the afternoon on the Fuji for a "short" anger-management loop, despite the wind and rain - such was the need for a thrash.

Went at it hard from the start, the grotty conditions only serving to worsen my mood. With little respite in sight I chose to press on from the default shortest route. I was rewarded some time later by that horrible feeling of the back end getting a little bouncy and bottoming out occasionally on the poor surface; stopping eventually to find the tyre inevitably soft.

True to every other aspect of life currently, the simple process of sorting a flat seemed like an insurmountable task so I stuffed some more air into it and continued; since the puncture seemed relatively slow. The problem inevitably recurred after another mile or so and I eventually accepted my fate and set about fitting a new tube in the slurry of mud and brake fllth covering the wheel. Did pretty much everything wrong but thankfully the bike got me home.

A fast-for-me ride of just over 16 miles and 700ft at 14.8mph and 151bpm for 850ish kcal burned. Still felt horrible when I got back, but slowly experienced some benefits over the evening once showered and fed. Also got that full-body warmth that I believe comes from the EPEOC that follows a sustained, relatively high output effort. While the ride was generally an unmitigated disaster it did offer a bit of variety compared to the mostly sedate fare of the commute, so not a total loss.

Objectively the tyres on this bike have proven very reliable; with this being the first "proper" puncture I've had in nearly 2k miles. Its timing was highly unfortunate given the conditions, however.

Will be one of today's many jobs to remove the rear wheel again, clean everything, check for the source of the puncture and lash it back together.....